ahead of the game.

Hmmmmm......................... ...........................................................

Nope.

[ Aaaand now he's wet. Might as well push his hair back now that it's wet because it's flat instead of its poofy self and that's gross. ]

And then all of a sudden, you’re laughing too.

But whether it’s from nervousness or fear, we’ll never know, will we? So when she giggles, it’s honey coated and— ] Oh, so you’ve been checking me out? Naughty, naughty! Five year olds like you should stick to the fruit punch, y’know. Especially since I put a little something in there. Not saying. Just saying. Maybe? You figure it out, Sherlock.

Of course I know, silly! I just do it for the kicks. I guess a girl getting called pretty by her date is the most important thing, right?

You totally look super duper spiffy.

Adorable, even.

[ She says all this with the blade pressing and un-pressing against his side, by the way. Just saying she looks wonderful isn’t good enough. ]

I wasn't checking you out, I have an eye for detail, is all. But you leave nearly nothing for the imagination.

[ Not that he's even remotely fantasizing about her, not really. She's pretty -- aesthetically pleasing -- he'll give her that, but he isn't necessarily interested in that sort of thing either.

Ah, but apparently he wasn't watching her close enough if she managed to slip something into the drink, something he'd definitely have to watch out for. Or at least warn others about. Did she spike it? Poison it -- ? He'll have to find out. If it's the first then he won't necessarily care, if it's the latter then he'd rather not have this place end up with a cult ending.

His gut says its probably the latter, unfortunately.

But, first things first, he had to get that blade away from him at some point before she decides to put it to use. So he lets go of her waist to hook his arm with hers instead, fingers curling around her wrist to keep it in place. From afar they might actually pass off as a normal duo, holding hands. Too bad it was anything but.]

Prom.

That was this event was called, people donned in wonderful dresses, make up, suits, everybody looks like a prince or princess in this place, but it was far too casual and far too…dangerous? Hakuno had already seen guards or…security, it seems like they thought people were going to ruin this event. Then again, she saw the wrong people at this event already so she couldn’t blame them.

However, she wasn’t much of a dancer, having no experience with it whatsoever, the brunette doesn’t even know why she was here in the first place. 

Oh yes, because she said yes to Nanaya’s proposal to go to prom. How…stupid of her. 

She should of said but now she managed to shake him off her for the time being. Space, it was nice to have some space. But what was she going to do? Inside was busy, filled with people standing around, eating, dancing, or just mingling, but here was Hakuno, standing there being awkward and wondering what to do now that she got Nanaya away from her. It was her chance to escape, but where could she go? 

“I need some fresh air.” The brunette told herself as she began to walk out of the bustling crowd. At least her dress was easy to move around in considering how simple it was. Just black with blue lace, short as well so if Hakuno ever needed to run, she would do so without hesitation, though the heels were going to be another issue.  

Once she was outside, the young teenager just took a deep breath and gave out a heavy sigh. She had a slight headache but only because she was surrounded by so many people and flashing lights. 

[ Sometimes even simply watching gets tiring. For Akise, that was a part of his job, and observing a crowd as busy as well as dangerously volatile as this gets mentally taxing. He sees a lot and gathers quite a bit of information through eavesdropping and truthfully he wanted to take a break for a breather. He could only put up with idle chatter and grinding bodies for so long.

So he does, stepping out of the bustling party into the refreshing night air. Definitely a lot less stifling as opposed to the warm atmosphere that the venue had hanging over the crowd due to just how many people there are.

But there's a surprising view; it looks like whoever was in charge went all out with the decors. It was at least enough to keep him from stepping into the fountain to cool himself off. Despite the lack of people he still had to keep some sort of decency at least.

Labeling the place as empty wouldn't be quite right though, now that he's actually gotten a closer look; it seems that a familiar face had gotten the same idea as he had and decided to come out for some air as well.

.. Is she talking to herself?

His hands slid into his pockets without further ado, and it's only when he knows he's within earshot does he finally call out to her.]

I'm sure your date wouldn't appreciate being left behind. Lucky guy though.

“Very well. You’ve still got a lot to learn about this place in general, after all. Leaving me for last won’t hurt you,” at the end of the day, Kaworu doubted he was this boy’s priority; there were much more interesting things to research, such as the huge mystery behind Hive City, and a personal background of a person you’ve just met definitely didn’t take the cake compared to that.

When the other mentions food, Kaworu turns his head slightly to glance at the tables, most of these things unrecognizable. Back home, due to the lack of places to plant vegetables or raise cattle, most of the food was artificial — and it’s not like he really needed to eat in general, but something had to keep his human body sustained and going. In the end, he was still obligated to mind the limitations of this vessel.

“It’s not terrible at all,” he assures him after a moment, their movement mostly smooth and not nearly as awkward as he expected it to be. “If it was, I’d probably be much worse at it, too,” all in all, he started off with very basic knowledge — got the hang of it very quickly, due to the fact that Akise wasn’t making any horrible mistakes or stepping on his toes.

[ About him having other priorities as well, of course. Ones that are even more important than the mystery behind the city where they find themselves confined in. Amano Yukiteru -- the boy that he had sworn to protect. He's in within the urban territory somewhere and knowing Yuno she's already found him.

It's important that he's kept safe. Preferably away from the unstable girl. He may trust her in keeping him alive, but he doesn't trust her for anything else other than that. He's been put in a catatonic state once due to her 'care' and he doesn't want a repeat of that.

For his own selfish reasons, really. He had gotten attached to the brunette in the end; even though Deus had told him that his love for Yukiteru was planted there by him. Most likely due to the fact that it would motivate him to keep him safe -- he's an important player, after all. It seemed that Deus had a sort of bias towards the First.]

Can't say I've got much experience either. Just enough to get by. I'm more surprised that I haven't stepped on your feet yet.

[ For now though, despite having Yukiteru in the back of his mind he's still quite able to focus on his current dance partner, stepping in tune to the background music and suppressing any more need to pull a stunt like the playful little spin earlier. It goes by smoothly enough, and when the song fades into an end he can't resist slowly pulling away to take a step back for a bow; a grin tugging at the edges of his lips as he turned to flick his hues up to meet his.]

I do appreciate you humoring me though. I'd call it a successful date, I think.

[ Only.. it doesn't really count as a date, not really. But what did he care.]

But the night's still young so --

[ Cue him gesturing towards the tables.]

-- food? I promise I can walk you back after we're done. [ He's teasing, but hey -- he won't say no if asked either. It'd be unlike him to. He can't just leave someone to walk back home all alone; it's dangerous out there.] Or get you a cab, if you don't want to walk.

It was nicer under the table. 

He saw shoes - some fancy, glittering as if they were diamond studded or even stars blinking at him from a picturesque night sky. Others were darker, blocks of feet which shook the ground as they walked beside the table, crushing flakes of dirt as they went. Some clicked, others thumped, some barely made a noise at all. It seemed to calm him down somewhat, watching and listening to the orchestra of shoes. The darkness underneath the buffet spread had drenched him in shadow, the only things he was able to make out were in fact his knees, brought up close to his body, and his chest which rose and fell at a rather rapid pace. Though it was steadying. Thankfully.

Yukiteru heaved a sigh of relief, glad that he had managed to seek out a place to hide temporarily. Just so that he could clear his head without actually leaving the party. No doubt people would look for him. They’d catch him. And if they didn’t, he was sure Yuno would. Not that he minded that so much, but when he needed a moment to gather his thoughts, it was better to seek out some darkened corner alone.

Well, he had been alone before someone had tripped over his foot.

[ That's all he needed, really. There were tables scattered around the venue and it was only a matter of watching carefully to see where someone trips at the stated time. And when he finally spots it he makes his move, sliding his phone back into his pocket and inching his way towards the marked table -- pinching the fabric of the table cloth and lifting it just enough so he could slide right in, sitting on the floor before the cowering brunette and placing his chin on an upturned palm; elbow leaning against his knee before a chuckle resounds from the silver-haired detective.]

Normally people attend these things not to hide under tables.

[ He was probably getting his suit dirty, but that doesn't matter much -- he wanted to come say hi to Yukiteru before Yuno showed up and crashed the party. He promised her that he would, after all. And he's one to keep his promises no matter how dangerous.

But she would probably show up soon, if he's going to be realistic. There's no way that she would leave him alone in an event like this. With her diary (even with the limitations) it would be quite easy to track down the First. Hell, he doubts she even really needs the diary to hunt down her lover. Not that it particularly matters to him, he just wanted to confirm that Yukiteru was safe.]

… I’m used to it.

-- ?

[ Well that's worrying. ]

I’ll be careful.

Ah, good. I'd hate to see a little girl like you get hurt because of the recklessness of adults.

┌What was dear to her…? The girl blinked a few times.┘

Mikoto’s red won’t lose to water, it wouldn’t matter. I wouldn’t be upset.

[ Nope, he can't do it -- he can't ruin this little girls ideals and fantasies. So he sort of just.. pats her head.

Plus it wasn't like he understood what she meant by that anyway. ]

...

[ Didn't seem like reasoning with these people are going to get anywhere. But maybe he should show them the movie Zathura at some point. ]