Strawberry Short-hair (Seiya Hangout Thread) (RANK UP!)

[seiyayamada]

((Open RP, I welcome multiple threads! <3)) It had been a few days since... the incident. Seiya and her friends were able to save Miho, however, there'd been some emotional side effects. Well, and physical. Seated behind the Yamada Mart counter, it was her first day back in the saddle after the whole ordeal. Mr. Yamada had somehow had a miraculous moment of compassion and let his daughter stay home for about four days. Now that her little mini vacation was up, the girl was expected to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for a while. Still, despite the expectations put on her, Seiya couldn't help but feel down. Self-consciously tugging at her now stubby pony tail, the girl reflected on what she'd told Greg about her hair. How important it was to her, and how it was the one thing in her life that she could control. Oh well. Win some and lose some. Propping her feet up on the counter, she opened a magazine, deciding to lose herself in the lives of celebrities for a while.

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[seiyayamada]

The train squealed and they were off again, the scenery speeding by in a blur of colors and shapes. Seiya looked away from the window, feeling a tad bit nauseous. "If you really want to." She smiled, "But I'll pay for my own, don't worry about me, okay?" It seemed she wouldn't budge on at least covering her own portion.

[americandiplomacy]

Good enough! Maybe next time he could talk her into letting him pay for both. "Just feel bad when you pay for everything all the time. I've, uh... Got a job, and all that." Not that he'd been in a week! Miho's mother (his boss, that is) had offered 'special treatment', whatever that meant, and he'd... Politely declined, when calling in sick. "Heh, so who owns this place? Another old couple, or another kid? Maybe something else out of left field?"

[unexamined]

This wasn't part of Kota's usual meandering routes, but he'd chosen this street specifically because of that. Nobody who knew him would see him doing something wildly out of character: running. He was sweating, for goodness sakes! That never happened, even during baseball games! So people might ask questions, and though he had a 'training for baseball' excuse prepared and ready, he wanted to avoid lying if possible.

The real reason, of course, was the mirror world and the sudden realization that lives depended on them. The added fact that Dagr didn't have any attacks meant that Kota had to take up the slack. Not that he was planning on going nuts - he just didn't want to be a burden.

He stopped for a rest, leaning forward and bracing his hands just above his knees as he caught his breath. A nearby store caught his eye, and he entered without noticing the name, intending just to buy a bottle of water and keep going.

[seiyayamada]

Glossing over his comment, Seiya preferred not to address her strange money spending habits. The train slowed, and the doors opened once more. Seiya led Greg out, keeping their hands locked. Though a little sweaty for both parties, she found it rather enjoyable! "An alien." Attempting to keep a straight face, she headed down the sidewalk.

[americandiplomacy]

Greg wasn't about to let go of her hand either, so it looked like they were stuck that way! In a good way. Ish. Good-ish stuck. When she came out with the straight-faced silliness, he snorted just a bit. "An alien like... A foreigner, or an alien from outer space?" For all he knew, it was some Mexican guy. The boy snorted -again- at that thought. "This the part where we get lost, by the way? It, uh... Looks like it'd be easy."

[seiyayamada]

"Welcome to Yamada Mart." The voice that greeted him was less than enthusiastic. Seiya didn't bother looking up, figuring that if they were going to be robbed there wasn't much she could do about it anyway. Flipping the page of her magazine, she shook her head. Celebrities were insane. It was at least comforting to know that she wasn't the only one living on a rollercoaster.

[seiyayamada]

"From Jupiter. Outer space is racist, Guregori." Smiling, the duo would happen upon thousands of large buildings. Yes, this was the part where they got horribly lost. "Now, it's either on Hatsumori Road or Matsuhori Road." Wow, whoever named the streets wasn't exactly a traveler friendly guy.

[americandiplomacy]

"And how far apart are those?" Knowing his usual luck, they were miles and miles from one another. Hopefully not that bad, though! He /did/ want to reach that candy shop before sundown. "Know what, uh, best not to tell me."

The boy swung Seiya's arm just a tiny bit while they walked, and decided he'd go back to being mildly curious about their encounter on his sick day. "So did, uh... Has Miho-san got one of those personas, now? That's what happens, right?"

[seiyayamada]

"They're-- Oh, okay. I won't!" Giggling, she kept her lips shut as requested. When he swung their arms, Seiya grinned, feeling light as a feather. Was this what a date was like? Cheeks growing hot, she felt her mood dampen when he brought up Miho.

"Yeah." She ran her free fingertips through her bangs. "It was... I... it doesn't seem worth it. The fighting, all for a persona, I mean."

[americandiplomacy]

"Seemed like it wasn't a choice though, from the text I got, huh?" It wasn't hard to see that this wasn't her particular topic of choice, so Greg did his best to keep it brief. "What's done is done, uh, I guess. Hopefully it just won't happen again, yeah?" He had a pretty good feeling that wouldn't be the case, though. Also, sort of a... Hope that it wouldn't. It had been nagging at him, /especially/ over his little break, how much he really wanted one of these things.

But enough of that! Bad state of mind, a weirdly jealous one, and he wasn't going to let that overshadow a nice day. "Anyway, uh... Store been busy in my absence? Think I'm the only one who buys that cherry soda, sorry if I got you guys overstocking." Greg snickered at that thought. Just cartons of the cans sitting in the back, unclaimed.

[unexamined]

Kota froze at the familiar voice, his concern about meeting people overriding common sense for a moment. Then the sheer ridiculousness of it sunk in - really, of all the places in the world he had to pick the store Seiya worked at? - and he laughed as he grabbed that blessedly cold bottle of water. "Maybe if you say it again I'll believe it this time, senpai," he said, pulling out his wallet to pay as he made his way over to the counter.

[seiyayamada]

Seiya just stared straight ahead, the topic of personae almost throwing her into a little anxiety attack. She took steady breaths, allowing him to talk. It wouldn't be fair for her to ban it from conversation, seeing as it was a big part of their lives now. Well, mostly hers. She couldn't help but wonder if he thought about it a lot. It was selfish to think she was the only one with it weighing on her mind. "Hopefully." Nodding, she was thankful for his quick topic change.

"I didn't work much while you were gone." Seiya found her grip on his hand tightening, so she loosened it slightly. "But my dad said business is doing okay. That's what the sale is for." Mister Yamada had figured that with so much intake, they'd sell a lot in no time with a little booster sale. Unfortunately, it seemed that when his daughter took over there were little profits to be found. It was honestly a wonder he kept her hired. "I should've visited while you were sick. Duh!" Lightly bonking herself on the head, she apologetically smiled.

[seiyayamada]

Senpai? Peering up over the edge of the magazine, Seiya's eyebrows raised. "Kota-kun!" Setting the literature down, she leaned up in her seat with a little smile. She hadn't honestly expected to see him outside of school, much less at her family shop. "You're not getting me to say it again." Taking a sip from her own drink, she stretched a bit. "What brings you out here?"

[americandiplomacy]

"Probably would've gotten yourself sick, too. Not a great idea, so it's better you didn't. I watched a lot of game shows though, heh." Sadly, he'd only managed to find the program with eggplant man /once/ in that week. It was a pretty great half hour, though! "You guys don't have Ninja Warrior, by the way. We'll, uh... Have to watch online, sometime." He always felt weird huddling around a computer with a friend, though. Maybe Greg would get one of those cords that let you put your monitor on the TV screen. That'd work!

[seiyayamada]

She wouldn't have minded getting herself sick, really. Seiya could only assume that the TV got a little lonely after a while. But that was just her personal opinion. Turning on some crowded street, she looked around, taking in their surroundings. This sort of almost looked like the right way, at least. "We don't? Laaaaame." She scrunched up her nose and rolled her eyes. "We should definitely watch it, though. You can't just leave me hanging." Smirking, the girl took a sharp left. The shops along this particular street were food oriented, so they couldn't be too far off!

[unexamined]

"It's alright," Kota said. "I wouldn't really have believed you anyway."

"I was trying to avoid people I know," he answered her question, counting out exact change and offering it to Seiya. "Looks like I failed. Other than that, just running."

[americandiplomacy]

Whoop! Right, this girl turned on a dime. Greg nearly lost her hand, but thankfully it kept them connected and he caught up all right. "We'll watch it, don't worry. Make an evening out of it or something, sometime." This guy was already planning second dates! What a man. Not that these were dates. Or this bit. Just so we're clear. "Well, it smells nice here." Like Asian food, not a smell he disliked by any means. "Might have to stop somewhere on the way back for real food, heh."

[seiyayamada]

Desert before dinner, what a guy! Seiya could see the candy shop ahead, and she beamed from ear to ear. Success! "I'll bring soda and stuff, it'll be fun!" Kinda like a date. Was it a date? Seiya bit her lip, feeling a bit awkward as she debated asking. The girl assumed he'd make it clear if it was, but there was always that curious nagging... "Like a date?" Well, the words were out now, no use redacting them.

[seiyayamada]

Ringing him up, she deposited his money in the register before bagging his water. Sliding it over, Seiya raised a brow. "Wow, you really did. Way to accomplish the opposite!" Running, huh? She supposed that was rather normal, seeing as how both he and Ren were the athletic types. It was probably safe to assume they both did a lot of running. "Don't pass out on me, mmkay?"

[unexamined]

He held up a finger - hang on, excuse him - then twisted the cap off and drained half the bottle quickly. When done he let out a relieved sigh and put the bottle against the back of his neck to help him cool off.

Sometimes he had manners, but apparently not now.

"I'm good now. But I could pretend to, if you'd like. I bet you don't often get people coming in and collapsing on the floor." He gestured to the magazine on the counter. "It'd have to be more exciting than that, right?"

[americandiplomacy]

At least they were synchronized as thought processes went. Greg was in the middle of the same debate, and pretty nearly stumbled at the question. Rather than delay and probably make her feel awkward, he just blurted out a quick, "Yep! Guess so."

Noooohoho big deal. He was imploding inside his brain, but the exterior was aaall right. After a slow exhale, he was back to mostly normal. New topic! Quick, new topic. "That the shop right there? Been, uh, craving candy for the last few days."

[seiyayamada]

Well, you win some you lose som-- wait. Had he said it was? Seiya's heart began to pound and she flushed absolutely red. Looking quickly away, she tried desperately to latch onto something else, and thankfully he did that for her.

"Yes! That's it!" The shop was the exact opposite of any place she'd taken him before. Extremely commercialized, it even had a mascot outside! The dancing peppermint in a top hat passed the two some coupons. Awesome! Pushing the door open, Seiya finally let go of his hand, albeit a bit reluctantly. The shop was full of absolutely every candy imaginable, and a few bright displays. A monitor in the back played their jingle on loop, the peppermint man tapdancing across the screen. Cute!

[seiyayamada]

Politely, she waited for him to chug his water. Dang, Kota, save some for the fishes! Seiya rested her hands on her hips, shaking her head. "You'd be surprised. Yamada Mart is a known pass out kinda place. Kids from all over Japan come here to lay on our very clean floors." Laughing at herself, she shrugged. "Anything would be more entertaining than working here."

[americandiplomacy]

He was pretty red too, so they more or less entered the candy store while looking in completely opposite directions. Probably hilarious for the dancing mascot, huh? Fuck that guy for finding this awkward tension funny! Thankfully part of it went away when they got in, because holy /shit/ candy. "Uh... Wow. A lot... Bigger than I imagined." What did he even want? Greg had no idea. Time to get a little of everything, he supposed. Half the candy here he didn't even recognize! Well, more like 90% of it.

"I think I'm gonna need some recommendations, here." The boy stepped a little further in to get a better look around... It was like something out of that crappy Charlie and the blah blah little orange midgets movie.

[seiyayamada]

It truly was a sugar paradise. Seiya brought Greg to the roll of plastic bags, pulling one off and handing it to him. "Okay, so you can basically fill this thing with whatever your little american heart desires." Taking a bag for herself, she led him to the gummy looking candies. "Now, you have your basic gummy worms, hearts, cherries, bears, babies, dogs, cats, fish, body parts..." Pointing to the other case, Seiya nodded, "Then you get into sour and hot territory. There's also fruity, bitter, chalky, hard, chocolatey and much much more, dear Guregori." Seiya Wonka, Candy Expert.