A Night of Shopping

[Naegi Kyoko]

Date: Sunday, April 13th, 2003
Time: 10:00 P.M.

Kyoko was shopping for dinner.

She should've done this hours ago. It was already ten o' clock at night. She felt really terrible about it, as she promised her mother that she would take a break from studying for a bit to eat something. It had just... slipped her mind. It wasn't like her mom would find out anyway. She wasn't coming home from work until early in the morning. 

She held a hand around her stomach as she walked around the store. She hadn't noticed how hungry she was until now. Her stomach was actually hurting because of it. Perhaps she really didn't eat enough. She'd always thought her mother was being too worrisome when she said things like that, but now she could see the reasoning behind it. 

She stopped, her gaze drifting to the candy and snacks. It wasn't dinner, but... she had been really stressed out lately, and she deserved a little snack. It would also fix her hunger problem. She had enough money to buy quite a lot of stuff. She must've stood there for a few minutes, contemplating it, before shaking her head.

No, she couldn't. It wasn't healthy. Besides, she couldn't just fall back on binge-eating whenever things got too stressful. She'd finally managed to break that bad habit (which, when she thought about it, was why she had basically stopped eating in the first place. She was terrified all her progress would be lost). Tearing her eyes away from the sweets, she grabbed some instant noodles instead.

She kept walking. Unfortunately, due to her not paying attention, she bumped into something and fell backwards onto the floor. "Oof!" she cried out. She immediately went to rub her head, which had hit the hard tile floor when she fell. This caused her cup of noodles to roll out of her hands. "Ow... sorry... "

[Sonohara Chitose]

10 PM. The night was stretching on at this point. The warm glow of the street lights washed over the town only a few hours prior allowing whatever shadows that remained to swallow the nitty-gritty details of Hikarizaka that it could. The only parts of the town that really felt like they remained were those bathed in a mixture of moonlight and lights that were more artificial. A sight that was quite welcome and made the young delinquent feel at ease. The night was always so relaxing.

The delinquent youth entered the shop to pick himself up a bento. They were cheaper later in the evening, marked down from not having been sold when they were fresh. His night was still young and he needed the fuel to get through until the wee hours of the morning as was normal for him.

Chitose lazily maneuvered to the cold-foods section and grabbed one that looked filling. It looked to be some sort of chicken dish, and in all honesty, that's what he was hoping for. The chicken was a solid protein choice and quite filling to boot, so he lucked out that there was one left. He thumbed over the discount sticker placed over its plastic packaging, noting that it was roughly half-off. A wonderful discount for a guy who was getting low on cash.

Much more than a can of coffee he'd grabbed and he wouldn't be able to afford it. Instead, he'd have to resort to petty theft and shoplifting... but that was not the case tonight!

He began to make his way to the cash register, staring down at his discount chicken bento and coffee. A good late-night haul. He could already taste it. He licked his lips in anticipation when he felt something run into him mid-step. Oof!" He staggered slightly as the tiny form bumped into him and caused him to lose balance with his already-loose footing. He bit his tongue as he recovered and managed to keep on his feet.

"Ow... sorry..."

"Ack!" Chitose's hands lifted to his mouth to cover his jaw and mouth, "You bvetter bve!"

His voice was loud and words distorted as his tongue rang out in pain. He winced and turned his sharp eyes as he turned to face the tiny form of the girl who'd bumped into him. She didn't seem to have taken their run-in very well either, based on how she was rubbing her head. She even ended up on the floor.

The same floor where he noticed that his chicken bento and coffee had landed. The can had been dented but was left unpunctured. Sadly, his bento was not in as sturdy of packaging and was left splattered on the ground.'

"Ahhck!" His tongue throbbed as he gasped at the sight of his soiled dinner-to-be, "My bento!"

[Naegi Kyoko]

Kyoko stumbled to her feet, brushing her clothes just in case they somehow managed to become dirty when she fell. She paused upon hearing the words 'you better be', resisting the urge to snap. She'd probably be annoyed if someone bumped into her and made her drop her food, too. He'd also likely bitten his tongue, judging from the way he was talking. It made sense for him to be pissed off at her.

"I am," she said. "That's why I apologized." Her voice came out a lot colder than she meant it to. It sounded less like she was calm, and more like she was trying not to scream. Oops. She was usually good at hiding her emotions, but perhaps the frustration that she'd been bottling up for the past few weeks was finally getting her. She just hoped the guy hadn't noticed. She really didn't feel like an argument right now.

Her gaze also drifted to the splattered contents of the bento box. She paused for a second, considering it, and then pulled some money out of the small purse she was carrying. It was enough to cover the bento, plus some extra just because she felt bad (both for bumping into him and being rude). Maybe he could buy another coffee or something.

"Here," she said. "Ah... what's your name?" she tilted her head curiously. It might not have been super important in this situation, but she couldn't deny her curiosity. It felt weird speaking to someone without knowing who they were. 

[Sonohara Chitose]

"Whatever..."

Chitose responded with a trite bit of venom as some of the pain began to subside. He took note of the cold delivery of her affirmation. It wasn't unlike how he would respond, granted, it was less rude than if he were the one faced with his own rude reply. It was different, but not unacceptable. Not with his lifestyle, that is.

"Jus' make sure it don't happen again."

He extended a hand to accept her compensation for his meal. Even if it wasn't going to be chicken, at least he'd be able to get something. He took the yen in hand and counted it up to begin planning for what he was going to get as he bent over to grab at his coffee. It was still good after all.

Name?

Chitose turned to face the girl fully when she continued talking to him. It wasn't often that he was asked anything... Anything not rude or insulting, anyway. He paused, stumped for a moment as his eyes narrowed in an attempt to process her question. Albeit, this probably came off as him scowling with his appearance.

"Sonohara Chitose." His delivery was dead serious, "Who's askin'?"

[Naegi Kyoko]

Kyoko tilted her head curiously when he scowled, but otherwise her expression didn't change at all. She hadn't said something to upset him, had she? She couldn't think of anything. All she'd done was ask for his name. Perhaps he wasn't fond of his name? Or didn't want to speak to her? It was understandable. 

He finally answered though. "Sonohara Chitose," he said. "Who's asking?" 

Sonohara Chitose... she'd heard that name before. She could've sworn she had. She couldn't quite remember where, but she was certain of one thing: he was an upperclassmen at Hikarizaka Private High School. He was a delinquent, apparently. That much was obvious by looking at him though. Everything about him screamed 'delinquent' — his clothing, the way he talked, his general demeanor. 

"Naegi Kyoko," she introduced herself, bowing slightly to show respect towards her upperclassmen. "Ah... you're a second year student, aren't you? It's nice to meet you, Sonohara-senpai."

Well, perhaps the situation wasn't the most pleasant. It would've been nice to meet him in a different situation... or perhaps simply not meet him at all. That wasn't rude, wasn't it? It didn't seem particularly rude. After all, she couldn't imagine he was too pleased about what had happened either. 

[Sonohara Chitose]

"-It's nice to meet you, Sonohara-senpai."

Nice to meet you? Huh?

Chitose rolled his eyes at the polite phrase. Rare was it that anybody meant such a nicety, especially to somebody like him. It wasn't unexpected, however. Just a bit too fake for him. What was nice about running into a delinquent and then giving him money to pay for the stuff you'd made him drop? What was nice about meeting that? Nothing, Chitose figured.

Though... at least she isn't cowering or outright ignoring him. At least she's not treating him like trash, scum, or nothing. It's a difference. Even that third year... Okazasomething... at least he normally got ignored or treated civilly. Then again... Okasomething wasn't the same kinda delinquent Chitose was, or the kind that blonde-kid with a similar name tried to be.

It was an improvement, Chitose decided.

He reaffixed his red-eyed gaze back to the girl after deciding that it wasn't so bad, to be given such false courtesy. If anything... it was like the false courtesy that one would grant a normal stranger under normal circumstances. The school year hadn't even begun and this was already an improvement to try to bounce back from his normal outbursts and delinquency. Perhaps.

"Yeah." Chitose grumbled, "You too, uh... Naedi... Negi..."

Damn. She'd just said her name.

Chitose was, in all actuality... quite bad with names. Normally he'd just call somebody "Hey you", "you there", or "you guy"/"you chick"... It was normally a bother to remember so many names and the faced they belonged to. It was frustrating, but not embarrassing. Rather instead, if it didn't stick, he'd choose something in relation to the person to remember them as... such as...

That's it!

"Nice t'meet ya, too, Bento-girl."

Since she had both ruined his chicken bento and given him enough to replace it, that'd be memorable. She was Bento-girl. Yup.

"So, you'se supposed to be a first-year startin' tomorrow, callin' me senpai and whatnot?"

[Naegi Kyoko]

It was quite obvious he had forgotten her name. She wasn't sure how he'd managed such a thing, as she had introduced herself only a few seconds beforehand. She considered reminding him, but figured she would give him some time to remember it himself. He almost had it. He said 'Naedi', which was only one letter off. 

She regretted this decision as soon as the nickname 'Bento-girl' left his mouth. It was accurate to the situation, sure, but her name wasn't very difficult to remember. She, once again, considered just telling him what it was, but she didn't think he would remember the second time either. It seemed the nickname was there to stick.

That's a creative nickname. She had to bite her tongue back to stop herself from saying the words out loud. She'd be joking, but due to her monotone voice, she wasn't sure if it would really come across that way. She nodded her head in response to the question. "Yeah, I'm starting first year. What year are you in?"

Kyoko had asked the question because it seemed strange to just abruptly end the conversation and walk away. He'd probably end it when he wanted to. She really was curious, though. Her immediate assumption was third year, since he was really tall and stuff. 

[Sonohara Chitose]

"Second year." Chitose replied nonchalantly, "Is an okay school."

Okay was an understatement. Granted, through his eyes it was exactly how he felt about it. It was okay. Not excellent nor was it sub-par. It was simply okay... well, for being the best school in the area to the point where the nearby engineering school constantly picked fights and caused trouble for Hikarazaki Private High School. For a delinquent who didn't know what the heck he was doing or know where he was going, it was just about as good as any other school, just harder tests. Okay.

(Groooowl~.) His stomach moaned in anger at not being fed yet.

Chitose motioned with both his hand and head for the Kyoko to follow. It was a subconscious gesture he did in leu of ending their conversation suddenly. It was rare for anybody to even be giving him the time of day, much less money to pay for his meal. He turned and began moving towards the cooler section. He needed to grab that replacement bento that Kyoko had so graciously paid him for.

"So, you'se Hikarazaki student, huh? Honestly thought you'se was still in junior high with how small you is."

His words were blunt. He did not hide what he thought, but at the same time meant no harm in it. It was naivety that caused him to remark on her appearance, it was just that he didn't necessarily care about being sensitive or subtle.

"Brave, ain't ya?"

[Naegi Kyoko]

Kyoko's eyes widened a little bit in surprise, barely enough to be noticeable. Her deadpan expression didn't change at all asides from that. He definitely didn't look like a second year. He could probably pass for an adult easily. Well, she couldn't really judge. It wasn't like she looked her age, either... she just had the opposite problem.

Sonohara pointed this out, mentioning how she looked more like she belonged in middle school. She wasn't offended. That was actually older than most people thought she was, so she took it as a good thing. Perhaps she was starting to look older. Unlikely, but it made her hopeful nonetheless. 

"Brave?" she tilted her head at the words. She didn't understand. She hadn't done anything particular that she thought made her brave. "How so?" 

[Sonohara Chitose]

"Because you ain't either scurried off or done somethin' yet."

Chitose turned to look Kyoko over once again. Eyeing her up and down like some sort of uncommon creature. He took note of her even tone and her blank expression. She was definitely an odd one, but not in an unflattering way. He didn't know how to exactly take that as of yet. A high school girl though, huh?

It was genuinely hard for the yankii to get a reading on the petite girl. His mind almost ached with any given attempt to discern anything further than the very subtle movements of her eyes and the slight changing of her tone during certain sentences. Typically people who didn't outright avoid dealing with delinquents tended to be somewhat troublesome folk and potentially unpredictable... this generalization wasn't exactly being proven wrong.

"Normal people usually don't spend more time than they need to with people like me."

Chitose pulled the tab on the top of his unbought coffee and took a hard drink from it, gulping it down.

"Not unless they want somethin', wanna rumble, or don't give a damn."

His eyes sharpened and his brow raised slightly as though to ask "which are you?"... Of course, she didn't look like a scrapper. That only left her wanting something, perhaps to get on his good side. The delinquent also didn't discount the latter option either. He wasn't sure how he felt yet about not being able to gauge Kyoko.

[Naegi Kyoko]

"Scurried off...?"

Kyoko prided herself on being intelligent. She was observant, and quick to understand concepts that others usually find vague or difficult. She was one of the most logical people one could ever meet. In her mind, there was a logical explanation for everything. There wasn't a single thing in this world that she couldn't understand. 

So she was quite frustrated that she couldn't understand this.

There was absolutely zero reason for her to have run away. He hadn't attacked, insulted, or been rude to her at all during this entire conversation. He'd been overall polite the entire time. It would've been stupid, and quite rude, for her to run away as if she was scared of him. It was also a bit rude of him to assume she either wanted to fight or wanted something. She couldn't say she blamed him, though. She couldn't imagine had a lot of positive interactions with others.  

"There's no reason for me to have run off," she said calmly. "You aren't violet or unnecessarily rude, and you haven't done anything to make me wary of you." 

[Sonohara Chitose]

Not violent? Not unnecessarily rude? Haven't done anything to make her warry?

Is this girl messin' with me?

Chitose sharpened his eyes as he attempted to drill deep into Kyoko's eyes. He almost wanted to find evidence in her stoic stare that she was just kidding. He was looking for something to distrust about her, anything at all. The average student of Hikarizaka tended to be rather timid and meek, especially in the face of a delinquent. There were two somewhat infamous upperclassmen who people talked about, Sleepwalker and his cohort Yappy. Despite how little rabble the two raised, people still avoided them...

Chitose... well, he wasn't as subdued. Was he?

He shifted his gaze to look down at his own clothing. Baggy pants, a pair of chains dangling from his wallet, a band t-shirt that'd seen better days, and a jacket worn over his shoulders. Most people scoffed at this style of clothing and furthermore went out of their way to avoid interacting with people wearing it. They weren't wrong... They emphasized his disdain for the norm, his enjoyment of loud and violent music, and the chains were fun and jingly... albeit most people saw them as weapons, metaphors of needing to be chained, or someone who chains others.

"You serious, or you just messin' with me?"

Despite the outfit also just being an expression of his love of certain music and an alternative lifestyle, also that it was the most comfortable thing in the world to him, he'd never been not judged for them. Seriously... somebody NOT judging him for how he looked.

Perhaps. He wasn't able to see too well past her eyes before. Her intent was shrouded in a deep and dark mysterious cloud to which his eyes could not pierce to the young man. Either way, he accepted this inability to see any malevolent intent as a halfway point between malicious and unbiased. Whatever that was.

Chitose cast his eyes back up at her as he quickly grabbed for any random marked-down bento. After chicken, he wasn't too horribly picky when his meals weren't home-cooked.

"You'se one weird chick, Bento-chan." He smirked, "Take it as a compliment. Who wants t'be like everybody else anyways?"

[Naegi Kyoko]

Kyoko didn't answer his question. She simply tilted her head and continued to gaze blankly up at the upperclassman. She still failed to understand what would make him think she was messing with him. What she had said was all true. He hadn't done anything to earn her distrust. Ah... well, he was dressed strangely, but the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" existed for a reason. 

In any case, she assumed the question was rhetorical, because he simply continued to speak without waiting for her answer. Weird... he had called her weird. Anyone else would've been insulted. After all, standing out wasn't something one usually wanted to do. It was expected for people to want to fit in and be like everyone else.

But she had always loved having something special about her, something that made her different from other people. It was why she always tried to be the smartest. It was her thing. She had to the best. It was pretty much the only thing unique about her. So to have someone just say she, Naegi Kyoko, was weird... it was actually a wonderful compliment. 

She smiled softly, her deadpan demeanor shifting into something more gentle. "Thanks. I'll definitely take it as a compliment." She turned and looked out the window. It was extremely dark outside. Not even the stars or moon really helped. It would be quite difficult for someone to make their way around without getting lost.

"I need to head home soon," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "It's really dark... and I haven't bought my stuff yet." 

[Sonohara Chitose]

Chitose turned his gaze outside... or at the very least attempted to do so to the best of his ability. Shelves and displays made it hard for him to actually see, not the motion just how the light simply reflected off the windows in comparison to the darkness that existed outside. He knew how late it was, though. It wasn't like he was unaware of how late he liked to stay out.

Shifting his sights gave him a few moments to drink in Kyoko's change of expression. It was much warmer than she'd expressed just moments before. There was a warmth and kind feeling from it he'd only ever received from his siblings. It was... nice. So much more often was Chitose used to ire and bad attitudes, but this was a good change of pace an mood.

"Go check out, then."

Chitose turned back towards the cooler.

"I'll catch up. I'se gonna make sure y'get on yer way 'aight. 'Was gonna go fer a walk anyways," He shrugged, "plus y'sometimes get jerks from the local engineering school tryin' t'raise hell 'round here at night."

[Naegi Kyoko]

Fortunately, Kyoko's noodles managed to get away unscathed. She'd honestly forgotten that she had even gotten noodles until now — she must've been talking for her upperclassman for quite awhile. Without a word, she picked up the cup that had fallen on the ground and walked over to the check-out. The only indication that she heard him was a small 'hm' sound and a nod. 

It only took a few minutes for her to check out. Sonohara said he'd be walking her home (which she was immensely grateful for, although she'd forgotten to say thank you. She'd do it in a few moments). She'd wait here for him until he bought his stuff, and then they could leave. She stood patiently, gazing at nothing in particular.

Sonohara was actually a very kind person. She hadn't known him that long, but that much was easy to tell from having a conversation with him. He'd been overall polite, and he'd even said he would walk home with her when he didn't need to. Yes, he was going on a walk anyway, but still. He could've just left her. 

She peered over at him. She'd like to say that she couldn't understand why people assumed the worst in him... but that would be a lie. He did have the stereotypical delinquent appearance, and he was quite tall and intimidating. She could see why people would be wary about him. But he was actually really nice! She liked him a lot.