infinite_reflection | In front of the Arcade...

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open rp

In front of the Arcade...

Ever since Miho introduced Greg to the arcade at the local mall, he's been there most weekdays after school for at least an hour or two... It ate a lot of money, sure, but it's money he would've spent on point cards for his phone at any rate.

At the moment he was just outside, though, sitting on a little bench near the entrance and fiddling with his phone for some reason or another. The boy was, as usual, paying no attention to his surroundings or anything but himself and the small piece of technology in his hands. The perpetual and unfortunately socially discouraging look of vague annoyance and great boredom was in place on his face, though he was completely free to approach for anyone not bothered by it!

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"Well, uh, that's good." After tearing off another large chunk of the pretzel, he nodded. "You might be fighting fit soon, and then uh... We can figure this whole thing out, right? Or... You and Ren-san can, or something." Without a persona he wasn't sure how much use (or even how much of a hindrance) he might be on the other side. "Though, if you've got, uh... Something like that, maybe you're not in any rush to go back over there." The 'I gotta explore' bug had gone and hit Greg, which was unfortunate with the lack of any means to defend himself.

He shrugged that topic away, figuring she wouldn't want to speak much on it, and got back to things in the real world. "Did you miss a lot? In, uh, the hospital I mean. Sounds like it'd be a lot to catch up on..."

"All four of us. You and Miho-chan have seen the other side too, you know. And having people on this side is just as important." Seiya licked her lips, the cinnamon on her pretzel going a bit rogue.

"Yeah, I have a lot of work to keep up with if I want to graduate." sighing, she leaned her head on his shoulder. A defeated Seiya knew even less about personal space. "Miho-chan might help me study, though."

"Mmmm." Yeah, he sounded more than disappointed about being one of those people 'on this side', but Greg could probably handle it for a while longer. "Yeah, uh, school's always just been a lot of work to me. It's worse here... We don't do as much in America, heh." Given that Seiya had already locked their arms and all of that, he was prepared and didn't seem to care about her leaning on him. It didn't hinder eating, at any rate, and that's all he was doing at the moment. "Miho-san is, uh... Pretty smart. Really diligent, too, I think that's more important in school."

This mall was always so damned full! Greg idly watched people pass as they ate, would've been looking at his phone if he had a free hand, and took note of all the damned people (and a lot of students). "Oh, we also don't have school on Saturday in America. Even if it's only a half-day, that's pretty lame, here."

Seiya agreed with him wholeheartedly. Miho was the patron saint of hard work and dedication. She really admired that. "I wish I was more like her, sometimes." In more ways than just diligence, though she wouldn't admit it to him.

"Wait, no school on Saturday?" The concept seemed insane! "What did... what did you do?"

"Uhh... Stayed home, usually. It's sorta like... People didn't hang out after school as much. You do all that on the weekends, there's less clubs and less people in them, so... I mean, I wasn't in any. Most of them are just sports, anyways." Right, he's still not in a club here, either. Greg had been meaning to look into those, sort of vaguely. "It's what I'm used to, heh, that's probably why I usually go straight home. Or did, uh, until I found the arcade."

"That sounds depressing." Seiya was a bit blunt, though she supposed her situation was much different than his. "Being alone, that is. Then again, if you're used to it... ugh I'm babbling." Pouting slightly, she decided to drop it, finishing her pretzel.

"Any stores you want to look at before we head to our next destination?"

Greg took note of the odd wording, though if he assumed correctly he was in a very similar situation. "Uh, it is easier if you're used to it, yeah." He shrugged and popped the last bit of his pretzel into his mouth, then took a look around the promenade... Nothing looked particularly inviting, and he was curious about the book store regardless. "As far as stores... Nnnah, I don't think so. The book place next, right?"

Sitting up, she released his arm as she stood. Stretching her limbs, Seiya looked around. "Ah, yep! This way!" Offering her arm to him, much like in the movies she'd watched, she waited for him to hopefully latch on again. "It's just down this little strip here."

No surprise when he moved a little slower, taking his time to get up and foregoing the stretching to instead stare blankly at the invitation for arm-locking. That apparently wasn't enough to make Seiya retract the offer, though, so he resigned to looping his own arm through hers (but not without a begrudging little sigh, he couldn't look willing). "What kind of bookstore is it?" There had only been the bigger chains with all sorts of books in his neighborhood in NYC, so Greg had never really been to any specialty bookstore. If this wasn't one, well, he figured he'd have to find one later and see just what it was like.

Yeah, fine, Japan was okay. Everything within reach with public transportation, anyways.

Her mood brightened significantly when he linked their arms. It was like christmas! Seiya lead the way, cheeks flushed. Okay, maybe she wanted to hold his arm for a little more than keeping them together, whatever. "It's a little mom and pop shop." She smiled, dodging large stalls with colorful candies. "So it has a little bit of everything, I guess!"

That added another reason to come back here... Maybe he'd spend a day checking out comic shops instead of at the arcade, or something. There was a surprising amount to do here, a lot more than he had back home. ... Maybe he'd get something sweet, too, given all the nice stalls they were passing. "Huh. I gotta explore the rest of this mall, sooner or later." The necessity of holding hands or something similar appeared again with a larger crowd of what looked like students, and they made it through without splitting up because of it. "Jeez. I don't, uh... Do too well with crowds, sometimes. Miho-san said she's like that, too."

"Don't worry, I got ya." She flashed a reassuring glance as they broke free from the pack. There, in a more secluded area, was the book shop. The sign was handpainted, and the old couple inside seemed inviting.

Seiya opened the door, releasing his arm so he could go inside. "Hardly anyone ever comes here, so don't worry!"

Well, this was a bit of a stark contrast to the rest of the mall. It felt like the one quiet corner of an otherwise busy street... Which where he came from meant it was where the unsavory types hung out, but that probably wasn't true here. The people inside looked old, and unless they were packing guns under the counter (an amusing thought) Greg was pretty sure he was safe. He stepped in first, both hands returning to his pockets now that they were free, and gave the couple inside a small nod. "Uh, good afternoon."

"Oh hello there Seiya-chan." The older woman spoke first, smiling politely at the duo. "Who might this be?"

"This is G-kun. He's my adventure buddy today." Seiya headed for the light novel shelf, peering at the titles with an intent stare. Girl was on a mission."

"It's a pleasure to meet one of Seiya-chan's little friends." This time the old man piped up, also grinning.

'Adventure buddy' fit the description well enough. Greg nodded with a vague smile at the old man, apparently he had respect for his elders, and then headed toward their history section... It looked small, but it was all he really liked to read aside from novels about fantasy and dragons and the like. "Uh, yeah. It's nice to meet you, too. I go to the Eizou Academy as well, but I'm only a second year, so..." The boy picked up a book on the feudal era, absently flipping through it.

"Seiya-chan always liked them young." The man mused, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the boy.

"Okaaaaay that's enough talking about that." Seiya stopped the topic from spreading into higher levels of uncomfortable. Plucking two books from the shelf she began to compare them.

Changing the topic didn't stop a snort from coming out of Greg, and he had to resist the urge to just laugh for Seiya's sake. He attempted to disguise it with a clear of his throat afterward, and then flipped a few pages quickly. "So, uh... A lot of smaller stores here, huh? There's the big chains, but I see a lot of family stores and restaurants." That'd work for an evasion of the topic at hand, right?!

"Ahhh good eye, young man." The woman began stocking a few sparse shelves, taking her time to give each book a nice home. "We've been here for 40 years."

"About as long as Yamada Mart, eh Sei-chan?" The man patted Seiya's head, filling up a little bowl of hard candy.

"It's hardly been that long." Seiya eyed Greg. That almost sounded like laughter... either way, she plopped 4 books on the counter, paying for them. "What kind of shops do you like, G-kun?"

Greg replaced the book where he found it (not doing so would probably earn a mark on his record; these two seemed to care about books) and then returned to Seiya's side while she paid. "Family stores tend to last a long time, so uh... It's not really surprising."

Hmmmm. What kind of stores did he like? Gregory didn't really like shopping in general, but that sounded like a sort of annoying thing to go and say... "I go to convenience stores the most often, uh, heh. Yours, lately, so... Otherwise I like game stores, but I usually go with a thing in mind to buy. I don't really browse." Window shopping was definitely not a thing he partook in.

"Good answer!" The man laughed, ringing up Seiya's purchase. He slid the books into a little paper bag, sealing it with a sticker fashioned to resemble their logo. "Have a good day you two."

"[Thank you!]" Seiya tucked her new bag under her arm, holding the door open for Greg. "Where to next? Your pick!" It seemed she'd just make up adventure rules as they went.

He figured he was earning some kind of brownie points or something, right? There wouldn't be any use for them, but earning peoples' approval was never a bad thing. Greg followed his adventure buddy to the store's exit and turned around to say goodbye when she did first! In English, no less, so he figured he'd do the same. "[Yeah..! Thanks.]"

Now they were back out into the busy mall, though still in a quieter corner of it. That meant he at least had time to think, since it seemed the responsibility of keeping this trip fresh was now on his shoulders. "Uhh, hmm... I need a new bookbag for school. Mine's got a hole in it. Do you know a place?"

Seiya beamed at his use of English. It was so smooth! SWOOOON. Deciding it was best to go a bit more compact, she slid her bag of books into the previous bag she'd been carrying.

"Bookbag? I know a place!" With that, she was off, forgetting to link up with him again.

Greg hunched slightly now that he could keep his hands in his pockets, posture was not a thing he was concerned with, and stepped after Seiya when she started moving. "Those two seemed nice. Keeping a shop open for 40 years is, uh... Quite an accomplishment, huh?" The two thankfully hadn't hit any large seas of people yet, and that meant he wasn't too worried about holding on. If they did, though, he'd probably grab onto her in some form or fashion.

Seiya navigated the area with expertise, glancing over her shoulder to speak to him. "Yeah! They're like my grandparents in a way." She dove into a sea of people headfirst, aiming for a little sporty store at the end of the hall.

Welp! She was definitely headed for a large crowd, and Greg picked up the pace to catch up. His hand landed on Seiya's shoulder just before they were both surrounded by people, and it stayed there while they navigated through. This one seemed longer, the mall was probably getting more populated as time went, though he let go when they were through. "It gets really crowded here, jeez..." He'd been bumped into a few times; it'd probably be pretty damn easy to get trampled on accident.

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