infinite_reflection

Today was, for all intents and purposes, a lazy day. Greg ran his errands in the morning, and now he was heading to a quick stop at Yamada Mart before going home and probably playing video games all day. There was nothing that could stop him, either! Well, unless Seiya was working, or something. But then she'd be busy anyway, so he could get out of that pretty easy. And she'd never visit the store when she wasn't on duty, right, because she hated it! He had this aaall figured out. It wasn't like disliked the girl or anything, just..! She had an eagerness and energy about her. The kind that was infectious and had the danger of spreading to him, somehow. Like a diseeaase. A really positive and horrible disease.

With that in mind he approached the store, staring at his phone as usual, with the hand not presently holding that busy carrying a large bag from a clothing store at the mall.

"G-kuuun!" A halfhearted greeting echoed from the bench beside Yamada Mart. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see him; a lot just happened to be clouding her thoughts.

Swinging her legs off the seat meant for two, Seiya patted the wood. Knowing Greg wouldn't be able to see past his phone, she spoke up. "Come take a load off." Patiently, she waited for him to either reluctantly sit or take off in the opposite direction.

That was a familiar voice, and he actually glanced up from the phone's screen just to confirm its source. Seiya hated work! Odd to find her here and not in uniform... Very odd, actually. Still, there she was and she'd gone and called his name. "Uh, gomen... n-- [No, wait]. Good afternoon, Seiya-san." It was noon... Ish. Close enough. "What're you doing at work? Uh, and not working." The boy took the seat he'd been offered and then tucked the phone away, surprise surprise.

Of course, it wasn't as much of a surprise when all he did was blankly stare forward instead of at the screen. Apparently he'd be joining her in the people-watching during this conversation.

A little smile spread across her lips when he chose to sit. "Thinking." Resting her chin in her palms, Seiya's gaze joined his. As people went about their business, it almost felt like time was frozen on their little bench.

Glancing at Greg, she scrunched up her nose in thought. "We're friends, right?"

How could he say something to the tune of 'that's unlike you' without sounding like a dick? Seiya seemed like a smart enough girl, school problems aside, but she didn't seem the introspective and thoughtful type. Greg chose not to offer his opinion, just for safety's sake, then leaned back in the bench while she asked her question. It got the girl an odd look, and he nodded a bit before speaking up. "Yeah, uh, of course. We 'hang out', and all that."

Having friends to actually go places and hang out with was a fairly new concept for the boy since he'd arrived in Japan, though he wouldn't admit just how much he did honestly enjoy it. That didn't matter! It wasn't something anyone would be able to detect anyway, so hah.

His response caused her eyes to brighten a bit. "Okay! So we're friends, yeah? Then you should call me Seiya-chan." Obviously this wasn't what was bothering her. It would seem she'd chickened out on continuing her train of thought.

Leaning back into the bench, she sighed. It wouldn't be any good to drag him into her pit of worries, so she decided to ask more questions. Nudging his arm, Seiya watched a couple pass by, quarreling. "What's in the bag?"

She wasn't terribly difficult to read, and it was obvious that the upperclassman was hiding something... Hmmm. Maybe he'd ask her about it, in a minute or two. "Oh. Uh, Seiya-chan? Sure, I can do that. Does that make me... Uh, G-chan? Or is G-kun already a friendly nickname..." The former actually sounded really girly to him, so he silently hoped that she'd stick with the norm. Then again, wasn't -kun for kids? He really needed to start learning this crap faster, ugh.

Greg stopped worrying about that with the mention of his bag, though, and then pulled it up onto his lap so that she could see inside. "This is just clothes. Japan, uh... You guys have some pretty neat fashion... And stuff." It looked like his usual, just at a glance, though probably made for someone a little older than sixteen... And with a nice job, or something. Well, well, wasn't he mature?

"G-chan?" Seiya tested the waters, rolling the words around in her head. No, too girly. "We'll stick with G-kun. Or just Gureg!" Her accent was thick, but the poor girl was trying.

Peeking into his bag as he opened it, Seiya grinned. "Woooow [businessman!] I bet they look great on you." Holding up both of her thumbs, she nodded.

He snorted at the butchered name, shaking his head and being quietly happy that she'd planned to stick with 'G-kun'. "I like to look, uh... Huhm. I don't know the Japanese word. [Snazzy]?" Something told him she wouldn't know what it meant, but oh well. In any case, Greg had the sense that this could only get awkward when Seiya clearly had something on her mind... Hmm. Well! He'd be a good friend and ask, at least, right?

"What're you, uhh..." So, it was easier in his head. He wasn't exactly sure how someone generally asked this kind of thing. The boy blinked several times, awkwardly quiet, and then shook his head with a look of some determination. "What's wrong? You, uh, you seem 'off'." There, he did it! Christ, conversation was nerve-wracking sometimes.

"[Snazzy...]" She repeated it carefully, the word actually sounding more like a sneeze. As Greg tried to push their conversation in another direction, her brow furrowed.

Seiya shuffled her feet, keeping her gaze locked on the tips of her shoes. She hadn't really expected him to ask. Fiddling with the edge of the bench, Seiya sighed. "I feel really helpless." Biting her lip, she pondered how to continue. "With all of... this." Gesturing to nothingness, she huffed. God, explaining was frustrating! "The mirror stuff."

"Helpless?" An eyebrow raised and he leaned forward to get a look at her face, "You're the one here who, uh... Who seems like they can do the most about it, heh. Maybe not alone, though... So I see what you mean." It might've been cruel, but he hadn't pictured Seiya as much of a deep thinker! She seemed for the most part carefree, so it came as something of a surprise that she was actually worried about something in the first place. Greg quietly scolded himself for thinking that couldn't happen.

The boy lifted a hand to rub at his chin, apparently thinking. "Have you been back, uh... Since the whole thing with Ren-san?" Not that she'd have any reason to... Then again, if he had one of those Personas he'd probably go inside the mirror almost every night. That was likely just him, though... Whether it was his curiosity or inability to take this whole situation seriously.

"Me?" Knowing that he thought she was the most powerful caused her to bury her face in her hands. Attempting to maintain composure she mentally scolded herself. He'd just agreed to be her friend! Now she'd send him running.

"I don't know. Arthur said it's supposed to be really straightforward, but just thinking about going back makes me want to curl up in a ball."

Arthur? Greg didn't know an Arthur... That was not a Japanese name, either, obviously. "Who? I, uh... Only know of one other American guy here. Simon, you're the one who told him about me." That wasn't too important, though, more important was the fact that she seemed scared of the mirror world! The boy wasn't sure how to say it without sounding too stern and making her feel worse, but he figured he'd try. "Is it, uh... About the mirror place, that is, does it scare you or what? You could probably have Ren-san back you up, uh... Like, the buddy system and all that. Do you guys have that here?"

"Arthur's..." Seiya shook her head, giving up on explaining the whole velvet room thing to him. Fighting demons in your bathroom mirror seemed crazy enough for one lifetime. "If I am some kind of leader, I'll be responsible..." Trailing off, she pouted a bit. It was hard to imagine, let alone say. "... when people die."

It was hard to imagine anyone dying if they had something like a Persona to protect them. What he'd seen of them was frankly amazing, so Greg's answer sounded fairly confident. "No one's gonna die. It's, uh... Even if someone does, no one will blame you. Or I won't, heh, anyways." The boy was pretty sure that neither Miho nor Ren would, either, although he didn't know the latter entirely well. Still! "Uh, either way! It's just not gonna happen, Seiya-chan."

A weak smile tugged at her cheeks. Maybe he was right! She was just one person, after all. "If you say so." Greg had seen Hlin in action, and Americans never lie!

Seiya nudged his arm appreciatively. "Thanks, Gureeeeeeeegoriiiiii~" Sitting up, it seemed as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. At least a bit, anyway!

Looked like he'd helped, in some small way. That was nice to know, and Greg leaned back while she seemed to sit up straighter. "Heh, uh, of course." It was really difficult not to grin at just how stupid she sounded when she tried to say his name, but the boy's neutral and flat expression proved far too practiced to give for something like that. Still, it looked for a moment like he was going to crack something like a smile. "But... Anyway, are you working? Or just... Hanging out here? I thought you, uh... Didn't like this place." Or maybe he was making assumptions, whoops...

What was that? A smile? The small signs faded as quickly as they'd come, so Seiya decided it was probably just wishful thinking. Shrugging at his question, she checked the time on her phone. "My dad wanted me to wait for a shipment to arrive, but they're late. So I'm not technically working." As for disliking Yamada Mart? Well, he wasn't far off the mark. "I don't. Maybe I'm too obedient for my own good! Oh, you're probably here for the usual, huh?"

"Oh late? Uh, that's lame." Greg shifted in his seat, leaning more to the side now, and then nodded in regards to the question. "Yeah, that's why I came here anyway. I was gonna head home afterward, uh... Unless you're not busy, or something." A bit of hanging out sounded like it'd be good for Seiya at the moment, at least to get her mind off of that worry. "Y'know, and if there's anything you even wanna do around here. Uh, yeah." Grrr. He wasn't very good at this, sometimes.

Perking up, Seiya looked at him in disbelief. Whoah, he wanted to spend time with her? Awesome! Arthur had lectured her on the importance of bonds, and Greg was a pretty cool guy, so of course her answer was: "Yes! We should go to the arcade!!" That was something he enjoyed, and last time was certainly a blast! "Or get ice cream!" Quickly, she dove into the store, making up a sign for the late delivery guy.

Seiya was certainly eager, huh? The boy watched her downright fly into the store, blinking in surprise, and by the time she'd plastered the sign up and returned he was standing and apparently ready to go. "Ice cream sounds nice. Uh, both sound nice, but can we stop by my apartment first? I don't wanna..." Greg wiggled one of his arms, the one with his shopping bag hanging off of it. "Carry this around all day, or anything. It's not too far from here, either." Had he mentioned that before..? No, probably not... Oh well, now she knew.

Wow! The chance to see a real american's home! Seiya nodded, locking up the shop with a keyring that was home to over 50 keys. What exactly did this girl have access to? "Sounds good to me! I didn't know you lived so close." Turning to him, she slid her keys into her bag, nodding as if to say she was ready. "I shoulda guessed, though. It'd be kinda weird if you lived really far out but still shopped here."

Unfortunately for Seiya, he still had a Japanese apartment! Granted, it had a few western touches thanks to its residents... Hopefully she wouldn't be too disappointed at the lack of American flags everywhere. "Yeah, uh, it would." He liked this store, though, so Greg probably still would have even if it was a trip. The boy was not the type to dwell on these things though, so as soon as she seemed ready he turned around and got to walking.

'Not too far' was a relative term, it took about fifteen minutes and if Seiya kept her eyes open she would've realized Yamada Mart wasn't exactly on a direct path from school to his house. So hey, maybe he was going there just 'cuz! The apartments looked pretty normal out front, a rather faceless building and prrrobably not the richest in town either. Greg stopped in front of the apartment complex's door, not quite sure how to... Ask... This. "Did you wanna, uhm..." Was it rude or weird for her to just waltz on in to his place? "Like, come up? I don't think my dad's home."

Wait. No, wait, that's not what he meant. "Uh, fff-- That is, he's kind of annoying!"

As they walked along, Seiya began to realize that her friend's definition of nearby was definitely different than hers. Watching the back of his head as she followed him, she shook her head. He must really love her dad's shop.

Taking in the view of his apartment building, Seiya was awfully giddy. "This is so cool!" Calm down, Seiya, it's not even that different on the outside. Once Greg invited her inside, adding that his dad wasn't home, her cheeks went pink. "U-Uh... I-If it's no trouble! I mean, I'd say yes even if he was!"

Even Greg's cheeks were a light shade of pink after that foul-up, and he had to turn away in the hopes she wouldn't see. Anyway! "We'll see if he is, huh? Come, uh, come on." He opened the door, letting Seiya in first, then led her to the elevator and they were off! The ride was a little awkward, if only because he was still mortified, and they went up ten floors before the thing finally dinged and its doors slid open. The boy led her down a hallway to the left, and then they stopped in front of the door marked '1001'. Neat apartment number, in Greg's opinion!

His keyring had a measly 3 keys on it, nothing compared to Seiya's gargantuan stash, but that probably made it easier to find the one he needed. In a second or two he had the door open, and Greg stepped in first this time. "[Hey, dad! Are you home?]" ... Silence. Looked like no, then. He turned back to Seiya and shrugged. "Just let me put this stuff in my room real quick..." With that he scurried off into one of the apparent three rooms in the apartment... That left her in the entrance-slash-big-room-with-a-TV.

"My room's a little, uh, a little messy!" If she poked her head in the door, she'd find it a little dishevelled. Pretty small, too, though it had what looked like all of the essentials. The video gaming consoles under the TV were surprisingly dusty and looked untouched, with how much of a gamer Greg seemed to be. On his bed were a few open textbooks, and the screensaver on his laptop looked like a... Dancing pig, of some sort. Huhm.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject