ROW ROW FIGHT DA etc etc etc [ locked to 40cal_chalk
'One might say that my life was fairly ordinary, or at least as ordinary as someone's life can be considered in this world. There was once an incredible war of giant robots and drills, but that has nothing to do with me - hell, I was just a kid living underground when that all went down, I was barely aware of any of it to begin with. I just
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'Now don't get me wrong - I see a pretty woman now and then, around the city. That's just a simple fact of life. But I can safely say, beyond all shadow of a doubt, that this was the first time I was struck literally speechless by someone's looks. The face, a knockout! The body, unhindered by an abundance of clothing... dynamite! I won't call it love at first sight, because I'm fairly sure what I felt was far darker than love.'
He blinked once, twice, before realizing that she'd spoken to him. "O-oh! Uh, yeah. One sec." He turned in his seat, calling into the next room. "Hey, dad! Customer!" It was less than thirty seconds before the older man stepped out - it seemed most of Kyon's looks came straight from him, though the mechanic had a full beard and hair that was starting to gray in places. Tugging off a pair of work gloves, he beamed at Yoko with a nod of his head.
"Yo! What can I help you with?"
Kyon glanced at the woman again. 'I wouldn't mind helping her with anything.'
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She steps outside and gestures to her gunbee. "It runs alright, but only in a straight line. It won't turn, even if I turn the steering column. Could you take a look at it for me?"
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He rested his cheek in his hand as he watches her lead his father outside - good thing his mom was busy, this kind of girl might make her get jealous. He continued to watch as his father went through the process of bringing the gunbee inside the workshop with Yoko in tow. Yes, his mom would be jealous beyond belief. Hopefully she'd be making lunch a little longer.
It apparently didn't take long, though, for Kyon's father to diagnose the problem. Hands on his hips, the mechanic shook his head with a whistle. "You don't see this sort of thing happen much - it's got nothing to do with maintenance, I can tell you take damn good care of it. There's a part right down in there--" he motioned her to look at a specific series of connected tubes and wires, "--that can sometimes deteriorate over time regardless of how new or shiny the vehicle is. Good news is, I can fix it."
Shrugging a shoulder, he added, "Bad news is, you've got some waiting ahead of you. I'll have to have the part custom-made - the installation itself will only take a few hours, but that part's going to take a few weeks to be made just right. I could get you a mass-produced alternative, but they're garbage - you'd be grounded again in a month, and probably end up with more internal damage."
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She glances out of the closest window. "It's not too terrible, though. Looks like there have been a lot of new developments in the city since I was last here, I'd might as well take this downtime to check them out.
"The only problem is trying to find some place to stay while I'm here..." She looks out of another window, where she could see the tower of the old fallen capital turned office building. She could very easily ask Dai-Gurren if anyone would be willing to house her...but they'd all act like it was some kind of triumphant return of hers, and Rossiu would be on her heels trying to get her eyeball deep in paperwork...
She brushes off the idea as quickly as she thought of it.
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He was about to start figuring out who to order the part from when that last sentence stuck for a second. Kyon did go out pretty often, didn't he? What if... well, it wasn't something he was obligated to offer, but his business thrived on customer service.
"How about this? My son could show you around a bit, help you get familiar with the newer parts of town. I'm sure he's seen a place that you can stay at in his travels, at some point."
Out in the entrance room, Kyon sneezed.
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Without any delay, Yoko walks back to the store front and back up to the desk. "It sounds like I'll be staying here for a while. Your old man back there said you knew this place pretty well, so...would you mind showing me around?" She gives him a smile.
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At the desk, Kyon blinked out of his daze as he heard Yoko approaching. He was almost sent promptly back into a daze when he heard what his assignment was, courtesy of his old man.
'Thank you, dad! I'll never forget this!'
He nodded slowly at first, but snapped out of it with a quick laugh (no it was not nervous, shut up). "Y-yeah, I go around the city a lot. I can show you where things are, sure!" He tried not to sound too eager, hopping the counter before hesitantly offering his hand. "Ah, I'm Kyon. Good to meet you, Miss...?"
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"The pleasure's all mine, Kyon. My name is Yo--" She chokes, mid-name. The last thing she needed today was to be treated like a celebrity. "--ma...ko! Heh...yeah. Yomako."
Yoko was never that great of an actress. Even worse at improv. This will never work, she thinks to herself. "While we're out, I need to find a place to stay while I'm here. Know of any place that would work?"
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"Miss Yomako, then. I know a few places, I pass them pretty often." His father actually did business with one of the hotel's owners, with Kyon often acting as the runner between the two since both men often found themselves too busy to leave their workplace. He didn't get paid any extra for doing it, but he had the time so why not? Besides, the hotel manager liked him... maybe he could pull a favor and get Yomako a room for a discounted rate?
'What would I get out of that, exactly? It's not like she'd just fall madly in love with me because I saved her a few bucks. But still, what harm ever came out of doing a favor for a gorgeous woman? On second thought, don't answer that.'
He headed for the door, holding it open for her patiently. "It's a bit of a hike, though."
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She gives Kyon a confident slap on the back as they stand outside, her neck bent over to the side as if she were trying to get as much sunlight as possible. She pauses for a second, waiting for him to take the lead.
"So how do you like life on the surface, Kyon?"
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'That's kind of an unusual thing to ask, isn't it? It's not like we just got here - we've been here for years, now. Then again, from the way she's reacting to the sun, maybe she just appreciates it a bit more than most.'
"Once the sun stopped hurting my eyes, it definitely turned out to be a turn for the better." he remarked, recalling how he'd recoiled the first time he stepped into the brightness of the outside world. "It did everyone a lot of good, I think - my parents were never so energetic before we moved up here. Now they can't do enough to keep themselves busy." He glanced sidewards at her, arching a brow. "What about you? I get the feeling you're the type who must have hated being stuck down below."
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She omits the part where she'd actually seen the surface for much longer than most people had, tucked away in the makeshift safehold of Ritona as she and the rest of the village stood their ground against the beastmen. Other than that, though, she was telling the truth.
"That's why I'm disappointed it's going to take so long to fix my gunbee. I'm going to get restless sitting around here..." Sort of. The idea of sitting around wasn't what was bothering her, but rather the idea of being too close to..."home".
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Shrugging once, he continued, "I guess that doesn't really help, though. Stuck is stuck. Maybe we can find something for you to occupy yourself with around here, while we're out anyway."
'If I was of the delusional sort, I'd be under the impression that this was a date of some sort - the young gentleman escorting a fair damsel, or something like that. Fortunately, I'm a bit more grounded in reality than that, so my hopes aren't too high.'
Raising his eyes to the sky, he stretched his back for a few seconds before continuing. "So, what do you do anyway? For a living, I mean."
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"I'll find something." Kyon's companionship was entertainment enough so far, after all--he wasn't trying to steal lecherous glances, or obviously trying not to. Yoko didn't really care either way, but it was benefiting his first impression on her.
"I wander," she says idly. "I don't really have a living right now. I wake up in the morning, pick a direction, and drive until I get tired. I help out anyone I come across, but other than that...it's just me and the open desert."
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It wasn't hard to sneak a peek here and there, to be honest - nothing was exactly hidden from view, so even a passing glance whenever he looked her way to speak was enough. He definitely wasn't stupid enough to stare, though; the results could be catastrophic.
At her explanation, he smiled a bit before his expression turned skeptical. "Ah, Yomako, I do have to wonder... if that's all you do, where is the money for these repairs coming from, exactly?"
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"I...actually hadn't considered that..."
After running on a systems of favors and charisma, she'd forgotten entirely about the new economy.
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