Day 35: Main Street

[mrmewmaker]

Shiki was a little disappointed. When she heard the words 'field trip', she had expected the town to be a whole lot bigger. How could you even go shopping properly in a town like this? There needed to be a whole lot more stores, she decided. Two department stores, boutiques, and a record store, at least

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[kanpekinasenshi]

The shirt must have been thicker than it felt, because Seiya wasn't too cold despite the chill in the air. Stepping off the bus, she was surprised to get a set of coupons. That'd be helpful... as much fun as wandering aimlessly around what looked like a tiny stretch of town might be, it'd at least help if she had something to do. She wasn't really a big shopper, but there were other things on the list, and if nothing else, at least a burger joint was one of the coupons available. She could really go for a hamburger later, although for now she was still full enough from breakfast.

After a bit of exploring, Seiya found another girl around her own age wandering the same mostly-empty street, someone who looked a bit out of place... another patient, probably? There was no way of knowing without asking, after all. "Hello." She headed over casually, brushing the hair back from her forehead a bit. "You must be from Landel's too, right? Is this your first time in Doyleton?" Some company would be nice.

[mrmewmaker]

"Hi! Yeah, I am." Shiki smiled, and bowed politely in greeting. "I'm Shiki Misaki, it's nice to meet you. And yeah, it's my first time here. I only just woke up in Landel's yesterday."

Despite that last sentence making her a little sad, that bright smile didn't fade. Company was always a good thing, and company that seemed honestly friendly was that much better.

"Is this your first time here too?"

[kanpekinasenshi]

Seiya bowed back automatically. "I'm Seiya Kou. Nice to meet you."

She smiled in return at the other girl, pleased by the smile she'd gotten from her greeting. It was hard to find company here that was upbeat or at least trying for it, although maybe that was because the other girl hadn't been here long enough. As if you've been here so long? "I'm fairly new, too, I've only been at the Institute a few days. I have it on good authority that there's no gaming or karaoke parlors or anything like that around town, though."

That was more a personal grudge, Seiya had no way of knowing if those words would even mean anything to Shiki. "I guess we patients have to make our own fun."

[mrmewmaker]

That name sounded familiar - but no. She would have remembered a last name like that. "Nice to meet you too, Seiya-san!"

Shiki frowned again at the mention of there not being a whole lot of fun stuff to do. Honestly, why let them have a field trip at all if there was nothing to do? "Aww, that stinks! It would have been a lot of fun to go to an arcade or go sing karaoke for a while. And there's not even any really good places to go shopping here, either, or at least I haven't seen any. I'd kill for a decent department store. Oh, well. I guess you're right about needing to make some fun. Any ideas?"

[kanpekinasenshi]

It went without saying that there were no amusement parks or zoos, or any of the other places Seiya might have been inclined to take a date or at least a friend along for an afternoon out. And it was too early for a club even if this town had one, which she doubted. But Seiya was pleased that Shiki seemed to recognize the modern conveniences she'd described, at least; that meant they couldn't be from worlds that were too different.

"Well, a few, but just limiting myself to what'll keep the nurses from getting upset... we could try using up some of the coupons, get a massage or something." It didn't sound like a bad way to pass the time, but not really Seiya's ideal. "Or we can at least look for a store worth going into." They'd already passed a bookstore, although that wasn't really Seiya's line of hobbies. "There's got to be something worth looking at."

[mrmewmaker]

Shiki grinned. "Maybe the nurses will be a little less strict, since this is supposed to be a day out."

She took a look around the street. Oh, sure, she could definitely use a manicure, but that meant she couldn't really use her hands for the rest of the day without running the risk of chipping the polish.

"I miss Shibuya." The words were abrupt, she knew, but they had come out of her mouth before she had the chance to think. "I mean, there was shopping, and there was usually someone worth seeing playing at A-East, and if all else failed, it was kind of neat to just watch the scramble crossing for a while. It seemed like everyone in the world came through it when the lights changed..."

[kanpekinasenshi]

Seiya almost laughed when she heard Shiki start talking about Shibuya. Not just from similar worlds... sounded like Shiki was a fashionable young woman, at that. "Hey, I'm from Tokyo, too! Well, a Tokyo, anyway. Azabu district." Though the truth was that Roppongi's nightlife suited Seiya the best--the dancing and the foreign flare was more up her alley, especially since she was a foreigner herself in her own way--recently they'd all been spending their time right in Azabu-Juuban, at the center of the phage incidents and also...

... also where Sailor Moon lived, not to mention most of her friends, as it had turned out. This time the cheer from easy conversation with a cute girl wasn't quite enough to stop the reminder that something was wrong, that Usagi was missing. Something was wrong before you ever came here--Odango had no idea who you were. Even if it were another Usagi, the idea of any version of her being erased, or destroyed, while Seiya wasted her time wandering around aimlessly at night

[mrmewmaker]

"You can say that again! I love to dance. I'm not all that great at it most of the time, but I have a friend that is. She never could take no for an answer when I'd suggest sitting a song out." Shiki didn't let on, but she was relieved that her new friend hadn't commented on her moment of giving into emo urges.

Shiki's parents didn't really approve of going out clubbing, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. That had been the rationale Eri had used if Shiki ever needed convincing to go out. The name itself was a reminder - she hadn't actually asked Joshua how he'd known that. She decided not to let that worry get to her.

"I think trying to find a music store sounds pretty fun."

[kanpekinasenshi]

"The only important thing in dancing is relaxing, letting the music take over! As long as you do that, nothing else matters," Seiya philosophized. It didn't hurt that, as it had turned out, Usagi was a pretty awkward dancer herself. Not everybody was meant to be a professional. "Well, as long as you don't injure anybody you're dancing with, that is

[mrmewmaker]

Shiki laughed. "I may not be a great dancer, but I can't say I've ever hurt someone doing it."

She had to grin at that last statement. Oh, it was true that she liked pretty much everything, but she had to admit bias - she had a happy fangirl crush on a certain lead singer/guitarist. "Oh, I like pretty much anything - though I have to admit, I really like Def March. 777's so - gah, the way he sings and the cool outfits he wears! So cool..."

She was so lost in her momentary reverie that she didn't really hear the question right the first time. "Huh, why would - oh. Yeah. That makes sense!"

[kanpekinasenshi]

"So you already have a start as a dancer--you're ahead of some people, at least." Seiya grinned back at her, pleased. Though it was a little disappointing to hear her answer about music, someone Seiya had never heard of, a girl's reaction to a favorite pop idol wasn't exactly unfamiliar and seeing it directed at someone else was kind of fun in an odd way.

"Sounds like a pretty cool guy. We don't have that group where I'm from. It's too bad, I'd like to hear it. I'm guessing we won't find either of our favorites around town, though. I don't guess you've ever heard of the Three Lights? They have a really handsome guy as a lead singer, too."

She paused, glancing in at the electronics shop just to confirm it wasn't advertising anything she was interested in, then down the street some more. "I think I see a movie rental place. I'm getting the feeling we're not going to finish our quest for music with success, Shiki-san."

[mrmewmaker]

She smiled. "Awesome!" That band name, though - again, it sounded a little familiar, like she knew she should have heard of it, but she couldn't really place it. Shiki shook her head. "I'm afraid I haven't, though they sound like they'd be pretty cool. What do they sound like?"

"Aww, man. This town is so - what kind of place doesn't have a decent music store? I have half a mind to - to - well, I don't know what I'll do." It was positively criminal to let them go somewhere that didn't even have a decent selection of - well, anything. Not clothes, not music - were there even any other people her age that lived here? She'd seen several other teenagers, but she recognized their faces from the institute.

"I don't think these people know how to have fun. Do you?"

[kanpekinasenshi]

"Well, their most popular song's kind of a love ballad, but the other stuff has more of a beat behind it, sort of pop-techno." Seiya honestly didn't have too many delusions about the Three Lights. They were all talented enough as musicians and most of their 'extra' time was spent training that, but their music was generated specifically to spread as far as possible, not always what Seiya'd listen to on purpose at home. Which home?

Leaning against a brick wall, to glance around along with Shiki, Seiya had to agree. "Yeah, it feels like the fun is just drained from this place." There'd been a bookstore, sure, but even Taiki did things other than read. "I guess there are the parks, at least. I'm still not sure I'd stay sane if I lived here long, though." She smiled and winked. "Or they'd get annoyed with me and kick me out, one or the other

[mrmewmaker]

"Okay. It was good meeting you!" Shiki waved goodbye.

As she did, she felt her stomach growl. Oh, dear, she hadn't really eaten breakfast, had she?

Right. Lunch it was.

[kanpekinasenshi]

"Nice meeting you too, Shiki-san! Sometime we'll have to get together and talk about music again." Seiya winked and waved, then headed back down the direction she'd come from. She wasn't in any huge hurry to get there, but there was no telling if there might be a line or not, and she was hungry enough that she didn't want to wait too long.

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