(Untitled)

[crimsonignition]

Who: Kamina and Orihime
What: Double date turns single!
Where: Times Square!
When: June 21st (backlog liek woah)
Warning: devious plotting is devious? and the usual Kamina and Orihime craziness, gang violence what?

Times Square, the illuminated center of New York filled large advertisements for various companies against their various buildings. The

Comments

[leekspin]

Orihime just grinned unabashedly. She knew she had a metabolism most people would kill for, and that she ate a lot. But she wasn't self-conscious about it in the least. Food was meant to be eaten and enjoyed, especially if it was delicious. She licked the ketchup from her thumb, standing back so Kamina could get a clear shot of the sign.

Inwardly, her heart was racing. There was something she'd been wanting to tell Kamina for a long while, but the timing was never right. Either the words seemed out of place, or she got cold feet at the last second. But maybe tonight would be different, who knew?

"Can you imagine what it would be like to celebrate New Year's here?" she thought aloud, clasping her hands behind her back. She'd seen the massive crush of people on television many times, but it was a little thrilling to be standing in that very spot with her own two feet. "Wow..." Her head turned up to where the ball was usually dropped, picturing how it might look. They were very fortunate to have such generous connections to fly them all the way out here and save them the time and gas that would otherwise have been consumed.

"So!" Orihime suddenly beamed, spinning back to Kamina. "Shall we explore the city? It seems like there are a million places to go and see."

[crimsonignition]

Kamina pressed the power switch to his cammera while taking a few steps back, making sure to get both hime and the gigantic sign behind her completely in the picture before taking the shot.

"New Years? Man that would be AWESOME!" Kamina exclaimed, clinching his fist while thinking back to the news footage they always showed of this exact area on said day. It was like one big party on the streets!, complete with music and people acting crazy, sounded like the perfect place to be for him!

"Yeah!" Kamina grinned excitedly, thrusting his finger towards the heavens in his usual manner. "Time to take NYC by storm!" By storm he meant just the two of them.

[leekspin]

Ack! She wasn't supposed to be in the shot! She blinked in wide-eyed surprise before the flash bulb went off, sending her into a momentary vision-spotted daze. What was she startled about again...? Oh well.

"I bet mardi gras is fun too," she chuckled, seeing as how he got so excited about a big crush of people partying their hearts out. His 'battle cry' stirred up the adventurer inside, and Orihime clasped her hands together with a firm nod. "Mm! Let's go find the Statue of Liberty!" It was around here somewhere, wasn't it? Had to be. She turned left, then right, then finally decided to go east. Maybe this way.

[crimsonignition]

"Statue of Liberty?" Kamina had to think for a moment before he could recall that particular statue. "Oh yeah! That huge statue that looks like it's gonna pierce through the heavens! Now that's what I call an awesome statue!"

Kamina decided to follow Orihime's lead in whichever direction she was headed, since it was her idea she had to have some idea on where it was right? And It was a huge statue, how could you not find it? "Alright then, to the statue!" he grinned. This would be quite an adventure, a couple of high school students walking through the unfamiliar streets of New York looking for a landmark they didn't know how to get to or how far it was. What harm could come from that?

[leekspin]

The way Orihime saw it, even if they never found their destination, they'd still have fun just seeing the city. And there was so much to see! Nonetheless, she'd make a viable effort to see the lady of liberty, especially now that she was sure how much Kamina liked it.

"I've got an idea!" Orihime snapped her fingers, taking a sharp turn to make a beeline for the subway stairs. "The subway will have maps, and cars that'll take us to Staten Island, right? That's all we have to do. And I've never been on a subway train before!" Clearly this was an awesome plan, and far less expensive than grabbing a taxi.

She waited for Kamina to catch up, then quickly jogged down the stairs to buy a ticket, marveling at the turnstiles and the throngs of people moving around. It would be easy to get separated, so she held to Kamina's shirt with her thumb and forefinger. "There," she pointed to a car as the doors open, the fluorescent lights guttering enough to show that there was plenty of room, even seats available. "That's the one we want. How lucky!"

[crimsonignition]

"Subway huh?" It had been a long time since he had ridden on one of those, maybe because everything was within walking distance or because buses were more easily accessible? But this was New York, the subway was probably a much easier mode of transportation to take given the hustle and bustle of the streets. Kamina was starting to wonder if it was even worth bringing his bike.

Kamina continued to follow Orihime as she purchased their tickets and proceeded to find an available car that wasn't jam packed, keeping close to make sure not to lose her in the crowd of people.

Something triggered in Kamina's gut as he spotted the car that Orihime had selected, sure it looked empty but something seemed...off. It was different from all the other cars =, mostly because it was covered in graffiti, but this was New York, it itself was covered in graffiti. Kamina shrugged off his concerns and proceeded to head to the open car. Whatever it was it couldn't have been that bad right?

[leekspin]

Orihime had no such concerns. Sure the few occupants that WERE here looked to be a little rough, but that was almost everyone in New York. She followed Kamina into the car, looking around and admiring the graffiti...at least, the parts that weren't cuss words or otherwise dirty. After appraising to her heart's content, Orihime took a seat, gripping the metal bar, just as the subway began to slide forward along the tracks. She liked this car, she seemed to be saying as she smiled up at Kamina. It had character!

[crimsonignition]

Normally Kamina would have taken the open seat next to Orihime, but upon seeing the group that was accompanying them at the other end of the car, he figured it would be best to stay somewhat alert. They all reminded him of the types he used to see around his old neighborhood, all of them covered in tattoos and wearing matching bandannas across their heads. Yeah, It was undoubtedly a gang.

"Yo Hime." he said with a tone of seriousness not taking his eyes off the group. "We're switchin trains at the next stop." After what Orihime had told him what happened to her a couple weeks ago, he wasn't about to try his luck by getting into a brawl with her around, at least if he had the option to avoid it. Plus the next stop couldn't be too far off.

It seemed as if Kamina's scowl towards them kept them at bay, he could tell by the look in their eyes that they would make some sort of move if given an opening. But that didn't stop them from making unsavory comments.

"Hey chic-e-dee, why dun you come sit over here with us! We'll treat ya reeal nice!" one of them said while gyrating his hips in an obviously sexual manner.

Kamina's face twisted a bit as he gritted his teeth preparing to retort when suddenly the car began to shake a bit before the squealing of it's brakes brought them grinding to a halt. "Well shit." he muttered to himself as the group of men stood from their seats. So much for avoiding a conflict.

[leekspin]

Orihime had known Kamina long enough to know when his voice got serious, there was something wrong. Her smile dropped as she blinked up at him, then peeked past him to see that the others on the train all had their eyes fixed on Kamina and Orihime. That wasn't a good sign. Everyone in New York /avoided/ eye contact, that was sort of a given law.

The comments cemented Orihime's concerns. Maybe a little humor might diffuse the situation?

"Ah ha ha ha, that's okay!" she responded, waving her hand. "I think I sat on some gum, I'm pretty much stuck here for a while." Yeah, that's the ticket. It was funny! To her, anyway.

She started to tense up when they all rose to their feet, and shot a quick glance at the door. If the subway was stopping, then the doors would open. She and Kamina could switch. Orihime pushed out of her seat, swinging past the metal bar to get as close to the door as possible so they could be clear the moment it opened.

[crimsonignition]

There was still a good distance between them, and from what Kamina could tell, there was five..no six of them? And they were all coming at a pretty steady pace. Orihime was already at the doors hoping that they would open, but if it wasn't some sort of emergency, they wouldn't open and even if it was, at this rate they'd be on top of them before they did.

"Hime..."he muttered keeping his eyes on the oncoming gang. "If those doors open I want ya ta haul ass outa here." he said before walking towards the gang to keep some distance between her and them. If anything he would at least be able to buy her time just in case the doors did open, or just lay them all out before they did. All he knew was that the only way they would get to her was over his dead body.

[leekspin]

Orihime looked at Kamina, then at the gang. She, too, was doing the math, and she didn't think she liked the results one bit. Kamina wasn't really going to try to fight them, was he? Not by himself!

...He was.

Orihime gave the doors a futile push, feeling a surge of worry starting to boil up in her stomach. Why weren't they opening? Why else would the train be stopped like this?

There was no time to flail at it, though, it wouldn't do any good. "H-hey! I can fight too!" she protested, quickening her steps to catch up to Kamina. At the very least she could cover his back. She /did/ know karate.

[crimsonignition]

Orihime...wasn't staying back? This really shouldn't have come to a surprise to Kamina, she was willing to have his back in even worse situations than this before. But he didn't plan on giving her the opportunity this time.

It looked like two of them wanted to go ahead and take the initiative as they both charged towards Kamina, fists ready to strike. The first one to get to him took a wide swing at his face which Kamina easily avoided, as if they were moving in slow motion. Countering the thug's swing, his hand smushed into his face slamming the back of his head into one of the metal poles.

The second one followed closely afterward in attempt to catch the blue haired youth off guard with another heavy swing to his face. Using the already knocked out man's face as a springboard, Kamina pushed himself back as the fist narrowly missed connecting to his jaw. Seeing an opening he caught himself and shifted his weight to get into a lower position before clinching his fist and smashing it into the man's stomach. He lurched over, having the wind knocked out of him shortly before shoved to the side, crashing into one of the nearby seats.

"Two down..." he said with a slightly sinister grin across his face. As much as he hated to admit it he was half enjoying this!

[leekspin]

Orihime was close behind Kamina, keeping a watchful eye on the others; more particularly, she was watching their hands for any signs of a drawn weapon. If it were just fists, then Kamina would be fine. He fought like a lion, and she had to admit, it was pretty amazing. He was like a hero from a comic book, trashing the bad guys to protect her.

She was also wary of those he felled, since there was no telling when one of them might get a second wind. Orihime kicked one in the head for good measure, just to make sure he was knocked out in case he wasn't already.

But being as they were in a subway car, it was too narrow for her to fight /beside/ Kamina. It meant that the others wouldn't have much of an advantage there as well, but just the same, it was frustrating. She wanted to help!

[crimsonignition]

The once confidant gang was now a bit shaken. two of their boys had just been taken out by one person after all, and without even receiving a scratch! Seeing that they knew Kamina meant business.

The four of reached into their pockets and with a small click each of them drew out a small blade. Four armed men against one unarmed teenager, normally under odds like this, intimidation would be most likely, but this was Kamina. He made no hesitation to continue his forward advance.

Once again two more came lunging towards him, this time, blades drawn with obvious intent to cut Kamina open like a Christmas turkey. Not being one to let them go at their own pace, Kamina lunged forward as well to the surprise of his attackers, causing the closest one to wildly slash at him. The first was completely off, but the second would have managed to gash at his face if he didn't manage to block it forearm to forearm. Pushing man's attacking arm back throwing him off balance, Kamina used his free hand to deliver a straight punch into his face, knocking now dazed thug into the other who was still trying to attack.

[leekspin]

Orihime's gung ho charge slackened, then ceased altogether when she saw just how capable Kamina was. She had no idea he could fight so well! Anyone that accused him of being all talk and no action would be scarfing down their words if they could see him now, fighting to protect her.

She tensed up with fear when she saw one of them pull a knife. "Ka--!" But he was on it. That was an excellent move, she never would have thought of countering a knife strike like that. She pulled her hands from her mouth and took a step back, mesmerized. He had everything under control, it seemed. There really was no reason for her to worry.

[crimsonignition]

((ooc : started new post below to avoid squishing!))