Grudging Random Encounter (Yuu/Open)

[Ishida Sai]

The morning bells of the alarm were tolling the moment the sun shined at its metallic domes. The sharp continuous ringing assailed his dormant eardrums, putting stress on his nerves. Building up on that stress, a louder metallic impact silenced the continuous ringing.

Groaning out of exhausted exasperation, Ishida Sai glared out from the comfortable covers of his bed to stare at the time.

6:45.

He groaned again before sinking back inside the covers. With eyes closed, his view was generally pitch black eventually sending the meister back in to REM. Yet, with the sun shining directly at his visual receptors, they erupted open to find themselves burning under the UV rays. Squinting, the boy slowly sat up to stare at a white wall complete with a marked calendar hanging loosely by a thread. His eyes scanned past each numbered box, grimly accounting each day through his hazy memories. They narrowed further as it stopped by Saturday.

"Nothing, huh...?" he spoke in mere thought at noticing the free day.

His hand scratched the back of his neck in consideration. Almost pondering of what to---

A muffled trembling destroyed the silence in the bedroom, freezing Sai in his tracks. Looking down at his abdomen, the trembling continued to affirm its troublesome existence. The meister let a sigh escape him in response.

"Breakfast."

___________________________________

He found himself surrounded by other morning-goers in the Deathbucks Cafe. It isn't crowded per se, yet there are some already in line evidently to pick up a quick meal/coffee on the way to work. Disregarding the number of such customers already in conversation, Sai stared through the window in his seat. Watching the citizens bustling through the streets on their business---

"Morning. Can I help you?"

Blinking out of his reverie, the teenager turned to face one of the waitresses with a notepad and pencil already in hand for his order. The only thing that made her stand out from the rest was the long red hair manifesting down to her back and bubble gum being chewed to different shapes in her repetitive opening-and-closing mouth. She was cocking her head to the side, waiting for his words as he remained silent---

"Milk and French toast."

Repeating as she dictated on paper, "Milk.... French toast..."

Looking expectantly for anything else, he shook his head to dismiss her. With a rather forced smile on her end, the waitress nodded and addressed, "Alright. Coming right up!"

Quickly scurrying away back to the kitchen, Sai sighed and quirked his lips before continuing to stare at the people passing by with his meal already tacked onto the queue of orders by the kitchen.

[tehinferno]

Yuu pulled himself out of the bed this morning. Quite unprepared to tackle the day, he flopped on the floor, and thought about what he would do. Knowing that he didn't really have any money to go get himself breakfast, he figured that would be it. Today he would get a job...So that he wouldn't be stuck, hungry anymore.

He got up from laying on the hard ground, and ran to the bathroom to take a shower. After a nice time washing himself, he walks out refreshed, and smiling. Then he puts on his normal clothing, and paints his nails pink. Figuring that this would suffice, he left the dorms, and headed out to shopping district.

Rejection. Rejection. Rejection. It seemed that no matter where he went, Yuu was turned down almost immediately. Whether it was his rudeness, his lack of effort/work ethic, or if he was just straight up wrong for the job, Yuu seemed to find a way to ruin each of his chances as soon as he opened his mouth. Deciding that he might as well stick with something he knew, he walked into a clothing store, and up to the counter.

"Are you hiring?" A perky, blonde girl stood behind it, and she seemed to be reading a fashion magazine, not unlike the ones that Yuu read. Finally, something he could relate to! She was wearing a pink top, also similar to, Yuu, and her face was made up, as if she had somewhere else to be, or would be somewhere else after her shift. Smiling at him, she set down the magazine.

"Yeah, kid! What's your name? Are you a student?"

Yuu smiled back at her, using his trademark fake smile of course. Why be genuine with someone like himself? He'd only get falseness back, and that's what made this so exciting. This job would be perfect for him.

"I'm Yuu Kaneko. I'm a student at Shibusen, and I'd love it if I could work here." Yuu flipped his hair out of the way of his right eye as he said this. Looking her in the eyes, he flashed her another smile, and she did the same.

"Okay...Let me go get my manager!" She left, and Yuu only got more excited as the seconds went over. This time he was a shoo in. There was no way he could screw this up. He bounced on his toes while he waited, and kept a good eye out, towards the back of the store, where she had disappeared. Then she came back out, and he shrieked in delight...Until...He saw the manager. A short, and pudgy man trailing behind her, had a grumpy look on his face as he walked out. The man had a bit of drool hanging at the side of his mouth, as if he had just been woken up from a nap. A thick bald spot was incredibly noticeable at the top of his head, and wrinkles covered this poor man's face. Not only was he not much to look at...but as Yuu began to pay more attention, he noticed that he was wearing a combination of brown loafers, brown suspenders, brown dress pants, and a tan button-up shirt. Yuu was already over this place.

"You're fat. If you want women to buy from you...You should at least keep up your figure. Another thing...Please exfoliate...Your wrinkles could scare even the oldest of women away. Have you ever heard of a toupee? They have decent ones now." As soon as the man, and the counter girl walked up, all of this had fired out of Yuu's mouth. Without any regrets Yuu turned around to leave, but realized he wasn't quite done.

"...And brown...Never in style." After that he left the store, while a pudgy, red-eared store manager stood baffled. Yuu was a enigma. A jobless enigma.

After that awkward encounter, with a man who definitely shouldn't be selling clothes, Yuu was worn out. He made his way to the Deathbucks, and strangely enough...He saw Sai. It was awkward, because there were tons of people here. Why was it that, Sai was so easy to notice. Instead of spending time trying to find a way to start a conversation, he just plopped himself across from the guy.

"Dude...Are you having breakfast? I'm really hungry...You should get me something to eat! I don't have any money...I'm too tired to be embarrassed about it."

Yuu smiled at him, and then set his feet up on the table. The meister's secretly strong legs, were strangely impressive even to look at. Yuu thought this to himself, and decided that if he was ever rich, he would probably by cuter pants, or at least something that was on par with his legs.

Instead of waiting for, Sai's response, Yuu just began to files his nails. In that moment it was almost as if he completely forgot he had asked, Sai for anything, but of course that wasn't the case. He was only trying to keep all attention on him. That's all, Yuu ever wanted.

[Ishida Sai]

His consciousness waned and appeared in continuous repetition. Like a small smooth wave in the sandy edge of a beach. Undisturbed in its solemn and foamy movement. It was utter peace of his mind, with the transitioning of citizens hazing in his vision... Leaving behind multiple afterimages of themselves as they continued to move. Nothing seemed as if it could break his meandering consciousness. That was until--

"Dude...Are you having breakfast? I'm really hungry...You should get me something to eat! I don't have any money...I'm too tired to be embarrassed about it."

Sai's eyes blinked from the auditory stimuli. That voice... A slight rise of annoyance rumbled slightly in the deep depths of his soul. Yet, his blank visage hid it. Turning his head, he met a familiar face. One who caused the trembling. That single flamboyant meister. A complete foil of his being.

Yuu Kaneko. The same flashy individual from earlier. Yet, he had the audacity like before, to beg for sustenance again... When the allowance was being given out to the students equally. The student was in no mood to cater towards this person's needs which could've been already sated. Especially out of his own hard-earned money from the increasingly bizarre bookstore owned by the even more... "unique" Geoffrey Wyllt.

Before the solitary meister could respond with a frown from Yuu's grooming, a voice interrupted him with a blank tone.

"Your order."

Looking up, Sai laid his eyes upon the same waitress holding his meal and drink in hand. She continued to watch the duo, unconcerned, with her jaw already pumping up and down piston-like in movement. It seemed as if the previous bright behavior disappeared, as if being easily dipped in contrasting fluid from the mere evidence of the monologue coming from her person and her blank visage replacing the previous.

"Thanks."

Laying both the dish and cup in front of him, she merely nodded and went off on her way for future work ahead in for the day. He stared at the duo triangular pieces. The bright goldenrod hue of the fibers of the now yolk-dyed wheat pieces seemingly gave off a pseudo bright glow in its environment. Not really. Yet, it was something that'd instilled activity in one's mind from just its bright color.

Picking up the piece, Sai munched into the crunchy goodness of his simple breakfast. His taste buds could sense the fluffiness from the result of the yolk-dying and frying in the cooking preparation, as well as the piping hot temperature from the procedure. As he started to nibble on it, his eyes looked over at Yuu....

A slight frown jutted down from his brow. Annoyance. Attempting to ignore him, he continued to eat... Yet, a slight "void" was still bothering him as time passed while growing bigger. Sighing through his nose and rolling his eyes---

"Take the other piece."

The teenager stated monotonously as he could while looking busy in devouring his toast, while grudgingly pushing the remaining piece on the dish towards Yuu with a free hand. He sniffed, a tad exasperated at his relenting. Finishing the piece, his hands clapped together as to brush off any crumbs remaining in each palm before going for the glass of milk to completely drain it down his esophagus through the act of peristalsis. Finishing, he gave out a sigh of relief of the cold white fluid travelling down to his stomach.

"So," Sai started again with hands folded onto each other and elbows on the white-washed table, "Mind telling me why you never have money...? I mean, you do get your allowances... Right?"

"Of course he would... He'd probably wasted it all on clothes or something..." an accusing thought broke in.

Continuing, "Regardless, how's... Antoni? He doing fine?"

Sai licked his lips, wiping out possibility of any residues of milk on his upper lip. He placed his chin on one hand with seemingly lack of interest, concealing the slight ripples of annoyance dripping down on his generally calm demeanor...

"And... Have you even tried getting a job for once? I don't think it's really that hard per se..."

Lies...

He sighed and took up one other free hand to pull back his hair from his forehead, as if to increase mental clarity and vision in a way... And to prepare himself whatever Yuu had to say, at the cost of his good morning...

[Vespera Velázquez]

[style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); width: 424px; padding: 3px 29px 6px 3px; text-align: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12pt; color: #DDDD00; text-shadow: #202020 1px 1px 0px; margin-bottom: -2px; border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px;]open & closed within your eyes[/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]i'll place the sky within your eyes[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,460,true][atrb=style, background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 5px; text-align: justify; color: #161616;] [style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 6px;] Work, work, and more work. If it wasn't school, it was the book store. If it wasn't the book store, it was training. If it wasn't training, she was likely so bloody tired that all she could do was stay in bed. How in the world was she ever going to get her little idea in motion if she has no time to work on it? She needed a place away from the dorms. Badly. Rita was on her last nerve, and it was all Karen could do just to keep the peace between them. Today, Vespera had dressed rather extravagantly compared to her more simplistic normal outfits. This was a bit more layered, mainly because without the black tank top and black leggings under the blue kaftan-like shirt and purple skirt Vespera would be way too uncomfortable with the amount of skin showing. She was carrying a guitar case in her right hand, deciding that at some point today she would likely go into the woods and practice because, of course, Rita would complain about the noise. Right now, however, Vespera had a little time to kill before work. She had never really been in Deathbuck's Cafe before, but as she passed by it she noticed Sai in one of the windows, talking to someone from school. Someone from school she had been intrigued by, to say the least. It was like he wanted to stand out, for people to pay him attention, which Sai clearly had little intention of doing. Despite this, however, Sai did seem friendly enough with him to share his breakfast. Then the young Weapon felt a craving for some breakfast herself. If they have French Toast then surely they have waffles, right...? Right. Sure they did. Vespera walked in and took a seat next to Sai, putting down her guitar case right next to her, standing it up against the table. She decided to try something out today. She had been working on changing her accent, mainly to help with her exceptionally poor singing voice, to sound less British and more American. It hadn't been working so far. She could get maybe a sentence in before her regular voice and speech patterns started to set back in. Practice makes perfect, though... "Hello, Sai. Are you scheduled to work today? It's really hard to tell what's going through Mr. Wyllt's head sometimes." she said, trying to keep the accent, but it broke while saying "sometimes" and she was back to her British accent. She puffed up out of frustration, "I almost had it that time, too! Ugh..." The waitress then walked up, and Vespera conveyed her need for two waffles and some orange juice as she turned her attention to the other person at the table... "So, who's your friend?" [/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]Vespera's Text Color Code: 0088d5 credit:britz of ote[/style]

[tehinferno]

Yuu was rocking his chair back, and forth as he watched, Sai. The creaking of his chair, back and forth, had a repetitive quality to it, that might be as annoying as his bitching. The meister looked at his polar opposite, and smiled a bit to himself, but it could have been directed to Sai. The look of annoyance on his face was fabulous, and Yuu wanted to relish the moment, but alas he hadn't the patience. The meister went to continue his ranting, but was interrupted by a monotonous tone, and a repetitive chomping...Again not unlike his bitching.

"Your order."

In that moment, Yuu looked down at the food, and was completely envious of Sai, though it didn't keep his attention for long. The chomping wasn't done...Obviously.

"Maybe you should chew- " Before the flamboyant meister could even finish his statement, the waitress was walking away. Yuu didn't even care to yell. The gum would block out any insult, or complaint that Yuu could have dished out. What a pity. Suddenly Sai pushed another piece of toast towards, Yuu and it didn't really matter what he was saying, because his intentions were incredibly obvious.

"Thanks dude...You're awesome!"

Yuu took the delicious looking piece of toast, and began to nibble at the sides. Though he didn't have very much time to enjoy it, before Sai started asking him questions.

"Mind telling me why you never have money...? I mean, you do get your allowances... Right?"

He looked back at, Sai, who had his hands folded together, with his elbows up. It reminded him of one of those moments in a movie, where the "I just want to help, though I don't quite understand the situation" authority figure, interrogates the hero, because he ends up getting framed for something that aliens, or some other ridiculous thing did. But this wasn't a movie, nor was it a dramatic moment.
Yuu also wasn't a hero. He was the preppy best friend, who got all of the attention, and tried to lighten the main characters mood, or motivate him to be more social.

"Sai...You're silly! I've explained this to you before...I thought Damaso could use the money for more clothes...He had closed to nothing in his drawers!"

"Regardless, how's... Antoni? He doing fine?"

Yuu was a tad annoyed, because he had begun answering before Sai was entirely finished...He figured that it wouldn't matter, and continued to answer the meister's questions.

"Damaso-" Yuu put emphasis on this, to express that Sai should call him that, instead of Antoni. "-and I haven't spoken very much. We split paths..."

Yuu's voice had cracked a bit out of aadness, but it wasn't enough to notice. He immediatly began smiling again so that Sai wouldn't notice anything. Then, Sai began to ask him if he had tried to get a job. The world began to drag on a bit...This was annoying. Yuu had thought, that his nightmare was over when he walked in here. Apparently the topic was unavoidable.

"Well! I ended up insulting all of the managers, and then-"

Yuu stopped short on this last part, because a blue haired girl happened to walk in and sit next to, Sai. Setting down a guitar case, and then began speaking to him. Immediatly he was impressed by her style. Her clothing itself was so attractive, that Yuu couldn't possibly find something to criticize her about, and his jaw immediatly fell. Never had he met someone that could match him when it came to fashion, and this, if it wasn't for the fact that they didn't know eachother, was almost like she was competing with him. Unfortunately...She had him beat at the moment.

"Hello, Sai. Are you scheduled to work today? It's really hard to tell what's going through Mr. Wyllt's head sometimes." Yuu's head was swimming. Her voice was cute, but then at the end of the sentence...It was as if she had flipped from normal speech, and developed an accent. Or rather she had one to begin with. Either way...It was amazing.

"I almost had it that time, too! Ugh..." The meister had no idea what she was talking about, but she had went to a full accent. Figuring that she must have meant her attempt at suppressing it, he swooned for a moment. The already rocking chair, now tipping a little farther back seemed to have Yuu dangling, but he was too distracted by her. Her hair, her clothes...The accent...It was all too much. Never had he met someone that he wanted to know more than himself, or a celebrity like Rocton.

It seemed as if she had ordered something, and Yuu began to pay a better amount of attention to her, though she didn't even give hint of having noticed him. Yuu almost said something, when the most exciting thing happened.

"So, who's your friend?"

That had done it...Yuu was enthralled by her, and suddenly...Felt a falling sensation. The chair was on it's last legs for leaning, and it tipped over. Dropping the meister, causing him to awkwardly roll out. Almost as soon as he hit though, he caught himself, and popped back up. Standing behind where the fallen chair sat.
"I'm Yuu Kaneko!! It's great to meet you!!"

[Ishida Sai]

"Sai...You're silly! I've explained this to you before...I thought Damaso could use the money for more clothes...He had closed to nothing in his drawers!"

His brow twitched at his response. Of course... The same response as last time with Iris and Damaso. The frustration creaked, heavily screeching under the tumult of pressure. Mornings, has never been the meister's favorite time of day. It has always been a grudging awakening then slow starter for the rest of the whole time. Reminiscent to an aged motor, having to activate the ignition multiple times in the midst of a sputter before fully rumbling with activity.

"...Right," he grudgingly agreed before continuing on to his next question.

"Damaso-" there was a slight pause from the eccentric individual. One which would've been noticeable if he didn't immediately continue, "-and I haven't spoken very much. We split paths..."

The Japanese teenager rose an inquisitive eyebrow at Yuu's trailing response. Split paths... When he thought about it, this seemed to make sense. Yet, somehow, instinct told him the opposite. By all means... a meister who neglects to treat his partner, would by no doubt would lose it. However, there was a bond between them. Something that can't be easily explained. Regardless, it still felt peculiar and bizarre...

"Is that so...? My condolences..."

Moving on... The next answer to his last question would indeed inspire a rush of emotions through Sai...

"Well! I ended up insulting all of the managers, and then-"

"...You fucking what?" is what he would've said, instead his thoughts stated the monologue in his mind, hiding behind his blank expression.

Contrasting everything about himself, a sure rush of anger was pulsating through his veins. His heart rate slightly jumped from the mere anger brewing in his being. Slowly his hands balled up into mere fists, clenched together ever so tightly while biting his lip.

"Are you telling me that I'm to waste my money on your worthless ass...?"

But in the midst of his anger, his Soul Perception picked up another familiar individual...

"Hello, Sai. Are you scheduled to work today? It's really hard to tell what's going through Mr. Wyllt's head sometimes."

Vespera... She couldn't have timed it ever so wrongly. Yet, slowly breathing out of nostrils, expelling bits of his wrath to make this all bearable... Though he noticed she was speaking quite, strangely... Almost nasally per se, but she suddenly lost it at the last word.

"I am..." he answered monotonously and quietly, yet loud enough, regardless.

"I almost had it that time, too! Ugh..." obviously disgusted at her failure to keep up the bizarre accent.

"...Right." the meister pretended to agree, despite not knowing exactly what she was aiming for.

He held back the need to roll his eyes at all of this by further breathing in and out, reminiscent to a sigh.

"...Soon," the boy complained in his thoughts, "... I'm gonna shoot myself..."

"So, who's your friend?"

Again he twitched, this time, at her question. With great reluctance, Sai was to introduce the eccentric until---

"I'm Yuu Kaneko!! It's great to meet you!!" he energetically introduced himself after the mini-roller coaster ride of falling off his seat and then rolling back on his feet... Awkwardly.

Slowly the meister palmed his face and sighed. Goddammit...

"For fuck's sakes, Yuu... Get your ass back on the chair," his exasperation was totally apparent from the tone, "...Yeah, guy over here is a meister."

He jabbed a nonchalant thumb at Yuu's direction.

"So what brings you here?" Sai faced back towards the bluenette.

[Vespera Velázquez]

[style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); width: 424px; padding: 3px 29px 6px 3px; text-align: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12pt; color: #DDDD00; text-shadow: #202020 1px 1px 0px; margin-bottom: -2px; border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px;]open & closed within your eyes[/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]i'll place the sky within your eyes[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,460,true][atrb=style, background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 5px; text-align: justify; color: #161616;] [style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 6px;] Vespera let out a slight giggle at Yuu's antics, bringing her hand up to her mouth in the process. She wondered what came over him to make him jump up like that, not considering even for a moment that she was the cause. She lowered her hand and nodded her head ever so slightly as she responded. "Pleased to meet you, You... Yuuu--" she attempted to say, but she was having trouble matching how it's supposed to sound. It sounded too much like she was just saying "you" again. Perhaps a change in sentence structure was needed? That was the only choice she had as she put her hand behind her head in embarrassment. "Ha! ... Mr. Kaneko! Sorry. I should have worded that different, it sounded really weird saying your name immediately after 'you', so then it sounded like 'you, you!' like I did't really hear your name or something. ... Sorry. I'll be quiet now. It is nice to meet you, though." she said, putting her hands down on her lap and lowering her head. She was thoroughly embarrassed now, blushing just a little bit as her order came out. "Oh, right! I'm Vespera Velázquez, or Vivi for short." she added, not raising her head back up to say it, but she did glance back up at Yuu. She started munching down on her waffles after putting just a small amount of syrup on them, carefully separating the waffle along the lines made from the iron with her fork. She seemed like she was in her own little world, until Sai spoke back up. "So what brings you here?" Vespera's head popped back up, not expecting to have been talked to again after that little episode. She took a quick sip of orange juice before answering. "I'm just... getting something to eat before work." she said slowly, making sure not to screw anything else up. She didn't really want to say anything else, and she did have to be at work soon, so she just went strait back to eating her waffle. [/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]Vespera's Text Color Code: 0088d5 credit:britz of ote[/style]

[tehinferno]

"For fuck's sakes, Yuu... Get your ass back on the chair,"

Yuu looked at him for a moment. Then a big grin crossed his face, it seems that he had gotten on his nerves a bit. That wasn't necessarily a good thing, but it was kind of funny, considering how calm the other meister always seemed. It means that, Yuu was noticeable in the least, and he flashed a heart at him, before picking the chair back up. Hoping, of course, that Sai wouldn't take it as a literal sign of intimate affection, but rather respond to it the same way you would a "thumbs up".

"Pleased to meet you, You... Yuuu--Ha! ... Mr. Kaneko! Sorry. I should have worded that different, it sounded really weird saying your name immediately after 'you', so then it sounded like 'you, you!' like I did't really hear your name or something. ... Sorry. I'll be quiet now. It is nice to meet you, though."

Yuu was completely delighted. He wasn't sure how he felt about the "Mr. Kaneko" part, but she was really cute. The way that she worked herself into an awkward fit, and stumbled on her words...It was adorable. If only she'd tell him her-

"Oh, right! I'm Vespera Velázquez, or Vivi for short.

Name! Even her name was cool. It was almost as if she had designed it for herself, and was expressing some form of beautiful individualism. Something that Yuu knew about from experience, and could respect. She was great. Yuu pushed his chair, so that he could be across from her, and laid his chin on his folded hands.

"Vivi...You're adorable! How has such a wonderful individual eluded me for so long? You're a student right?"

He flashed her a legitimate smile, and had almost forgotten about, Sai being here. Actually...It was a little bit perfect. Remembering his meeting with, Eva, and the plan for the Fan Club, grudgingly he decided now was a good time to bring it up.

"Actually...On a less...Captivating note...But still incredibly important...There's going to be a meeting in the Class Crescent Moon...For the Rocton Barret Fan Club! I want you both to be there...It's wonderful to have more people...and I have a job specifically for you, Sai. I require your services...For gathering intelligence, and maybe guarding me? I'd pay you...50 a month?"

Yuu didn't like bringing up business, while he was around someone so amazing, but he had to...He was supposed to get the word out. He turned back to the new girl, and smiled. Maybe he could get her number? Then he'd feel less upset over the whole thing.

[Ishida Sai]

The meister palmed his face as the "eloquent" peer or meister ,in that case, was already trying to woo Vespera over. He sighed at Yuu's attempts and just simply looked the other way at the window, back at the human trafficking across the street. Exasperation at the eccentric's antics caused him to feel ill at ease from the very beginning. But, this was at his breaking point of patience. As he stared at the people passing by... They continued to talk until---

"I'm just... getting something to eat before work."

"...Figures," he responded dully at the answer while quirking his lips.

"Vivi...You're adorable! How has such a wonderful individual eluded me for so long? You're a student right?"

A snort escaped Sai, more exasperation for the smooth-talking peer.

He was about to look back, until he saw Yuu was already-- How should it be described? Flashing...? The Oriental meister could feel the bubbling excitement from just being next to him. A grimace spread across his face before going back to look at the window, as if to shield himself from that very aura. Yet, something did get his attention regardless...

"Actually...On a less...Captivating note...But still incredibly important...There's going to be a meeting in the Class Crescent Moon...For the Rocton Barret Fan Club! I want you both to be there...It's wonderful to have more people...and I have a job specifically for you, Sai. I require your services...For gathering intelligence, and maybe guarding me? I'd pay you...50 a month?"

Sai slowly repeated that name while raising a quizzical eyebrow, "...Rocton Barret...?"

He closed his eyes to see if he ever remembered even hearing the slightest mutterings of that name. Yet, even in the deepest crevices of his mind, it was empty. Opening them again--

"...Who the hell is that guy...?"

But as soon as he remembered Yuu mentioning, "I require your services...For gathering intelligence, and maybe guarding me? I'd pay you...50 a month?"

Huge dollar signs formed on his eyes at hearing this. He needed more money, it was imperative. Yet, he could bargain a bit more, couldn't he...? Clearing his throat audibly, Sai crossed his arms as he regained himself in a calm manner.

"50 a month...? No... My services aren't that cheap. But I believe, a good $75 will do. I'm willing to go down to $65 if you can't afford that..."

The meister put both his elbows on the table and folded his hands together as his face hovered next to them in an appearance reminiscent to a calculating individual.

"...So what do you say, Yuu? Do we have ourselves a deal? Sixty-five dollars is the lowest I can offer to you. Otherwise, forget it."

His stoic face hid the glee that was shaking his being.

[Vespera Velázquez]

[style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); width: 424px; padding: 3px 29px 6px 3px; text-align: right; font-family: georgia; font-size: 12pt; color: #DDDD00; text-shadow: #202020 1px 1px 0px; margin-bottom: -2px; border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px; -moz-border-radius: 14px 14px 0px 0px;]open & closed within your eyes[/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]i'll place the sky within your eyes[/style]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,460,true][atrb=style, background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 5px; text-align: justify; color: #161616;] [style=background: url(http://i52.tinypic.com/j7gld3.jpg); padding: 6px;] As Vespera kept eating her breakfast, her face completely froze for a second, fork still in her mouth. "Vivi...You're adorable! How has such a wonderful individual eluded me for so long? You're a student right?" Her face gradually turned more and more red as the conversation shifted to this "fan club" and the discussion of Sai's services and payment. Adorable...? Someone found her adorable?! It was like a dream come true! Vespera had an enormous smile on her blushing face as she fiddled with the fork, still in her mouth. Her shoulders were sticking up a little, tense with excitement and joy, but she was still just looking at the table, not making eye contact. How was she going to respond?! She couldn't just sit there and not say anything! This was the first time a boy had said anything like that to her! All her outfits, hair color choices, everything was building up to a moment like this! By the time she had mustered the courage to say anything in response, Sai was negotiating his pay. She wanted to say something, but what? Yuu had such a unique look that she couldn't really find a word to describe it in a single word like he had described her. The outfit was fine... but something about the hair bugged her. It might have been the mohawk, but maybe that can be a discussion for a later day. She really had to say something before she looked like a statue. "Sure, I'll come. And... um... thank you. Very much." was all she could get out as she slowly finished off her food and drink. [/style][style=background: #202020; font-family: georgia; font-size: 6pt; color: #d8d7e4; text-align: right; letter-spacing: 2px; width: 444px; padding: 3px 9px 3px 3px; margin-bottom: -2px; text-transform: uppercase;]Vespera's Text Color Code: 0088d5 credit:britz of ote[/style]

[tehinferno]

"...Rocton Barret...?...Who the hell is that guy...?"

Yuu began to laugh, hard at Sai's question. It was hilarious to think that someone didn't know who Rocton was. However...It's not like it was unheard of. Yuu didn't even know the man's name, until he talked with Eva.

"50 a month...? No... My services aren't that cheap. But I believe, a good $75 will do. I'm willing to go down to $65 if you can't afford that..."

That seemed fair enough. Yuu wasn't really asking for the world, but he knew that Sai would probably try, and negotiate. This would be the start of a beautiful partnership, that the Meister hoped would develop into a friendship. However...He would keep that part to himself.

"...So what do you say, Yuu? Do we have ourselves a deal? Sixty-five dollars is the lowest I can offer to you. Otherwise, forget it."


"65 sounds fair...We have a deal.

Yuu was pretty excited, and he turned to look at Vespera. She seemed to be focused on her food, but there was something about the way she was sitting there that caught him off guard. What was on her mind? Yuu couldn't really decipher it...maybe he had annoyed her?

"Sure, I'll come. And... um... thank you. Very much."

Yuu's smile came back to his face. She was probably just waiting for their conversation to end, before she responded, and the fact that she said she would come made him even happier. He wasn't sure why, but he figured that having her in the crowd would make things easier for him. Not like it was going to be hard. It seemed like she had actually appreciated the compliment...

"I...I'm so glad that you're going to come. It means a lot."

This wasn't usually how he acted, but he didn't really care. Who was going to call him out on it? Sai? Ha. Sai didn't care about how Yuu acted. It was a marvel that he was still sitting with them now.

[Ishida Sai]

The grimace on Sai's face hardened as Yuu laughed at his question of Rocton Barret's existence. It further annoyed the plain meister, though he ignored it this time around to not give any openings for the matter. Yet, his hand was curled up into a fist so as to provide support for his raging emotions.

"65 sounds fair...We have a deal."

He nodded in agreement. The deal was sealed. And the agreement cemented. Sixty-five dollars a month it was. And there was no going around it, or it would be an inhumane blood bath for sure.

"Good."

Though Vespera on the other hand, it would seem as if she were enamored, no. Perhaps it was the smooth words from the notorious fashion-ist Yuu Kaneko that somehow got her into this club. And money for Sai's side, of course. Then again, she seemed to be one for fashion in the first place as he remembered earlier.

There wouldn't be enough time for the Oriental teenager to think too much about it. Though, there was something that caught his attention.

"I...I'm so glad that you're going to come. It means a lot."

He blinked. There was some sincerity in Yuu's words. No, rather... the meister just felt it from the eccentric's soul to some degree. Though it was a somewhat amusing thought, but at the same time on the other hand, an added annoyance to some degree...

Regardless, Sai noticed it would be time to go.

"Check please!" he hollered out back at the waitress further down the restaurant.

It wouldn't be long until the female employee arrived back to the table with the small dark tablet with a small sliver of a receipt. Throwing in some cash, Sai simply put back the wallet inside his pockets and got up to leave.

"It's time to go," he muttered loud enough for the other two parties at the table to hear and then projecting his voice at Yuu, "So, when is your fan club taking place... Yuu?"

There was some hesitation in his voice, but he didn't make any note of it. After listening on the necessary information, he grunted in affirmative. But then leaning closely towards Yuu to address words for him alone--

"Good luck with her, Yuu. You're gonna need it."

Without giving him any chance to respond, he simply and abruptly exited through the glass door with a jingle and a slight wave in farewell...