Rinto here!

———————-♫

Rinto. Like… Rin? Maybe she was delusional.

If she could remember to ask, she would, once she was charged.

                     ”I… I’m not… Going to die… Am I?”

She immediately regretted it. He was clearly young, and nervous, so why would he know? And why should she stress him out any more than he seemed to already be?

                       ”I’m… Sorry… I didn’t mean… That…”

She took long, shaky breaths, and she felt her neck completely relax. She lifted her hand slightly to try and reach out to him, but it flopped to the ground with a soft sound and a faint metal clang.

Her eyes started dimming, in order to save power, and her eyelids became heavy.

                            “But… Soon? Ready?”

"Very soon. Just try not to fall asleep on me okay?"

He offered a soft smile to her, but didn't exactly feel too sure of himself. He'd never been in this kind of situation and thought he was blowing it in massive proportions. Then, an idea struck him.

"I made some food  this morning I was going to take to school for lunch tomorrow. But you can have it if you want. It's not much, though, just fried chicken and some steamed vegetables."

"Um… The store is over this way." Rinto pointed back to the way he had been originally heading before walking.

"I'm not that short..." he retorted quietly, his pout once again on his lips. Rinto headed for the bird seed and picked up a small bag. He checked the price and nodded to himself before going to the front to pay. As soon as he got his change, he turned and held it out to the stranger.

"Are you sure we’re almost there?"

"Of course! It’s just around the corner. I even called ahead so their keeping your favorite machine open for you. They even have a Sundae waiting for you." Rinto perked up as his High School friend gave him the details on the surprise he had set up for the blond’s eighteenth birthday. With a makeshift blindfold on made from the birthday boy’s hoodie being pulled low and the strings pulled out all the way so it only made a big enough hole for the teen’s nose and mouth to show, there was no way he could see where he was being taken. Listening as his sneakers skidded across the concrete, he allowed his friend to turn him and lead him into a building with music playing. He wondered why the arcade would play this kind of dance beat filled music instead of the usual light-hearted stuff they usually had on. He diverted from the distraction with the mental excuse that it was probably another thing his friend had tried to do for him.

"Alright, there’s a seat to your left so go ahead and sit down and take the hood off."

Rinto sat down and removed the hood to reveal his silken blond hair. His eyes opened to find nothing he was expecting. Instead of gaming machines and gamers, he found half naked people and older men drooling at the sight of them. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he turned his cerulean gaze to his buddy who was beaming back at him with the huge smile he usually got when he thought he did something awesome.

"Happy birthday, dude! Everything you want and more is already paid for and all on me!"

     Cash in hand, counted one by one, then securely placed into his personal safe in his private room. There was enough there for a client to have use of his services all night. He exited the room, and out into the loud music. His amethyst eyes scanned the area, finding the person who paid him.

"Um... The store is over this way." Rinto pointed back to the way he had been originally heading before walking.

"Look, let me buy my bird's food and you can have the rest. It's either that or I follow you around until you get sick of it."

Rinto put his hand on his hip and puffed out his lip in his usual irritated expression. He refused to give the kid room and stepped up further. He wouldn't have minded if he had asked him for money. Whatever was left after he bought his bird's food would have been handed over to the red haired boy, but Rinto wasn't a fan of stealing.

"But...I need that to pay for my bird's food..."

With Rinto's hair clips and soft voice, nobody could really fault the stranger for his mistake. With hats on and their hair pulled up, he and his sister were often mistaken for one another, even though he was older than she was.

"Most people would just ask for spare change..."