Deceivingly Simple

he begins shuffling through his book bag, pulling out the item he was looking for not long after.

“—i do actually.” keisuke explains, offering the plaster aid to the stranger. “my mother’s a bit of a worrywart so she shoved a bunch of useless stuff in my bag. so take it.”

he was preparing to go– but upon hearing her words, keisuke turned his head. he didn’t care, or rather had this been before he surely wouldn’t have– but all he can hear is his mother’s voice.

you don’t need to gain something to be kind, you just do it because it’s right!

“– ugh.”

that woman had an odd way of making kindness contagious.

“hey stupid. c’mere.”

As much as she wanted to retort to the stupid comment she held her tongue and obeyed the strangers order. He was right anyway. That was pretty stupid. She held up her bleeding finger and sighed. 

he seems uninterested in what she has to say; although he does take her advice. without saying a word he picks up and rock and hurls it towards the glass with all the strength he can muster.

“…. this pocari sweat isn’t as cold as i’d hope it’d be.” the teen comments as he picks up one of the drinks through the broken glass, seemingly ignoring the girl’s presence.

Wow this guy didn’t give a heck in the world did he? She was almost impressed. “I guess that’s one way of handling it.” 

Mirroring the stranger, she reached through the broken glass to grab her snack of choice. Unfortunately she was clumsy like her old man, and accidentally sliced her finger on the sharp glass.

– i’m sure i’m not the one in front of a vending machine.

She glances behind herself and then swiftly sidesteps out of the strangers way.

       emery… that was a name he hasn’t heard before. it was kinda cute.

           ❝ that would be weird if i had a boyfriend. i haven’t even been in a relationship in a long time.. let alone been a girl in a relationship. ❞ he sighs, clutching onto emery. desperation littered his voice. ❝ how am i going to do this ? my last two bodies have been nothing but bums ! now i have to work hard AND be a girl ?! ❞

    ❝ yeah, but it’s been… ❞ he paused, trying to remember the last time he had even been inside a classroom.. huh…  ❝ it’s been a LONG time.. ❞ he sighs, shoving his hands in his cardigan pockets. what if this girl is a honor student ? he only knew so much japanese…

    ❝ huh ? my name’s crispian. my real name. this name however… ❞ he takes out the wallet in his pocket, looking around until he found a school id.  ❝ arai… mitsuki ? that’s HER name, at least. ❞

      ❝ well… it’s not that i’ve never been a female… it’s just been a while. ❞ he scratches the top of his head, eyebrows furrowing as he thought.  ❝ and now i’m going to have to go to high school again… and UGH ! i hate school ! ❞ if this was college, he could just drop out and find a job – but this body had a family and friends… he couldn’t really seclude himself again. ❝ i don’t know what i’m going to do…  ❞

“High school isn’t that bad-” Come to think of it, since her mafia escapade began she hadn’t been to a single class. One because she’s been way too preoccupied and two, her school was back home, not here. How easy is it to transfer high schools anyway? “-hm, I guess I can’t really talk though...”

       she really was going to believe him ? crispian didn’t know if that meant she trust him… or if she was just that easily accepting. ❝ i… it’s kind of hard to really explain. i just… take another appearance after a while. ❞ it was a lot more complicated than that, but i’m lazy tbh and you know how it is.

        ❝ sorry, i can’t really do much in my current condition. ❞ he hated that his wounds took time to heal.. but being cramped up at home was going to drive him crazy.  ❝ do you mind pushing the button for the 1st floor ? ❞ if he could just make his way down towards the library, he should be good.  

                 * ( @perfidioustwiddler / LIKED !

“it perished a long time ago.” by her hand no less. thankfully it had been rebuilt, although she couldn’t very well waltz in her home– not when her descendants lived there.

“i appreciate your concern, however i can rest my head just as comfortably in nature as opposed to an actual home.”

she tried to reassure the other girl, however once the topic of staying with her came to the surface– amelie couldn’t help but jump up in surprise.

“–eh?! oh goodness no! i could never impose! it’s fine! like i said, i’m fine resting up in some of the more uninhabited parts of the land really! plus… truth be told… i’m not very good at socializing with others… nor being around them…”

“You’re right. It’s wild of me to ask someone I’ve just met if they need a place to stay. I jumped the gun there. It’s just, your situation is similar to mine when I first came here.”

The were on a first name basis now though, she couldn’t just leave without doing something. Her conscious wouldn’t let her. A little bit of it was because she still felt slightly bad about walking in on Amelie earlier, and another part of it was, well for a selfish reason. The woman seemed strong. Naive in some aspects, but strong, powerful, and beautiful overall. Maybe she could make a friend?

“ah… i’m relieved.” a hand is placed on her heart as she lets out a sigh, and soon her smile returns.

“– oh! you see… i don’t quite have a home to return to, so i’ve been wandering here. it’s not any trouble of course, as i’ve got to see many things!”

luckily she hadn’t run into any trouble as of yet, but it wasn’t like she couldn’t handle herself.

as for her home? well she wasn’t technically lying.

“You don’t have a place to return to? Traveling around is fun, but you’ve got to have a place to rest your head sometime."

Emery remembered what it was like when she first came into town herself. If it wasn’t for the fact she was part of a gang, she probably still wouldn’t have a place to stay. “I’m not trying to imply you can’t take care of yourself but I’d sleep better at night knowing you had a place to return to.”

A thought bounced back and forth in her mind as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. A shoe kicked at the ground. What’s the worst that could happen?

“You, could stay at my place if you’d like. It’s not really a home... or mine... but it would be a place to lay your head.

“emery..” she repeats, letting her words hang in the air before continuing. “amelie. it’s a pleasure.”

her fingers grab the ends of her dress as she raises it just slightly, giving a curtsy before letting the fabric drape on the floor once more.

“i didn’t scare you did i?” she asks with a hint of concern, her expression taking a much more amiable one in comparison to earlier. “i apologize. i’m still getting used to things.”

“It’s fine. You’re fine...” The genuine apology soothed the situation a bit, but she was still wary of the stranger if only just out of habit. 

she freezes, soulless eyes practically glaring in her direction. 

“are you saying my darling isn’t alive?”

blue lacquered nails tap against the top of the skull, contemplating her next move as she let silence fill the area they both inhabited.

a piece of her thought about teaching the girl a lesson or two; after all, even if he couldn’t speak– her husband was still alive. he was alive with her; in her memory and her (metaphorical) heart.

but then again… philippe was a piece of shit.

eventually, after what seemed like an eternity without words– her lips curved into a smile. she’d spare the girl– if not for the fact she had helped her understand the modern box from before.

“you’re the girl from…. the teevee, yes?” the witch inquired, moving the skull behind her back and eventually inside it’s coal-colored sack.

She was obviously taken back by the other’s reaction to her presence. It wasn’t the first time she had walked in on an unwelcome situation, it came with the territory, but this was the first time she genuinely felt threatened. If she didn’t just get the verbal confirmation that this was the same woman who was so innocent and curious about a T.V. just the day before, she would have just assumed this was a completely different person.