kokuyoku

“Ah, so it is centered around a religious figure…” that’s not so odd, she thinks. Gods and mythical creatures often accumulate followers and religions devoted to worshiping them though of course, she has not seen or heard of many back in the World of Ruin.

This guy — Dark — he was a natural! Or maybe he had tons of ballroom dancing experience. Maybe he was, like, royalty or something! Rise spun with ease as they began to dance. She laughed delightedly, not regretting the decision to take his hand one bit.

"Rise?" So close was her name to the one he'd just been reminded of; Risa, the one who'd so passionately adored him in his own world. He forces himself to believe in the coincidence for now, however, not wanting to get too off his original intentions.

"Heh, well, the holiday has got a lot of traditions, but it's really about celebrating the birth of a religious figure or something." The latter was not in his interests in the slightest.

She smiled at the young man after a moment, deciding that there was no harm in dancing with someone who wasn’t her date. He seemed like a gentleman, anyway, and Rise was flattered he approached her.

The idol took his hand and nodded. 

No sooner did her hand fall atop his would he tug it forward, lifting up to issue one delicate spin before pulling her smoothly to the floor. His other hand sneaking around her waist with ease, he showed no shyness in keeping their distance minimal. The movements were so practiced, so second-nature, that he thought nothing of them.

"The name's Dark. You are?"

Being able to enjoy himself this way was beyond rare, if not because the police were on his case the second he stepped outside, then surely as a result of his unusual circumstances.

She’s still cross-dressing.

For someone with such Oriental features, the Western attire seems rather out-of-place.  And, in truth, there are many who would believe her disguise: from the neck down, she’s built much like a rather skinny boy, rather than a woman.  Her face, however, is feminine, and the small roundness of the bust would give her away to any observant companion.

The other’s voice startles her, and she lets out a small yelp as she snaps to face him.  He’s handsome, definitely, though in a way which reminds her much of Chikage.  A light shiver rolls up her spine at the mere thought.

"O-oh, um," her voice, too, is light and gentle, "Of course.  Is there something that you need help with?"

He blinked twice upon setting eyes on the woman however, her attire a borderline disguise that left him with doubt. The length of hair had given him some indicator of gender from behind but was by no means an actual guarantee, if he was any proof of that. It was revealed soon enough by her feminine expression that she was what he thought her to be, but quite a few seconds of silence had passed until then.

Puzzled by her choice to wear such, he decided to rededicate his focus for the moment. Her response was delicate enough, he mused, so his refined demeanor returned promptly, even if his words were less than elegant.

Turning around, she faced a violet haired young man; a handsome violet haired young man. Hello.

He offers a lifted hand, bowing his head just a tad, a warmer smile appearing on his features as he remained completely uncaring of the fact this maiden might have a date.

It turned out that you really can never be too careful. In fact, nothing prepared the pirate for what had ensued on a day that seemed tangible, just like any other day. She woke up, got ready for the day, and was off to to explore uncharted facilities left undetermined. In other words, Nami had grown bored of lying about in her apartment and gained the ambition to become a more productive citizen of the city. Being something other than a pirate or a thief wasn’t all it was cracked up to be when the job wasn’t called for in this place. But this particular day had to be the worst of them all, out of all the things the navigator had to deal with. Even worse than her knuckle-head captain.

The train ride from three to four wasn’t especially tedious, as expected, but the ride home afterwards certainly would be. Keeping this in mind, it made her current situation far more atrocious. All day, Nami was job searching, a newspaper in hand and marking off each and every one she could think of that resided in this particular sector. No luck. The sky had grown darker by now, the combination of orange and blue fading to black and a sea of stars. She could only hop on the train and try again. But her second ride wasn’t running as smoothly as she anticipated. Nothing as monumental as a sudden malfunction or a terrible accident. Not unless you count utter humiliation, a girl’s worst nightmare.

What had occurred was Nami having set her coat down on her seat, giving some time to wind down during the ride and had a nap. When the doors opened and the winter chill rushed in, she immediately awoke to leave, but discovered her coat missing from the seat. Stolen. Now irritated and chilled to the bone, the woman grunted when stepping on the platform with her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Not the best of the navigator’s wisdom to sport a halter top underneath a thick coat. 

The rest was sort of a blur given how fast and spontaneous it all strung together. Crossing the street, she thought to pass through the park to cut straight through, but a puddle icing over due to the cold caused the chattering pirate to slide and slip, but an average citizen caught her from falling face first into concrete when… a strap snapped and her top fell pitifully to the ground, leaving a distressed girl to stare blankly downwards for a full two seconds.

"…Huh?" Sudden realization hit and it was all over.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!”

Several attempts at escape had been made, of course, all ending in failure no matter his chosen direction. Beyond irritated by the circumstances, he continued wandering through the sectors more or less aimlessly, making note of what use each held-- if any. His general disgust would soon pale in comparison to the anguish of a young woman however, her despaired shriek interrupting his musings and causing him to start.

It became clear after a stroll towards the noise that the source of the scream was coming from a bush located in the park, amethyst eyes blinking as they fell upon the sobbing maiden. Realizing immediately that she was nearly nude in this freezing environment, he removed his large, black coat and allowed it to fall on her back, leaving him in a casual white shirt.

"How's that?" he stated nonchalantly, his tone light in hopes of easing her embarrassment. "You'll blend right into the night." The jacket itself was thick and would easily provide coverage of her entire body as his height was above hers, in addition to the necessary warmth. His gaze turning away until she felt she could stand and face him, he hummed.