Hound of Hell

   that didn’t sound like a bad idea, truly. “ that might be reasonable but… my house is already too crowded as it is, I’m sure whoever would look after them would be too overwhelmed by everything there… ” plus, she didn’t want anyone to put their nose where they aren’t called. there are secrets, dark ones, being kept inside those doors. “ I’ll survive without my little greenery! I can always come to the park and look at it whenever I miss it. ” index points towards the flowerbed they were both admiring a few seconds ago.

      “ a few, I suppose. ” answering his questions, she ponders with hand below chin, “ though I always killed them with too much water or too little, apparently. ” she had a terrible way with plants indeed.

      “ oh, do you? perhaps you could give this awful plant caretaker some tips then, Akira-san? ” eyes shimmer, perhaps there’s still hope.

“That’s understandable,” His tone was truly sympathetic as he tried to ponder another possible solution.  One option was perhaps asking if she might be willing to consider giving away some of her plants, but he didn’t know if such a suggestion would be taken well.  Besides, it wasn’t his place to tell someone to clean up their messes.  “If going to the park satisfies you, then perhaps that is the best option for the time being,” He conceded, nodding his head.

“Have you tried reading up on the plants you take care of...?” He asked, his tone slightly curious.  “Perhaps consulting a book about cacti might be helpful.  I’m sure that different plants require different amounts of water,” He assured her.

The caramel-haired teen’s gaze darted ever so briefly to the table between them as if to say she’d been there too many times to count. She’d be the first to remind it’d been her own stupid choices as a kid to eat several bags of M&M’s as soon as she’d gotten them, but she’d still been on the wrong end of a chocolate-induced stomachache far too many times for her tastes. “It’s not. It’s actually rather painful. the chocolate itself is the only good part.”

Refusing to elaborate on just how she knew that, Mako ran a fingertip along the rim of her cup. Time to explore the city… Could it be that simple? There was still so much to Den City she hadn’t seen and didn’t know about, but Akira made it sound so easy - Perhaps he was right? “Thank you,” she breathed after a moment, expression and smile softening to one of thankfulness. “Maybe that’s all I need, to just look around the city more.That is most of the reason behind my move, to have more options to explore… I just never thought I’d have this many.” Or have to look for them so hard, honestly!

“It’s not my place to ask details not obvious. I’d rather go clueless than possibly bother someone, or ask questions about things they’d rather keep hidden. I know I’d be upset if someone pried into something I’d rather not talk about.” Reaching for a napkin she pulled it closer to her before leaning back in her seat; there had to be a pen somewhere she could borrow! “Actually, all we need is a pen.A napkin works just fine in place of paper, but if there’s a pen somewhere we could borrow, it’ll work just fine - Unless email would be better? I always have my phone and usually my tablet with me-”

“I think I might agree to disagree on chocolate being the good part,” He grimaced at the thought of so much chocolate.  He enjoyed an occasional sweet as much as the next person though his sweet tooth was rather weak.  He’d never had much tolerance for too many sweets or candies - the few that he did acquire, he gave to his sister.  Perhaps she would get more enjoyment out of them than he did.  This was yet another thing he didn’t know about her.

“Ah, it’s not a problem,” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, inwardly pleased at the girl’s earnest gratitude.  Being thanked - being appreciated, felt rather nice.  “I was new to this city, many years ago and I could relate to the feeling of being lost,” He trailed off, frowning, knowing that his reason wasn’t quite the same as hers.  “I’m sure you’ll find your place,”

“…  I guess?” 

After all he didn’t knew that much about jobs yet. He hardly started to go to school on a regular basis again so even imagine to go to work every day was a bit hard for the teen right now. And yet he started to wonder if working for SOL was any different from normal jobs at all. With all the company was doing lately… did it have its downsides? 

A smile appeared on his face hearing those words because they were nice and Takeru couldn’t see any ill content in them yet. In the end he nodded slightly. “Yeah it is.” Well Yusaku was helping out every now and then but he wasn’t actually working there because of school rules and stuff. 

The teen flinched a little bit once he realized that his backpack started to move slightly. Seems like Flame was getting impatient back there. Still he shook his head slightly. “We’re not that late yet. Stay quiet.” he mumbled quietly before spending another smile towards Akira who hopefully again stayed obvious to his doings. Getting him to find out about Flame at this point probably wouldn’t be any help at all. “It’s only a small cafe so there’s not really space for other coworkers. Maybe you’ve seen it around before? It’s called Cafe Nagi and it’s driving around the city from time to time.”

“Jobs are largely a matter of perspective,”

That was the easiest way he could explain it - jobs were truly a matter of perception.  Perhaps his job might look daunting or difficult for someone who had never worked with technology before or had a limited understanding but for someone who was an expert...? He imaged that his job would be considerably easy for them.  He didn’t want to mislead people one way or the other with his responses.

“That’s good,” He nodded his head, smiling.  “Owning your own business can be a bit of a risky venture but it’s rather admirable too.” This man must have had a truly strong work ethic if he was able to keep such a place running.

His brows furrowed slightly in confusion as the other male appeared to be mumbling something although he couldn’t make any of it out.  Mumbling wasn’t exactly unusual either - maybe he was the sort of person who mumbled to remind himself of something...? Or perhaps just an odd habit.  Either way, he didn’t feel the need to point it out.

At those words Yusei only shrugged. He didn’t see any use in discussion whether or not the other one should grateful for his help or not. In the end it was the other ones decision to make, even though he couldn’t understand. But that was more to his thinking about not being worth being thanked to after everyone. He was just trying to redeem after all, right? 

“Well.. that and the fact I’m trying to avoid bigger crowds of people.” He preferred to stay alone cause it meant he wasn’t able to cause more problems than he already had. Also he had gotten rather used to have no one around so it felt weird having some company. But in the end he nodded. “There’s nothing against that. Let’s set a date and do it some other time. Or I’ll leave you my number and you can call whenever you’re free to do it.”

“That’s understandable,, even after living here for quite some time it still gets a little overwhelming living in such a big city,” He noted, his tone sympathetic.  “Privacy is getting harder and harder to come by these days, one of the downsides of so much advanced technology I suppose.”

He shrugged slightly. He couldn’t really understand what was so special about duel monsters that everyone seems to be so eager to learn it. For him it was more a way to fight. Something to use to defend your life. But that probably was just him and the experiences he had made with the game when he was younger. 

“As long as you’re alive you can still try.” 

He needed a lot of time and the help from Flame to actually learn that lesson, but that probably doesn’t matter. It wasn’t like it had changed anything if he had tried earlier. He never had been in the right position to do so. 

“Not really.. I guess I should have. I haven’t exactly listen much to him over the last years.” 

Or anyone else for that matter but… he was trying. And changing. But maybe leaving the town wasn’t that helpful when it came to listen to his grandparents. 

“That is very true,”

So long as you had still had your life, you hadn’t completely lost everything in the world - that was what he was inclined to believe anyway.  Perhaps others might think differently - maybe they valued other things even above their own lives - a possession, another person, a job - this last one was a slightly sarcastic afterthought, a small jab at his own past.

“You can always try to rebuild, even if it might not be successful.” He shrugged his shoulders.  “People ought to fight more for what’s important to them,” A lesson he needed to learn himself, perhaps.

“Perhaps when - or if you return home, then you could try to listen to him more.”

@hell-howling

*The woman was just sitting down on a nearby bench going and looking through her own deck just in case she would forget something,but by the looks of it,it didn’t seem that way at all and so after taking a good look Elise put the deck inside her pocket,looking up at the clear blue sky,it seemed that today was going to quite peacefull for her which she honestly did not mind in the slightest*

He breathed a sigh of relief as yet another day of work had wrapped up and he could begin the short walk home to rest for a couple of hours.  Still, it was relatively early in the afternoon.  Why not look around a little more...? Just as he walked past a nearby bench, he couldn’t help but quietly take notice of a woman sitting there.  Ah, could it be that she was someone hew knew...? The only way to know for sure was to ask.

“Sounds like you have a rather busy job?” 

Well he actually already knew where the other one was working, but it wasn’t like he could share that information with Akira because it would lead to way too many questions Takeru didn’t really felt like answering right now. 

“He’s a friend. And he owes that cafe actually.” he replied, tilting his head to the side. Part of him wondered how many things he could say till the other one was able to made connections he better didn’t made. 

“Busy at times, but no worse than any other job I’m sure.”

There was a lot more that he could say about working for SOL - how physically and emotionally exhausting it was, how the job seemed to drain you of everything remotely human about you until you saw more of a resemblance with your products than your fellow human beings.  But perhaps it would be best to just leave it at this.

He shrugged slightly at the response of the other one. “I’m not that much into duels. But I guess if the others attend there regularly it must be at least interesting or entertaining.” 

It was only half a lie. While he had not so much problems with dueling online anymore, duels outside of vrains in the offline world still were something Takeru tended to avoid. Actually there only had been this one time after the lost incident where he actually duelled offline and it wasn’t something he was eager to repeat. 

“As long as you’re alive that’s it.” There were many mistakes that everyone made, needed to make to improve themselves. But others probably shouldn’t be made cause they could end you. But maybe that wasn’t the right topic to talk about? 

“At least that’s what my grandfather always says.” 

He just wasn’t using that words exactly probably. 

“Duel Monster seems to be as popular as it ever was and with LINK VRAINS being around, I suppose it makes sense that more people would want to learn.”

The enduring popularity of Duel Monsters had always been something he’d found both equally fascinating and surprising.  At first glance, Duel Monsters appeared to be little more than a game or perhaps a passing trend - yet to some, Duel Monsters was more than that.  Many people even genuinely cherished the decks they’d built over the years.  Perhaps Duel Monsters was becoming more than just a mere game.

“That’s true, you haven’t completely lost everything if you’re still alive.” Though perhaps some might feel as though they would rather die.  “Perhaps it can even be a chance to rebuild, for some.”

This boy’s grandfather sounded quite wise, though maybe that was to be expected of someone who had surely lived such a long life.

While him and Decidueye didn’t have as strong of a bond as he did with some of his other trusted companions. He known just how protective the pokemon was over him when it came to such dangerous areas. This was no question in that regard at the very least. “Many of my partners have remained close to me, especially those that desire to assist in my work. Though we are not finished quite yet.” He assured, recalling Decidueye into his pokeball so he could get some rest for the time being.

“I know that I should still have a few awakenings left in my bag, though there are berries that can rouse a pokemon from sleep. I usually keep a few Lum Berries in my bag for those cases or if I need to rouse them from any other conditions as well.”

Honestly, he still went to check through the remainder of his own inventory, knowing that they were going to have to be prepared now for this. He could use Noctowl to combat the Haunter with now, considering he would easily be immune to hypnosis. Keeping that pokeball handy on him now should they ever reappear.

“I have no intention of just quitting here, though. I’m not forcing you to come along if you’re getting tired at this point. But I still intend to see just what it is these pokemon are guarding…”

“How interesting - it seems as though battling is not the only way of bonding with your Pokemon.” Although that was probably the quickest way, it seemed as though perhaps simply being in each other’s presence would be enough to establish a strong bond sooner or later - or even just having a common goal to work towards.  Perhaps he ought to consider adding to his team some more - Houndoom was a good partner but Fire types also had many weaknesses.

“Hopefully our combined stock should be enough to get us through this forest, but if worse comes to worse we can always try to fight or flee.” He nodded his head, relieved that the other male did have some berries capable of rousing Pokemon from sleep.

He still had a few Potions left, though they were of varying qualities - he had some Hyper Potions, a handful of Super Potions but the majority were just standard Potions.  He’d even thought to bring along some Pokeballs, just in case they needed to catch any Pokemon at any point, or perhaps as a last resort.

“Unless you’re looking to make yourself sick, that is. But I’ll say this is definitely better than coffee… And leaves a person less jittery.” Another laugh ended up hidden behind the rim of her cup, a hand reaching over to push the napkins closer to him with his reach. “Looking forward to it is one thing, actually knowing where I want to look is… A completely different story. He’s always doing something, but I have no idea where to begin.”

A jacket, maybe… She couldn’t stop trying to think of what to get him, her thoughts flittering back and forth between their conversation and gift ideas. He’d been so kind to her, a gift for the holiday was the last she could do… But what? As far as she knew, he had family to get him everything he needed and wanted, and she didn’t have it in her to ask him what he’d like, not yet. Maybe something she could cook, or-

Or his assurance she’d not pried could completely snap her back to their conversation, expression softening into a light smile. “It may not have been about work,” Mako started, setting her cup down with a light click, “but I don’t want to ask without permission. Asking too many deep and personal questions can be unsettling unless the information’s freely given, and if it’s something I’m meant to know…” She trailed off, glancing down to the small amount of cocoa left in her mug. “Thank you. I’ll admit, I’m prone to sitting with cocoa and a book while it snows myself, if Take-kun’s busy - But please, remind me before we part today? I can write down the recipe for you. It’s warm, tasty, and not at all complicated, I promise.”

“That wouldn’t be very fun at all,” He agreed, grimacing at the thought.  Chocolate could be a nice treat but much like all treats, it was better consumed in moderation.  He found himself incredibly lucky in moments like this, knowing that he didn’t care much for chocolate beyond the odd treat or two.  He didn’t want to imagine drinking a lot of it, to the point of sickness.

“Perhaps you’ll find something, soon enough.” He shrugged his shoulders, smiling.  “Maybe take some time to explore the city and see what it has to offer.  I’m sure that there’s something for everyone here.” Or at least, there ought to be.  Den City was certainly quite big.  Hopefully she might be able to discover her passion here.  “Whatever your decision, I wish you luck.”

Well that answer didn’t exactly showed if the other one had noticed his lie or not, but Takeru couldn’t exactly ask about it, because that would make it way to obvious and if he hadn’t suspected it before he certainly would then. 

“It is.” he replied instead. Well the fact that a friend of them was owing the cafe played part in it as well. And the fact that they went online from there. 

“Also Kusanagi-san’s really nice.” he added, smirking slightly when he heard Flame’s quiet mumbling from his back pack about them being too late and that there wasn’t time for small talk. Well he had to deal with it for now. 

“It’s good to know that there’s such a place in the city, I don’t usually have time to stop for coffee but perhaps now I have a reason to.”

Kusanagi-san...? How interesting.  He assumed that the person in question was either the owner or perhaps an employee working at this cafe.  Either way, he sounded like a nice enough person.

Takeru nodded slightly to that comment, he suspected that much already. Trust school uniforms to tell exactly where you belong.  In the end the teen wasn’t so sure if the other referred to the duel club or school in general with that hope, so he shrugged only. Mostly because he couldn’t say much about the duel club and school at all. He was going there rather regular for now so that probably meant it wasn’t that boring. 

“I guess it’s not that bad” he added after a while, tilting his head to the side. 

“And hopefully there’s still he possibility to learn of these mistakes afterwards.”

He couldn’t help the slight smile on his face that formed at the other male’s response.  That sounded like a response Aoi would give.

Still, this Duel Club must have been decent at the very least if she continued to regularly attend meetings there.  Hopefully they were learning some tips that were actually useful, especially with all of these new types of summoning being introduced.  Such knowledge would surely be useful in the upcoming fights.  He sensed that the true fight was only just getting started.

“Better than nothing, I hope.”