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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 11:37 am
The poor part of town, it was really just a street, one that had a few businesses, a few cheap stores, and a lot of people just lingering on street corners or building steps, smoking cighoulettes and BS'ing their time away.
There seemed to be a crowd wandering towards the side of one of the larger buildings. The walked slowly, chatting with one another, but still headed steadily towards the empty lot. Someone seemed to be doing something interesting there. It didn't make much sense, really, since there was a gigantic "to lease" sign hanging in front, showing that the building wasn't occupied. But logical or not, it sure was attracting a crowd!
"Who knows when the boogies will show up?" someone asked loudly enough to be heard.
"Nah, not for this," someone else said. "Besides, who here's gonna tell them? We all like the kid."
"He ain't bad at art, either," the first agreed.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:57 pm
Mitsu was....lost. Completely and utterly lost. It was amazing how she had been at Amity for a while now and still managed to lose her way in town. She had been all over by this point but still hadn't mapped a course to figure out how to get to anywhere. Maybe she needed to invest in a GPS. Those were supposed to help you find your way but they were so expensive.
Her mind somewhat sidetracked she didn't even realize where she was. The state of the area around her really hadn't raised any flags but the crowd that she was now walking through did. Her eyes widened when she realized so many people were gathered in one place and she wondered what was going on. No one seemed to be in a panic but the murmured talk had her curiously looking around until she spotted the artwork on a building side.
The talk of the boogies had her nervous but she pressed through the crowd toward the building to get a better look. The art looked neat but it was hard to see through the people when she was too short to see over them.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:02 pm
"Hey, hey!" Roch called from where he was spray painting the wall. "Don't just stand there! Someone hand me another can of white!" He was on a ladder in front of the building wall, working on a massive picture of the Pumpkin King. It was a mere black outline at the moment, but he was working on filling it in with white paint. "This one's almost out!"
He turned, looking out at the crowd, then blinked at the sight of someone rather familiar. "Mitsu?" he asked blankly. "You uh... lost?" Because he really had no clue what the shy little monster was doing in this part of town. He hopped down from the ladder, tossing his can into the trash.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:08 pm
"R..Roch?" It was a surprise to see the reaper once she was in a clear enough view to do so. He was also working on a rather impressive looking picture of the pumpkin king. It reminded Mitsu that she needed to repaint her room at some point.
As he hopped down from the ladder the lycan approached slowly, ears tilting this way and that as she took in his handy work. "I..uhh..." She smiled shyly rubbing the back of her head as she looked to the ground. "I suppose I am. Junko told me to think of it as an adventure." And Mitsu took adventures in town often apparently.
"What's the art for?" She asked curiously pointing to the wall. Maybe he was working on a project for someone. She had no idea he was defacing a building.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:12 pm
"I'm makin' me a stage!" Roch said proudly. "I come down here and play anyway, so I figured I might as well have a good backdrop for it, right?" And he had always thought that graffiti was an art form, not a defacing! But, seriously, considering his past? Is anyone surprised?
"But this probably ah... isn't a place you wanna be when it's gettin' dark out here," he said. "These guys here are all fine, but we got a gang or two that come out when night falls. So... I should probably take you where you were plannin' on goin' in the first place, right?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:36 pm
"A stage?" Mitsu questioned looking at the now named backdrop. So did he plan on playing down here then? That was interesting, maybe Music Club could come here to play. Though when he mentioned it not being safe after dark she faltered. Perhaps not.
Mitsu had no experience with true gangs but she knew bullies well enough. Her crimson eyes darted around for a moment as if trying to spot anyone within the area that might be a threat. "I..I guess that would be best." Mitsu nodded to his offer. "I was heading to the bookstore. I was going to get something new to read." She was completely off track to where she needed to be.
"Do you come down here often?" It was a curious question though Mitsu really didn't really put two and two together about a bad area and what that said about Roch if he hung out here. Mitsu didn't have much of a clue in on how Roch was perceived by society. He seemed like a nice boil but then again Shun's brooding looks hadn't thrown her off either.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:43 pm
"Sure do," Roch said, pointing towards the more upscale part of town. "We're gonna go that way," he told her, starting out. "Hey, can someone keep my paints for me?" he called over his shoulder. "I'll owe you one!"
"Sure, punk, why not?" one of the guys behind them called.
"Thanks Bruce!" Roch said, waving one hand lightly. "I'll be back in a bit." Then he looked at Mitsu. "You mean the bookstore at the maul or the bookstore in town?" he asked her, although both were in this direction.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:50 pm
Punk? His name wasn't punk but he seemed to respond to it. It must have been a nickname of some sort though judging from his clothes Mitsu could see why. That was what the fashion was called wasn't it?
"Oh, the bookstore in town." She didn't go to the maul often, it was far too crowded so she avoided it if possible.
Mitsu walked quickly to keep up with the reaper's longer leg strides, another disadvantage to being small. "The art on the wall looks nice. I'll have to come see it when its done." She felt a bit better on their direction now that she wasn't in the lead. No doubt she would have been wandering around for hours looking for the bookstore. "Thanks for showing me the way. I'm not...very good with directions."
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:21 pm
"Kinda surprised that Shun isn't here showin' you the way," Roch said curiously. "Aren't you two an item or somethin?" he asked. Which was fine, he figured, although a little strange. Shun could be a scary a** b*****d if he tried, and this little one... she didn't even know a scary neighborhood--
Wait... that sort of explained it, didn't it?
He shoved his hands into his pockets, walking along, glancing at her once in a while, but more often watching the shadows in the alleys that they passed.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:07 pm
The forward question caught Mitsu off guard a little and she nodded a little awkwardly at first. "Y..yes." But just because they were together didn't mean they were literally...always together. "He doesn't always come with me to town. Besides this was just a short trip." And now it literally was by her standards. She might actually get back to the school before night. That would truly be something!
While her eyes were focused on the path ahead of them or on Roch, Mitsu's ears were moving in all directions picking up the smallest of sounds. She hadn't noticed anything strange though, at least not to her but she was a bit more leery about what might be lurking around corners. The werewolf could only hope that if the Hunters returned she could hear them before they approached.
"So how have you been doing since exams?" Mitsu had to wonder if Roch had been there the day the Death Hunter had lured them into the forest.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 5:23 pm
"Mmm, died again, fought some more, dragged a few people out of their rooms," he listed idly. "I've been workin' on my shadow step, though! Shun gave me some tips on how to use it, they've come in handy," he told her. "Oh, and tried out to help with the music in the play," he said. "Not to mention a week long vacation touring Halloween," he added. "Er, not in that order," he added.
He looked at her curiously. "When did you stop wearing a mask?" he asked.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:34 pm
Wow he had certainly done....a lot. But from the sounds of it he might have been in the forest. Died again? "Shun is helping you learn shadow step?" It was always neat to see the reaper move from place to place in the wispy blackness, though not as interesting when it was happening in the middle of sparring and she was being attacked for all angles. No, that had startled her.
"Oh...the mask." Mitsu tapped her cheek nervously. It was something she used to do with the mask, tapping the side as if it reassured her it was in place. Now it was just something she did out of habit. "It was during the field trip. It...kinda got stuck to my face. Really stuck. Hel had to cut my hair so we could get it away from my face." Though the hair cut in the front probably wasn't as noticeable since her mask had covered her face. It seemed like a silly reason since she should have been used to the mask on her face but there was a difference between wearing the mask and being stuck with the mask. Her choice had been taken and she had panicked feeling claustrophobic.
"I was scared to put it back on." She continued. "And then...I just didn't feel the need I guess."
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:44 pm
"No," he agreed. "You don't." He gave her a crooked grin, cocking his head slightly as he took in her pretty face. "Y'know... unlike you, all we reapers got are these forms. You, though, you've got this jackin' AWESOME wolf form. I saw it on the field trip. I'm a bit jealous of that, actually. You could be one of the scariest kids in the school with a bit of practice, I bet."
He fell silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. They'd reached the better part of town by this point, so he wasn't quite as careful, but he still seemed as if he was noting each shadow they passed. Here he was, walkin' with another guy's ghoul, and it felt awkward. "Er, I wasn't hittin' on you or anything with that," he added. "I mean, sure you're cute, but I don't flirt with taken ghouls."
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:06 pm
Mitsu blushed a bit when Roch agreed, her focus suddenly at the sidewalk at her feet as it passed under her. The compliments were embarrassing but they still made her smile. "I..I don't know. I mean you guys have weapons you can summon and you can shadow step and use magic." It was no wonder why she would praise the reaper...she was dating one after all and she thought the world of Shun.
Then Roch had to go and say what he said next. Mitsu's smile faded to something a little awkward as she tried to back step the conversation and figure out what he was talking about. "You...never tried to hit me." Okay so she didn't get the first comment. It was like their groanspring conversation all over again but she understood flirting and when he said she was cute her cheeks burned and she looked away. Had what he said been considered flirting? Was she flirting now? Oh jack, nothing made sense!
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 8:20 pm
He laughed. Oh, jack, her face-- "Hey," he said. "I... can I ask you a question? One you don't gotta answer or anything, cuz it might just make me come off as a creeper. I..." he hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase it.
"I've been runnin' around, checkin on some of my friends, you know, since the fire. Some people... it was their first time dyin'. It was my fourth, plus a ton of almosts from my past. But they... well, they weren't taking it, or the fact that the hunters can come here, well."
He was quiet, just a brief second, before going on. "I haven't checked on Xiu. Can you tell me if--if she's okay?"
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