infinite_reflection

The kids playing ball stopped at the sound of Seiya's crash landing, running over to watch. "Are you okay, Onee-san!?"

Seiya just laughed from deep within, neither embarrassed or hurt. Just tickled. Grabbing Greg's hand, she allowed him to yank her out of the rather disgusting liquid. Hoisting her leg over the ledge, she finally stopped laughing, just watching him with a look of 'well, what can ya do?' "I true soldier will go down for their country, Guregori."

Shaking out his slightly grimy hand, Greg shook his head and put on a faint little grin at her, uh... 'Determination', go with that. "Uh huh. You've done your service, uh... I don't think you want a bunch of horrible unknown infections to show for it, though. Do you live near here? Probably need, like... A shower, and new clothes, uh... And all that." Hey, maybe they'd both get to see each others' houses today. Unless she went home alone, and that'd be totally okay! ... Or, he'd end up a little disappointed, admittedly. The boy was curious, was that a crime?

When he grinned, she couldn't help but flash one right back at him. Wiping the sludge off of her cheek, Seiya saluted him. "[God Bless America.] Lowering her hand, she tried wringing out her hair to no avail. Going home and changing sounded like a good plan!

"Good idea. Wanna come?" she bluntly offered to bring him along, seeing as he'd shown her his home.

Yeah, he looked a little grossed out when it came to wringing her hair out... Seiya didn't look all that sanitary at the moment, and he hoped her house was close. Was it weird, hoping for an invitation when she'd have to take a shower and-- Oh, apparently not, because there it was. "Oh, uh, sure. Why not? Make it even, and all that." Greg quickly adjusted his clothing, making sure there was no grime on any of it... Looked clean, so that was good! "Should I expect American flags? Heh."

Heading for the sidewalk, she took sloshy footsteps. Luckily for them, her house wasn't too far from the park. "Tons!" One couldn't tell if she was still joking or completely serious. As they walked along, the scenery changed from nicer buildings to more traditional homes, until Seiya turned on the little walk to one on the end of an intersection. Upon closer inspection, the lights were off, indicating no one was home. Fishing her keys out from her all but dry pocket, Seiya unlocked the door with a little shake.

The house was older, that much was clear. It seemed that the girl didn't bring people around often. That, and it wasn't too lived in. A front window was patched with cardboard and tape, and of course a story was attached to that. Taking her shoes off outside, she turned to Greg. "My dad's not here, so don't worry." That sounded... off. "About getting in trouble, I mean."

Hmmm. Well, he'd go in expecting the wall to have American flag wallpaper, at least then he could end up playfully underwhelmed. That or scared, if it was true! Greg walked at Seiya's side while they headed toward her house, though admittedly a little further away than he would have if she wasn't grimy at the moment. Things got a little more, er, 'classical' as they walked. It wasn't a bad thing, the boy could certainly appreciate houses that stood the test of time, though he was disappointed that he couldn't get a sneak peek into the house before they actually entered given the patched up window. A little surprising that Seiya was willing to pay for everything, not that he'd vocalize that thought.

"Huh? Uh, oh... I did that too, heh, I understand." Now they were even on the weird-implications front as well, so there was that! Greg slipped out of his shoes with a nod and followed her in, hands in his pockets. "No flag outside, I'm disappointed. Tch!"

"Wait, really?" She glanced at him with wide eyes before slightly pouting. That tease! Flicking the lights on, the interior seemed rather average. A clean hallway lined with pictures branched to a living area, kitchen, and three other doors. It would be safe to assume those were the bathroom and bedrooms. Each picture frame held pretty generic scenery, and those that did include the Yamadas were missing one family member: Seiya. Turning on more lights as she went, Seiya gestured to the living room. "You can sit here while I get cleaned up, if you want! I'll give you the rest of the tour when I look less like a slime monster."

Smiling, she skipped off towards the bathroom, sliding the door shut behind her. The room she'd left Greg to chill in housed a little dining table, a small couch and a modest television. All in all, her home was pretty typical.

Definitely more of a classical house and less of a compact little apartment than Greg's place, here. It certainly looked homely enough, and the boy rubbed the back of his neck while he got his first look around. Hmmm. Had Seiya judged him based on his stuff? Not that he was judging, here! Just scoping things out, all right? Nothing he'd ever mention to her, anyways. The pictures were interesting, if only for what they lacked-- "Huhm? Oh, yeah. Uh, maybe do an extra sweep with the soap and shampoo, huh? Heh." Grime like that had a tendency to stick; he really didn't envy the poor girl right then.

Being alone (more or less) in someone else's house was always weird, at least to Greg, so he took a few aimless steps around before just... Sitting himself down on the couch with a quiet sigh. This'd do, he figured. Out came the phone, which had been remarkably absent today. That meant he had a few e-mails to check, so it'd take up the time! Hopefully.

"Will do!" she called from the bathroom, starting the water. Stepping into the shower, Seiya began to wash off the layer of God knows what.

Fourty-five minutes later, she emerged clean and dressed in fresh clothes, toweling off her hair. Approaching Greg, she frowned apologetically. "Sorry that took so long. I'm sure staring at my walls was an infinite spring of fun." Frown twisting to a smile, she turned back towards the hallway. "Now I get to show you the rest of the house!" Providing he followed her, they'd come up on the three doors Greg'd previously seen. One was half open, showing bathroom tile and a mirror covered with a cloth. The other was blocked by laundry baskets full of folded men's clothing. And finally, the door to what could only be Seiya's room.

"So, are you excited? It's like peering into the unknown when you first see a friends room."

"Oh, no big deal." Greg looked vaguely concentrated on the screen, and she'd hear a twang followed by something like an explosion coming from his phone's little speaker. "Bah. They make this crap too hard." A button on the side dimmed the screen to black and then he stood up, taking a look at Seiya before nodding in approval. "You look, uh... Fresher than before, to say the least. Here's hoping you don't come down with something." He followed her first with his eyes, at least until the girl hit the hallway, and then promptly realized that he was meant to follow. "Oh! Uh, coming."

There was the bathroom, obvious from what was inside... The blocked door would likely be her father's room, then. No womens' clothing to be seen in that laundry basket, which meant either her mother didn't fold specifically that or her mother wasn't -there- to do that task. Greg wasn't about to ask, that was rude as hell in any culture, so he directed his attention to the only closed door that likely mattered. "Well, uh, I hardly think my little cave was that exciting. I'm expecting red, white and blue everywhere, though." He snorted, one hand on his hip.

Seiya chuckled, sliding the door to her room open. The inside was a bit more spacious than his room. It was to be expected, of course, seeing as she didn't live in an apartment. There wasn't red white and blue everywhere, per-say, but there definitely was some! An american flag pillow sat on her bed, which was also the home to several cute plushes. The wall adjacent to it held posters for various bands, and of course, a vintage uncle sam poster.

Her room also included a desk, computer and television. Various game systems sat atop the TV, the PS2 still on. Seiya gestured to her room as a whole with a smile, "It's not exactly what you were expecting, I'm sure."

A small table by the door held her american flag bag, as well as a few pictures of her and Miho, most likely from Miho's entrance ceremony. Stepping into Seiya's room had an odd air about it, as if the duo had entered a completely different house.

A lot more normal than he'd expected, to be perfectly honest! The few pieces of patriotic paraphernalia were obvious, but the rest looked... Well, like a normal teenager's room, more or less. Now that he thought about it, Greg wasn't quite sure what he had been expecting, but it most definitely wasn't this. It was a good kind of surprise, though, and he nodded slowly while taking his first look around the place. "Pretty cool. A lot like mine, just uh... More room, really." And more decoration, but he'd be fixing that likely this weekend.

Finding a place to sit was always weird for him, so Greg decided to instead stand near the door and keep on looking this way and that. There was plenty to take in, so that worked out well. "No pets, huh? I heard they're less, uh... Common over here, anyway."

Seiya wandered to her bed, flopping on the edge before grabbing a hair brush from the nearby vanity. Combing out the tangles in her hair, she watched him with an amused grin. It WAS awkward, finding a place to sit in someone else's space.

"No, no pets. My dad's allergic to everything that breathes." She struggled with a particularly stubborn strand of hair. "Did you have any back home?"

Well, he'd just... Nrrrf. Greg shifted a little awkwardly, then just went for it. Whatever! The boy took a seat beside Seiya on the bed with a slight sigh of relief, and now that that was over he could loosen up a little bit. "Oh, uh, well that stinks. I've never had any, but I want a cat... Maybe I'll talk to dad about it. I think our apartment, uh... Allows them..." He scratched at his chin, trying to think on that for a moment. "Maybe. I'll ask at the front desk, I guess."

"Anyway, uh, you have a cool room. Cute little stuffed animals and stuff, too..." He twisted his body to look at the few of them behind him. Greg had a few in those still-packed boxes, actually; he was sort of glad that Seiya didn't get to see those. It was embarrassing for a guy, all right?

She seemed pleased that he felt comfortable enough to sit next to her! Joining in the turn glance, she smiled, "Thanks~ I think a cat would be a good idea." Nodding, she set the brush down before going into the tedious task of tying all that hair back.

Without a mirror, this proved difficult, yet she managed. It seemed all mirrors in the house had been covered by various sheets. Seiya took no chances when it came to the mirror world.

"Ever thought about a haircut? Looks like that's a little hard to manage." Greg's hair was the longest it had been in a while, actually, and he used to sport it a lot shorter... Just got lazy, for the most part, and hadn't visited a barber before they came here. He wasn't really fluent enough to convey exactly what he'd want all the way over the ocean, either, so for now it would have to grow out. "Mine used to be, uh... Really short, actually. Probably look weird to you, since you've already seen me like this."

"Nope, never." She shrugged, as if it really didn't matter. It would take too long to go into detail, and probably scare him away, had she chosen to go on about why. Basically, it boiled down to control. Tons of things changed with little input from Seiya, but the one constant in her life seemed to be her hair. She did, however, flash him a silly look when he mentioned his being a lot shorter. "How weird! I like it how it is." Seiya nodded matter-of-factly.

Greg shrugged; he really didn't care how his hair was to be perfectly honest. It wasn't a thing he had to look at often... No one had mentioned that they preferred it -short-, and now there was one in support of its current look, so he couldn't argue with the technical majority. "I'll keep it then, uh.. I guess." She'd answered really quickly in regards to her own hair, but some people were confident with one look and he had no problem with that! Now, back to her room...

"I didn't realize you, uh... Played video games, here." Maybe she'd mentioned it? He'd feel dumb if Seiya had before. She seemed competent enough in the arcade, so maybe he should've just assumed. Then again, it didn't seem like she was home a lot at all! There was a whole lot to consider and he really should just stop reading into all of this.

Comfortably returning to her seat, she hugged her american flag pillow. God bless. At the mention of video games, she smiled. "Yeah! All night." One could say she was studying up so they'd have more to talk about! She wouldn't really bring that up though. "That's what I was doing when that--" she gestured to the patched up window, "--happened. Lucky I wasn't hit in the head!"

Greg glanced at the not-so-much-a window. He'd seen it on the way in, though asking then seemed like it'd be weird. Now was an ample opportunity though, so he looked at it for a moment and then reached up to scratch idly at his cheek. "What happened there? Kids playing baseball or, uh, or something?" It must get drafty in here, now that he thought about it. Brrr.

"Yes, actually!" She got up, grabbing a roll of tape to seal up some of the edges that'd come loose. Seiya didn't know the first thing about replacing a window, and it seemed her dad wasn't really relevant enough to take charge. "Kota-kun from school did it, actually. So I invited him in and we played some games."

"Wouldn't really call that punishment for breaking a window, but uh..." Greg shrugged, watching her tape that thing back up and rubbing at his chin in the meantime. If he knew the first thing about fixing a window, he'd probably offer her help with it. As it stood though, the boy knew absolutely nothing and would probably hurt one or both of them if he volunteered! "Don't think I know anyone named Kota. I guess I haven't been here long, though."

Seiya set the tape down, smoothing the edges around the window. A few towels were scattered below it, probably for when it rained. "I forget what year he's in..." She grabbed another piece of cardboard, the words 'Yamada Mart' stamped on it, adding another layer to her makeshift window. "Also, it was an accident, so." Kota was just lucky her dad hadn't been home! "Eventually I'll just pay someone to fix it, I think."

The boy nodded with that suggestion... Sounded like the best route; if any kind of rainstorm came by she'd probably end up with half of her room all wet. "That'll probably be best, uh, yeah." He shrugged and then leaned back a bit on one of his hands. It was still weird sitting on Seiya's bed, let alone being in her room at all, but Greg was trying to get used to it. He hadn't had real friends in a while, okay? "Either way, it's a neat room. Probably what mine would look like if I had, uh... More space, really."

Finishing up, she skipped back to his side, flopping down. "Probably!" she agreed, falling back to stare up at the ceiling. Kicking her feet out idly, Seiya thought for a moment. "I definitely need to help you decorate, mmhm." Way to invite yourself over.

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