[OPEN] And we'll gooo...

[sutoro_bell]

Who: Momomiya Ichigo and OPEN
What: Ichigo needs some new clothes. She only has 100 monies. It's time for penny-pinching.
Where: On the way to/at What to Wear (whichever you choose)
When: Friday, late afternoon
Warnings: None as of yet.

Comments

On the way there, y/n? ( ﾟヮﾟ)--b

[masaderp]

It took Masada no small amount of courage (or inward fretting) to step outside entirely on his own. This place was all new, completely different from Tokyo. While he did like this place better than Tokyo for a multitude of reasons, the prospect of having to face so many new people was more than just a little scary. And since Masada had only ever had one true friend… Well, he was pretty afraid of horribly messing up the whole friendship thing. And the politeness thing. And all those other things (unwritten and unspoken rules in particular) that common sense and courtesy probably involved.

The cold didn’t bother him much. He was used to far worse, having spent weeks at a time with barely any heat during winter back in Tokyo. And back then, he hadn’t exactly been dressed to withstand the cold weather, either. If what Madotsuki said about not having to live like that anymore was true… Well, maybe he’d be able to afford a jacket one of these days. At least he hoped so.

So naturally, he’d been looking for a place where he could possibly pull off working at. And it was probably because of him getting lost in thought that he ended up bumping into something, or rather, someone.

" A-ah... I-I'm very... S-sorry. "

yyyyyy d=(ﾟ∀ﾟ )

[sutoro_bell]

Of course, Ichigo hadn't been paying attention either. She was so wrapped up in getting to What to Wear as soon as possible that she didn't notice the giant stick of black heading straight for her... until it was too late, of course. The sudden impact surprised Ichigo to the point where she was able to feel the familiar tug at her ears and tailbone, and so her hands instinctively removed themselves from her arms and flew up to cover her head.

Ichigo had almost apologized before the man had done so first; she had to stay silent so that she could properly hear the man. Jeez, this guy was quiet! For once, Ichigo thanked her wildcat DNA since it gave her enhanced senses, like hearing. Were she a normal girl, she probably wouldn't have heard him at all.

When Ichigo she managed to calm down a little (but not enough for the ears to completely go away, dammit) she immediately noticed two things: one, he was tall. Tall, as in "could probably rival Tokyo Tower" tall. The guy was easily a head, maybe two taller than her and it certainly made her feel a bit uncomfortable. Two, his eyes. Dear LORD they were freaky! Ichigo wasn't one of those "judge a book by it's cover" people but the lazy eye certainly made her feel about as uncomfortable as she did feeling tiny.

"N-no, I should be sorry! I-I wasn't paying attention to where I was going!"

(oﾟ▽ﾟ)o

[masaderp]

" Ah... "

He quivered, wincing slightly and wringing his hands as he backed away. It must have been a ridiculous sight, him being so obviously intimidated by some little girl. But Masada couldn't help it. He'd always been so nervous. Her being so uncomfortable didn't exactly help him calm down either. Ah... He... Didn't like causing people to feel so uncomfortable with his mere presence.

While the way she was covering her head with her hands did strike him as somewhat odd, Masada chose to not comment on it, but it was more because of shyness rather than actual tact.

" A-are you... All right? "

[sutoro_bell]

Well, it was quite obvious that while he was intimidating in size and appearance... that was all that he was. The guy was obviously really shy (even worse than when she first met Retasu, how is that possible) and probably really sorry for bumping into Ichigo. She actually started to feel bad when he backed away; she didn't mean for him to feel upset...

Well, there was obviously some fixing that needed to be done! If there was one thing that Ichigo didn't like when meeting someone new it was getting off on the wrong foot. So, after er ears and tail finally retreated, she straightened her pigtails inconspicuously (so that he wouldn't get too suspicious) and smiled sweetly at him, showing that she meant no harm.

"I'm fine, just a little surprised that's all. What about you, are you okay?"

[masaderp]

Mustering up as much courage as he could, Masada tried his best to return the smile. It was shaky, nervous and kind of weak, but it felt good to smile. He'd only ever done that together with Madotsuki during those years before his death and that... Kind of felt like it had been an eternity ago.

" Y-Yes. Just... Fine, th-thank you. "

He still seemed very shaky, but when had he ever seemed truly calm? Practically never. To him, being able to talk like this to someone else was quite an improvement. Reaching up to brush some hair behind his ear, he tried to think of something to say, something to help him keep the conversation going.

" S... S-Sorry, b-but, ah, wh-wh... "

Masada was having difficulty speaking here, stumbling over his words more and more.

" Wh-What... Are you d-doing? "

He managed at last, feeling quite satisfied with this display of courage. What a performance!

[sutoro_bell]

It was official-no, more than official: Ichigo thought that this guy was absolutely pathetically adorable. He reminded her of a lost, kicked puppy (her feline-half hissed at the analogy) that she wanted to take home and spoil rotten.

Ichigo's smile widened at his question. Maybe it was because he was stumbling with his words left and right, but she silently applauded his effort. Way to go, strange cross-eyed man! "I'm going to get some new clothes. It's getting pretty cold out and I definitely don't wanna wear this," she pats the skirt of her oh-so-obviously thin summer uniform, "when winter rolls around!"

She pats her skirt a little more (to make sure that her tail disappeared too, shh) and clasps her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels casually.

"What about you?"

[masaderp]

Oh, so she was worried about the cold as well. That made sense. Maybe she was thinking about buying a jacket too? It had been years since Masada last wore a school uniform, but the summer models were fairly thin if he remembered correctly. His hand came up to his face, the slightly pointy nail of a bony index finger scratching just above his lip to the left. The patting of her skirt earned no commentary or strange looks from him whatsoever. All-in-all, he probably looked endearingly oblivious to what had actually been going on.

Feeling suddenly overwhelmingly timid, Masada returned his hand to his pocket and let his hair fall to partially cover his face. There was only so much direct facing that he could pull off, after all.

" M-Me? "

Here he turned a slight shade of red. O-oh dear. She wanted to know something about him?

" ...E-exploring. "

Well, it was kind of true.

[sutoro_bell]

Ichigo felt relieved that he hadn't noticed her checking her backside; that meant that she was hiding her feline self pretty nicely around him. Or that he was totally oblivious. Either way was good for her.

"Exploring, nya~?"

She pouted a little when he looked away, but she would respect his privacy. Shy people needed special treatment during conversations, and she knew that well. Even so, she still leaned forward (not enough to make him feel awkward) and tilted her head very much like a curious cat.

"So you're new? I mean, you just got here or something?"

fffff. i'm sorry he's so unresponsive.

[masaderp]

He couldn't help but think that she was rather cat-like in both her way of speech and her general mannerisms. How nice... Masada liked cats. Cats were cute. He nodded in response to both her questions, black hair swaying slightly. Slowly, his good eye focused on her through his curtain of hair. It seemed that he was still a bit wary of her.

" C-c-correct. Just... G-got here. "

it's ok ichigo will fix that~

[sutoro_bell]

"Ahh, okay. I just got here a couple of weeks ago myself; I still don't know a lot of things about this place."

Ichigo giggled a little, twirling one of her pigtails. It felt nice to know that there was another new person here, even though she knew her way around a little better than he did. It made her feel less out of place. A small gust of wind reminded her that she shouldn't be standing around in a skirt and short sleeves. She looked at the man... she wanted to get a jacket ASAP, but she didn't want to part ways with him either. He was sweet.

"Hey, you wanna come with me to the store?"

it'll be tough, but maybe she can do it.

[masaderp]

" Ah... Err... I... "

Again, he stumbled over his words, shaking slightly until he wrung his hands and finally looked up with a very shaky smile. The long hair fell aside for wide eyes and red cheeks to be revealed, though there was a slight trace of disbelief on his face. R-really? She wanted him to...?

" I suppose... "

BY THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

[sutoro_bell]

"Great! It's this way."

Ichigo moved around him so that she was in from and offered her hand. Whether he took it or not was his decision. Ichigo assumed it was a nice gesture, since he was acting as though he didn't get invited to a lot of places.

"My name's Ichigo. What's yours?"

OH MAN THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

[masaderp]

There was a bit of hesitation before he decided to take the outstretched hand (though not without feeling quite flustered about it). But it was the polite thing to do, right? Refusing the kind gesture probably wouldn't have been very nice of him...

" Th-that's a very... N-Nice name. "

Ichigo. Bright and sweet as she was, right? Hahaha! Masada did quite like it when people were like their names. It made distinguishing them much, much easier.

" Just 'Masada' i-is good enough. Th-Thank you. "

[sutoro_bell]

Ichigo was shocked to know that Masada's name was so close to his, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she smiled as he took her hand. He really didn't have to, but his response showed that he was trying to be social. Ichigo found that to be very cute.

She moved to his side, guiding him in the direction that she was headed to before there impromptu meeting.

"So Masada-san, is there anyone here that you know? Any friends from your home or something?"

[masaderp]

His cheeks were rather red, making it very obvious that he wasn't used to being the center of attention (or anything similar). Still, Masada's shaky smile widened a little at her question. The answer to that was incredibly simple.

" I do h-have... A f-friend here. "

Three light notes of a laugh that while they held a trace of nervousness, signalized that his mood had improved considerably just rom being asked that question.

" A v-very dear friend. Wh-what about y-you? "

[sutoro_bell]

That was good... Not only was he not alone here, but he also had a very close friend with him too! It was nice to know that he had nice company, since that meant he wouldn't have to face the island alone. And by the way he spoke about his friend, he must care for them very much.

Ichigo's smile disappeared a little at his question. Well... she supposed he was technically a friend now, but...

"Sort of... there is someone I know here, but he wasn't exactly a 'friend' at first. At least he's different now but before..."

She paused a little, trying to word it right.

"...we, uhh... didn't exactly see eye to eye before I got here."

Translation: we were mortal enemies.