<@Ardweden> [Date: Tuesday Afternoon, May 18, 2004.] <@Ardweden> [Two days ago, Satoshi and Kaede met up with Kyon and Katie at their apartment to discuss The World and other related things (one of which was the ritual Satoshi went through recently). Yesterday evening, Katie went to Kyon for help picking out a clinic for something Kyon hadn't even considered before, and he promised her his full support. Today, he is going to meet with Kyoko Ozora, a high school dropout who was a part of his group before he met any of those other guys. He asked her how she was doing the last time he saw her, and they agreed to catch up somewhere that wasn't a party.] <@Ardweden> [That and some texting tag resulted in finding a slice of time in both of their schedules, after Kyon's Tuesday classes ended and when Kyoko can take a break during her second job. It's for this reason he's approaching a warehouse that looks... big? Not especially inviting? It says Karuizawa Dry Goods in large letters on the side, and the street's not especially busy. If Kyoko's directions are correct, this is the place.] <@Ardweden> [It's a warm, humid afternoon, with darkening clouds - the forecast said there will be rain later today.] <@Ardweden> [Start!] * Kyon is wearing a plain blue baseball cap, sunglasses, a simple dark grey polo shirt, and dark blue jeans, hands jammed in his pockets as he slows in front of the door to the warehouse. He glances around, and then takes out his phone to text. "Hey. I'm here. You coming out, or do I come in?" <@Ardweden> [Kyoko doesn't respond right away! A few minutes tick by. What do you do, Kyon?] me waits for a response for a couple of minutes, and then heads into the building. * Kyon waits for a response for a couple of minutes, and then heads into the building. <@Ardweden> [Kyon uses the obvious human (not truck) sized entrance. He enters a pretty bare room, though there's a reception desk with a computer and... nobody manning it, at least right now. The company's name and logo are printed above. There's a bell for assistance, though!] <@Ardweden> [Right about then, his phone buzzes.] * Kyon looks at his phone after looking around the space a bit. <@Ardweden> [He sees a couple of exits, both glass and into what's obviously warehouse proper, but they seem to need a key to scan through. His phone has a message from Kyoko: 'sry! omw'] * Kyon tucks the phone back into his pocket, and goes to lean against the wall in the interim. <@Ardweden> [Shortly after, a Kyoko in a light blue-gray solid one-piece boilersuit comes walking briskly through the sliding glass doors to Kyon's left. She pauses upon seeing that he's already in reception, then relaxes when she glances at the reception desk. "Hi," she says. "Sorry I'm kind of late, but we had a mix up with an order and I was asked to help straighten it out. I should be able to take my break now."] * Kyon nods back to her quickly, pushing off the wall and frowning. "That's business." He cocks his head towards the door. "You have somewhere you wanted to go?" <@Ardweden> [Kyoko glances out the window, then sighs. "Let's just go to the break room. I can make sure people don't bother us." She waves for him to come with her.] * Kyon cocks his head. "There food in there for us?" <@Ardweden> ["Um, yeah. There's tea and some snacks, and we've got a vending machine with sandwiches and stuff. You can grab something before I pop a field."] * Kyon nods back to her, and then makes to follow her, then. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko leads Kyon back the way she came, then! They navigate the warehouse; Kyon can see aisles of shelves, all stacked with what looks like various dried goods on pellets: rice, beans, crackers, etc. There's some laughter and discussion further into the warehouse, all male voices, but Kyoko's keeping them at the edge and he can't really make out what they're saying.] * Kyon looks around with some interest, just taking in the surroundings. Other people's business setups are interesting. But he focuses more on following her. No reason to really talk yet. [Along the way, they do cross paths with occasional workers, wearing a similar boilersuit, who tend to react to her passing with a small bow of acknowledgment.] * Kyon does a little walking nod bow if anyone offers one to him, but no reason to do more than that. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods back at them and keeps on her way!] * Kyon does too, then! [Kyon is certainly an unfamiliar face, but it seems the workers they meet are mostly managing not to stare too nosily at him. Mostly.] <@Ardweden> [Eventually, she leads him down a short hallway that suddenly appears, with bathrooms for men and women, some lockers, and also a door she opens to what must be the break room. It's devoid of other people; there's a counter and cabinetry, upon which is tea and coffee that's being kept warm in carafes along with disposable cups, athin striped cardboard box containing a couple dozen individual packages of peanuts and spicy crackers, and some chips. A fridge is also present, and a microwave, as well as a vending machine with the promised sandwiches and other instant meals across the way.] <@Ardweden> [It's a big enough room that there's a couple of round, plastic-and-metal tables with folding chairs, and a loud, ticking clock hangs over head. The room's the same color as the other walls: gray.] * Kyon looks around. It looks like a normal enough break room. He heads over to the vending machines so he can scope out what he can get. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko smiles with relief. "Good, nobody else is on break. I thought so, but." She shrugs. She heads over to the fridge to get what's probably her lunch.] <@Ardweden> [Kyon finds the standard fare! Soup, sandwiches, snacks, some bottled drinks. Behind him, Kyoko's popping something in the microwave.] * Kyon will get a korokke sandwich, a green tea, and a can of miso soup, then! That sounds like a solid lunch. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko pulls her container from the microwave and glances over. "Do you need to use this?" she asks.] * Kyon shakes his head. "Nah. Miso's hot in the can, everything's good." He settles in at one of the tables. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko shuts the microwave, then, and grabs her chopsticks before sitting at the same table! She takes a moment, closing her eyes, and lets out a breath before opening them again. "Field's up," she says. Sure enough, the ticking clock stopped.] * Kyon exhales in exchange, and nods quickly, opening up the soup can to start off with. "Good. Glad we could make this work." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods, looking down at her dish. "So, um." She pokes at her noodles.] * Kyon nods back curtly, sipping the soup. Leaving her time to talk first. <@Ardweden> ["You know that Haruko and Kaede and the other guy... I think his name is Yamada? Wataru? I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to be on a first or last name basis with them, but... you know that they've been trying to help heal Reiji somehow, and we got sent to the World Reversed?" Kyoko looks up at Kyon.] <@Ardweden> ["By which I mean, my brother sent us there."] * Kyon nods curtly. "Yeah, I heard. Haruko told me. And I'd say last name's fine." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods back. "Okay." She nabs some noodles. "Winston told us that to fix Reiji's mind, we've got to repair the Pentacle, you know? And... I'm not sure the others are that into the idea. I'm not even sure that's what *Reiji* wants. Winston doesn't seem to think so, that asshole. He sent him after it in the first place." She puts the noodles in her mouth.] * Kyon scowls deeply. "He did? Your brother never told me. Not that it was easy after. I knew he got it. Just figured he heard about it and went for it on his own." <@Ardweden> ["Yeah," Kyoko says, bitterly. "Figures he didn't. And it's not like he *didn't* go after it by himself. Winston just told him to. Which..." She stabs at her noodles, then works to actually get some with her chopsticks. "And now he's telling us that Reiji knew. Like he somehow *knew* what it would do to him."] * Kyon furrows his brow, and opens the tea bottle. "Doesn't sound likely." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko shrugs. She eats more noodles.] He's not a reckless guy. He wouldn't just charge in and take the damage without working on a better way. <@Ardweden> ["Hard to ask him now," she mutters. "When I try, he goes inward or throws a fit."] * Kyon blows out a breath. "Might not be the most important part. What makes you think he doesn't want to get better?" <@Ardweden> ["We were talking about it, and he said that maybe we shouldn't and that 'he would explain' or something. And then he sent us to the World Reversed. Probably meant Winston."] * Kyon sips his tea, thinkings. "Might be he doesn't want us to if the cost is repairing the Pentacle?" <@Ardweden> ["Maybe." Kyoko's eyes are on her lunch. "He said that Reiji changed the Pentacle somehow. Took its power and gave it his own, or something. So fixing him means fixing the Pentacle and reversing that somehow. And doing that means that Pentacles will reincarnate again." She pushes her noodles around.] * Kyon twists his lips to the side. "And he wouldn't want that," he says, half a question, half a statement. <@Ardweden> [She shrugs again.] * Kyon sets his tea down, and takes a swig from the soup, before saying, "How would he even do that?" <@Ardweden> ["What, fix the Pentacle?"] No, swap his powers. How is that even a thing? Never heard of anything like that. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko shrugs. "Winston said that he could? He said it was some sort of transfer. I don't really know anything else."] * Kyon frowns again, thinking, and then says, "I'll follow up on that later. So let's say we wanted to fix the Pentacle anyway. What'd go into that?" <@Ardweden> ["I don't really know. Find all the pieces and put them together... somehow...? Winston said it's within our power, anyway."] * Kyon nods, more slowly than usually, and picks open the package with the sandwich. "So that's another thing to look into. What the cost is. Even if it's in our power doesn't mean we can actually do it." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko looks like she just tasted something sour, but she says, "Yeah."] * Kyon looks at her for a beat, and then leans over towards her. "You know I want to get him back the way he was. We'll run this down." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko turns her attention up, meeting Kyon's eyes. She takes a breath - it shakes a little - and then just nods.] * Kyon nods back more firmly. "We've got more info. We've got more resources. And we'll get there." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods again. She blinks and quickly turns away, wiping at her eyes, but it's obvious she's starting to cry.] * Kyon sips his soup now, and spreads his hand out on the table in front of her, splaying the fingers wide, but not reaching closer to her. "I miss him too," he says, voice low. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko shakes her head and tries to say something, but she's too choked up. She stands, instead, going for the napkin dispenser.] * Kyon lets her go, and takes a big bite out of the sandwich. He makes a bit of a face, but it's not so bad after a sec. <@Ardweden> [It kinda grows on you. Kyoko takes a little while, blowing her nose, wiping her eyes, and washing up in the sink.] * Kyon isn't about to chase her when he can finish his soup in a can. <@Ardweden> [She's in the same room, anyway! Eventually Kyoko composes herself and goes to finish her lunch.] * Kyon does watch her as he finishes up his soup and half a sandwich, but there's no rushing. It's her lunch break and her feelings. <@Ardweden> ["Anyway," she says, softly, finishing her lunch. "I just wanted to... I don't know. I don't care if it means fixing the Pentacle, or whatever. He's messed up, and it's not fair."] Yeah. It's really not. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko looks at Kyon. She sighs. "So, um... what's new with you?"] * Kyon shifts in his seat, leaning back. "You hear about the elections?" <@Ardweden> [She makes a face. "Kind of...? Kinsha said something about it to Winston."] * Kyon nods. "Katie and I are both running. We figure if someone's trying to put it back together, we should have our say. Particularly since it seems like someone doesn't want us there." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko frowns, then nods. "Can anyone vote?" she asks.] * Kyon nods quickly. "Anyone registered on Shuffle." <@Ardweden> [She nods. "Okay. Uh, I might need a link or something if you want me to vote. And a computer, if I can't do it from the library."] <@Ardweden> ["Just let me know who to vote for."] * Kyon nods quickly. "We can talk about it. I'll make sure Takeuchi sets you up if you need it." [The break room door opens, and a young man in his late teens or early 20s walks in. He has loosely stylish dark hair and the top couple of buttons of his boilersuit are open, revealing a tight black tank top and a leather cord necklace. "Yo, Ozora-san, sorry to bother you, but have you seen the manifest for the Tanizaki shipm--" He glances up to her, then to Kyon, and the colour drains from his face. His hand tightens on the door handle, and his mouth hangs agape for a few heartbeats before he manages, in a strangled tone: "....*Souichirou*?"] <@Ardweden> [Kyoko whips her attention to the door at the voice, her own mouth dropping open in surprise.] * Kyon blanches at that, his hand clenching on the table, and glares at the man in exchange, before flatly saying, "Nope." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko jumps to her feet. "Kira-san!"] ["....fuck," he says, and hesitates for just a second before turning and dashing out of the room with unnatural speed.] <@Ardweden> [A spear is in Kyoko's hand, and she's running after him.] * Kyon clatters his chair back, and scowls as he starts running as well, trying not to give anyone too much of a headstart here. "Again," he mutters. [The guy - Kira, Kyoko called him? - is fast, but not fast enough to be that far ahead. He's making a beeline for the main exit of the warehouse.] <@Ardweden> [Kyoko's running after him, following the same path. She's pretty fast, too, and she has a lead on Kyon, but Kira's outpacing her bit by bit.] <@Ardweden> [Kyon: What do you do?] * Kyon blows out a breath, and then calls out, "Hold up," flexing his hand as he runs. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko glances back.] [Kira is most definitely not holding up. He is running like the hounds of hell are behind him. He's only a dozen or so meters from the door, now.] <@Ardweden> ["Damnit," Kyoko says, and pours on the speed, trying to catch up.] * Kyon narrows his eyes, and then slows enough to aim, before rearing back, going into a fast pitch motion, and tossing a ball of flame past the running guy towards the exit of the warehouse, before calling out, "That's a warning." <@Ardweden> [The baseball-sized fire globe whizzes past Kira and lands a few feet in front of him, splashing outward.] [Kira staggers back, very effectively startled and frightened. He freezes and looks around quickly, then tries to peel off towards the right, into the stacks of dry goods.] <@Ardweden> [That's long enough for Kyoko to gain a good amount of ground on him; she wheels around into the same aisle, yelling, "Kira-san, stop!"] * Kyon runs along in behind her, having lost some ground to throw the warning shot. [As Kyon turns the corner, he sees what seems to be a dead end between the boxes. There's a ladder at the end of it, though, that leads up to the second-level walkway, which Kira might have been aiming for, but with Kyoko leveraging a spear at him, he seems to have thought better of it. Instead, he has grabbed a mop, sending its empty bucket clattering on the cement floor. With a determined kick, he snaps off the mop head, and faces off against Kyoko wooden staff in hand. His eyes flit to Kyon when he enters view, then back to Kyoko, then back again, like a cornered animal.] <@Ardweden> [Kyoko, for her part, is breathing heavily and holding her spear in both hands. She's advanced to the point where a lunge on her part will absolutely put her within striking range of Kira.] <@Ardweden> [Kyon, what do you do?] * Kyon comes to stand in line with Kyoko, hands still raised, and says slowly, "Can stop this here. You can stop running and talk with us. Don't have to fight this out. Got half a croquette sandwich, you can have if you want it." * Kira frowns at Kyon, and blinks. "You're... you're seriously offering me... a... a sandwich?" He glances between them again, but a little bit of the tension is out of his pose. "Like I'm... some kind of squirrel. Okay." He lowers his mop-staff a smidge. "That's... probably the weirdest thing you could have done. Fine. Put the spear away, put the fire away, let's get outside where you don't have me cornered, and maybe we can talk." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko lowers her spear, slightly. She looks at Kira for a second, then Kyon, before turning her attention back to Kira.] * Kyon lowers his hands slowly to his sides, still with some readiness in his posture, and cocks his head, watching. * Kira makes a sharp nod towards Kyoko. "Spear. Uh, please." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko glances at Kyon again, then follows his lead and loses her combat stance entirely, though she's obviously tense. And the spear's not gone quite yet. "Are you gonna put that mop down, Kira-san?"] I'll put it down when we're outside. <@Ardweden> ["Seriously?" Kyoko looks at Kyon.] * Kyon thins his lips. "We're not acting in bad faith. But we can't let you be the only one with a weapon here. If you're going to trust us to hold the deal, then trust us." * Kira snorts. "That's asking a lot." He glances at Kyoko, looking slightly wounded. "Your weapons are magical, mine's a fucking mop. I think even with me armed, you've got the upper hand." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko frowns, but she glances at Kyon again, as if to say, 'Your call.'] * Kyon blows out a breath. "Right." He glances at Kyoko sidewise, and says, "You go first. Get the door open. Then I'll let him go, and I'll take the back." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko hesitates a brief moment, and then she says, "Okay." She looks back at Kira for a moment before turning and walking off, tossing the spear away as she does. It vanishes as soon as it leaves her fingers.] <@Ardweden> [Soon she's out of sight, leaving Kyon and Kira by themselves, if only for a brief amount of time!] * Kira exhales when the spear vanishes. He does drop his guard, if not his mop. * Kyon backs off with her, walking backwards slowly and keeping him in sight in case he tries to make a run for it again. [Kira exhales when the spear vanishes. He does drop his guard, if not his mop, as he starts to follow Kyoko.] * Kyon gets to the end and lets him draw in front of him before he'll follow on. <@Ardweden> [Kyon and Kira make it out of the aisle and a ways towards the exit to hear Kyoko shout from where they're heading, followed the sound of something smashing into glass. And then again. And again.] * Kyon sure does pick up the pace heading towards her then. [Even Kira does, momentarily more concerned for Kyoko than himself.] <@Ardweden> [It looks like Kyoko's breaking down the door? It's a sliding glass door, and the "glass" part is largely no more. Her spear's back in her hand, and she's kicking out some of the larger shards with a boot. "Hey," she says to the guys as they approach. "These don't work with the field up, and I'm not in the mood to take it down." She gets a decent section clear. "Is this good?"] * Kyon looks more mollified at that, and nods to her. "Good thinking." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods back and, not waiting for Kira to say or do anything, tosses her spear away and ducks through the new opening.] * Kira stares at her with a very transparent expression of delighted awe. He has a crooked, floppy grin, and follows her through the doorframe. * Kyon waits a couple of beats, making sure things are not sharp, and then makes his way out too. <@Ardweden> [After that, it's a quick trip through the empty reception area and then they're outside and on an unnaturally deserted street! The clouds look a bit heavier than they did earlier, but it isn't yet raining. Kyoko's looking up at Kira with her arms folded, but she's not initiating this conversation.] * Kira pointedly reaches his arm out to the side and opens his hand, sending the mop clattering to the pavement. "There. Thank you. Please don't murder me. I'm really not worth your time." * Kyon leans against the wall lightly, looking at him. "You must know some interesting things. Or you wouldn't have just run off." <@Ardweden> ["You called him 'Souichirou,'" Kyoko says. "What's that about?"] * Kira glances between them. "Just somebody that I used to know. He... looked a lot like you," Kira says, nodding at Kyon. His face is a little pale. * Kyon twists his lips wryly to the side, and then says, "He would have." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko looks between them, her brows scrunched and a small frown on her face, but she doesn't say anything.] * Kira nods. He crosses his arms over his chest. * Kyon frowns about medium-weight. "So why would you run off when you found out I wasn't him?" * Kira looks at him, hesitant, but doesn't seem to want to answer that. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko shifts her stance slightly, tensing up a bit at the lack of an answer.] <@Ardweden> ["You ran first," she points out.] * Kyon nods curtly at that point. Yup. * Kyon raises an eyebrow. "Because us eating lunch together was just terrifying?" Yep, completely. Got me in a tizzy. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko rolls her eyes.] * Kyon blows out a breath. "If you knew him and you got me, you probably heard him telling some tales about me." * Kira looks at him. "Something like that, sure." <@Ardweden> ["Who is he, anyway?" Kyoko asks. Now to both of them.] * Kyon glances over at her, thinking for a beat, and then saying, looking at Kira instead, "He was my best friend growing up. Did everything together, back home. But we grew apart." * Kira does not confirm or deny this. <@Ardweden> [She glances at Kyon, but her attention remains mostly on Kira. "And you guys were twins or something?"] * Kyon smirks thinly. "He was Arcana too, turned out. Had a lot with illusions. Made himself look like me." <@Ardweden> ["That's fucked up." Kyoko looks at Kira. "And you knew him. Which one are you?"] * Kira looks at her. "Which one?" <@Ardweden> ["Which Arcana? Since you don't wanna say basically *anything* about why you ran yet, maybe you can at least tell us that."] * Kyon nods quickly. It's a good question! I ran because I thought *he* was going to kill me. You gotta allow a guy some self-preservation. * Kyon raises his eyebrows. "Not answering the question. But. Why'd you think that? Just that I wasn't who you thought I was." Because once I - I mean obviously, you were not him. So that could only mean you were you. * Kira clenches his jaw, eyes hard. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko glances at Kyon.] * Kyon inclines his head to the side. "Can't argue with that. But that's not the usual effect I have on people." * Kira shrugs. If Kyon's not gonna admit it, he can just stew. * Kyon snorts. "Must've made me sound like a monster, if just figuring out I'm not him made you run for it." * Kira thinks for a few beats, then idly rubs his eye. "We weren't friends by the end, Souichirou and I. Maybe never were. But that doesn't mean word didn't get back to me." He looks sternly at Kyon. "I had my reasons for running and you damn well know it." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko's eyes flick to Kyon, then back to Kira. She's not any less tense at this point, but she seems to be letting the conversation play out for now.] * Kyon scowls deeply now, and says, "He definitely had reasons for not liking me. But I've got better control. It's been a long time. And whatever the reason you've got, that just hearing his name would make me want to hunt you down, it's way less obvious than you think." Jesus christ, you fucking KILLED HIM, Sorata. Excuse me for being fucking scared for my life! * Kira stares at him like, WHAT THE FUCK. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko blinks, and somehow, *this* makes her less tense. What the fuck, indeed. "You killed him?" she asks Kyon.] * Kyon glances over at her, and after a beat, nods tersely. "Remember the battle with all the Reversed, at Sakuragaoka? He was helping lead them." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko's eyes widen. "Oh." She peers at Kira. "I don't remember seeing you there," she comments. "On our side or on theirs."] * Kyon looks back at Kira. "Yeah. And that was a battle. For the stakes of our world." His face grows cooler. "I didn't just cut him down for no reason. He wasn't letting me leave there, either. The end of the road for one of us. I was just the better sword." ["That's cause I wasn't, Ozora-san." Kira exhales. "I had peaced the hell out by then. There was shit going down with that gang that I refused to be a part of. I only heard about the battle later." Then he turns to Kyon. "And wow, how noble of you. But yeah - Souchirou, Yumeka... and then you turn up at my fucking job? I don't think it was wildly unreasonable for me to think that maybe, just maybe, you were coming for me next."] * Kyon does not feel less frowny about this. "Do things in wartime, in self-defense, that no one just up and does. That's behind us now. Different lives, different world. And I don't even know who that other person is you're talking about. We're not trying to clean anyone up here." * Kira huffs and runs a hand through his hair. "Well, great. Awesome. I'm super glad to hear that. So now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get out of your hair." He bows briefly to Kyoko. "Ozora-san." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko folds her arms and mumbles, "There are some people I'd want to clean up." And then her eyes widen slightly and she looks up at Kira. "Uh... not you though, Kira-san. I've got nothing against you. And don't you have a shift to finish?"] * Kira blinks, then goes "Uhhh..." and bows much more deeply. "Please consider this my formal resignation, boss." <@Ardweden> [Kyoko blinks back. "What?"] * Kyon looks a bit surprised by that reaction, too. He also makes a mental note to follow up on Kyoko's list later, but now doesn't seem like the time. [Kira stays in his low bow. "It's been an honour working with you, thank you for all of your generous support during my tenure etcetera. I just think it would be a bad idea for me to stay, since I no longer feel safe here." He stands up again, and gives her a strangely timid smile. "It's been real, Ozora-san."] <@Ardweden> ["What? Why?" Kyoko still seems confused, for some reason. "You need this job, and it's not like anyone's going to hurt you here."] * Kira looks between them, confused all over again. "I...." he gestures. "You? Both of you. And maybe your friends! And if you found me, then other people could too. Yes?" Why aren't they getting this. "You both know I'm Arcana now. How am I supposed to keep working here...?" <@Ardweden> ["Because you have to work *somewhere*," Kyoko points out, like it's super obvious. She glances at Kyon. It's obvious, right?] * Kyon inclines his head towards Kyoko, with an expression suggesting his total agreement with her. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko nods. Obvious! She looks back at Kira. "And," she continues, more certain now than before because Kyon backed her up, "It's not like we're going to hurt you or anything. And if anyone tries, I'll hurt them back."] * Kira stares at her. "Oookayyy well, that's," he looks at Kyon. "Okay. I mean." Crap. He's blushing. "You guys... have a good afternoon. I'll be..." He jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder. "Over there. Smell ya later." And on that, he turns, and commences walking down the sidewalk, away from them - and from the mortifying fact that he just said 'smell ya later' in an actual human conversation. <@Ardweden> [Kyoko watches Kira go, some confusion still on her face, but it's not like she's chasing him. She looks up at Kyon. "Did I do that all wrong?"] * Kyon watches him walk off for a beat, and then looks down at Kyoko. "No. Think you handled it right. You did good." <@Ardweden> ["Okay." Kyoko actually relaxes now. "Okay, thanks. That was weird."] * Kyon nods, looking off down the alley, and jams a hand in his pocket. "Sure was." <@Ardweden> ["I guess... I should get back to work. Break's probably way over by now." Kyoko frowns a little, thinking about something, then says, "We can talk about stuff later if you want? Maybe somewhere that isn't here."] * Kyon nods quickly, looking down at her more directly. "Yeah. We should. We'll make the schedule work." <@Ardweden> ["Okay." Kyoko smiles a little. She hovers for a second, then says, "I'm gonna go. Be careful."] * Kyon nods back to her, turning and giving her a quick nod. "You too." <@Ardweden> [She waves, then, and half-jogs to the building, opening the door and heading in. From Kyon's angle, he can see her ducking through the shattered mess of a former sliding glass door.] * Kyon watches her go, tucking his other hand into his pocket, and looking up and down the alley, before heading off out of it himself. <@Ardweden> [When Kyon steps out, the field seems to drop, as pedestrians have returned to this particular street of Tokyo.] <@Ardweden> [End!]