ROW ROW FIGHT DA etc etc etc [ locked to 40cal_chalk

[iamfacepalm]

'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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[iamfacepalm]

Kyon lifted his head a bit as he heard someone park outside - the glare from the sun made it hard to make out the customer's features, so he couldn't see who it was until she finally stepped into the store itself. And then he saw her features. Oh, did he see her features.

'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

[iamfacepalm]

He stops a step ahead of her, spinning around to gape for a second. "W-wait, you're... you're serious? You actually have no way of paying for this?" He pressed his hand against his forehead, shaking his head for a few seconds.

'I've heard of having no foresight, but this is something else entirely...!'

The gears turned in his head for a few moments, and he shook his head slightly. "Alright, that's... strange, but in this case it's a good thing the repairs will take a while. Maybe you can land a job somewhere for a couple weeks, make enough to pay for the maintenance."

[40cal_chalk]

"Well, no, not exactly. I do have some currency, but I have no idea if it'll be enough to pay for it entirely."

Yoko looks around, as if she felt someone was watching her. "...I'd like to avoid employment if possible. Around here, anyway."

[iamfacepalm]

'This is all a little fishy, isn't it? She has no job, she travels all the time, she doesn't want to have a job in the area... it's natural that I'm suspicious, isn't it?'

Kyon rubs his temples for a moment, sighing quietly. "If I asked why you don't want to work around here, would I get a straightforward answer?"

[40cal_chalk]

"If I told you that I didn't want to say, would you consider that a straightforward answer?"

She smirks and starts walking again.

[iamfacepalm]

'Remember that comforting feeling I was talking about before? It's fading fast. Very, very fast.'

He grimaced slightly as she passed him, wondering for a few seconds if he should turn back an tell his dad. This situation had trouble written all over it... but it was written all over a woman he would rather keep in eyesight. Sighing to himself, he continued to follow her, hands in his pockets.

"Then... what are you going to do?"

[40cal_chalk]

"I'll figure something out. If I don't, well, I'll be stuck here until I do."

She glances at Kyon. She'd have to be blind to miss his sudden uncomfort. "I'm not planning to walk away with a free repair job."

[iamfacepalm]

'I just met her today - I have no reason to trust her purely on her word, right? So why did I? It's not something I can explain - and no, before you say anything, my hormones had nothing to do with it.'

"Well," he observed, "I guess I have no reason to doubt that, anyway. There's plenty of time to figure something out." Shrugging, he continued, "Do you know anyone who'd loan you the money?"

[40cal_chalk]

There's a bit of a pregnant pause as Yoko thinks over how to respond to that question. She knew plenty. Any member of Dai-Gurren would jump at the chance to pay for it and ask for nothing in return...just as she would for any of them.

"I'm not...really fond of the idea of being indebted," she answers uncomfortably. "I'll make it on my own."

The young man has more than his fair share of probing questions, but she really can't blame him. Yoko's pretty new to this whole hiding-identity thing. She glances at Kyon for a second. He hasn't seemed to recognize her in the least, but it was still hard to gauge if he was the kind to do hero-worship or not.

[iamfacepalm]

He had no idea as to her true identity just yet - after all, the last place he would expect to find one of the heroes that defied the Spiral King was floating around his dad's shop. Mind you, he was plenty suspicious for other reasons - she wouldn't work, wouldn't borrow money, but would make the money somehow? What was her deal?

'I'm no ace detective, but I'm no idiot either. I can piece together a few things from the way she acts; most importantly, there's something or someone around here who she's trying to avoid. That's why she doesn't want to take any job around here, I assume. Whoever it is might also be someone she doesn't want to borrow money from... but that's as much as I can figure out.

Well, she's going to be around for a few weeks - maybe I can crack the case before then? I find myself surprisingly excited at the prospect of it; it's something new from the usual mundane day-to-day process, anyway.'"Well, I can't make any promises, but if you figure out a way I can help then I'll do what I can." Rubbing the back

[40cal_chalk]

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet; I'll have to spend some time thinking about it." A beat. "Is it much farther to the place you're taking me? I'd like to sit down somewhere in the shade for a moment if it is."

[iamfacepalm]

Kyon rolled his eyes thoughtfully for a moment, nodding once. "I'd say we're about halfway there, so I guess we'll rest for a bit. Not like we're on a time limit, anyway."

[40cal_chalk]

Banking on the idea that their goal may or may not be air-conditioned, she decides to take the break. Yoko admits herself under the shade of a building, planting herself down on the cooler concrete. She glances at Kyon somewhat expectantly.

[iamfacepalm]

Kyon spends only a few seconds blinking in silence at her before catching onto the silent invitation. Like he'd turn down the chance to sit at her side, anyway - she was suspicious as hell, still, but like that would be enough to turn him away.

People did say he had a strange taste in girls, though he'd deny that fervently.

Moving to the building, he slid down against the wall to seat himself at her side. "You need some water, or anything?"

[40cal_chalk]

She figured she was coming off that way. Trying to disconnect herself from who she really is was pretty new to her. But Kyon and his family are probably just another group of passing acquaintances--when the first impression is the only impression, does it really matter that much?

Yoko scans the area. "Where are you going to get water around here?"

[iamfacepalm]

Kyon glanced around as well. "I'm sure one of these places sell bottled water." He smiled a bit, leaning his head back against the wall with a sigh. "You know, I still remember back when we lived underground, drilling for water ended up being one of the most important activities in our village. Now we bottle the stuff up and throw it around like it's no big deal. The world's come pretty far, huh?"

'... did I just do a "back in my day" monologue? I'm fifty years too young for that sort of thing!'