[FIN] Some Girl

[Tori Honoo]

Zane ran a hand through his hair, scowling as always and doing his best to fight off the chill of the morning air as he made his way through Camphoreon. Pulling the collar of his sweater higher up his neck and over the scar along his nape, he stopped, debating whether or not to release Midas. At least he'd be warm to walk with.

Deciding against it, he instead stepped inside a cafe, hoping it wasn't too early for breakfast. As best he could tell, the place was open 24/7 and though he had already promised to meet someone, it was too far early to impose. The last thing he needed was an emotionally broken girl upset with him for showing up too early.

Once inside, he relaxed, the chill slowly fading away as he looked around. Odd. Empty, aside from the cooks and other staff. Taking a seat, he waved politely to a sleepy looking young waitress as she made her way over.  

[Kitomyx]

Akira, finished with his graveyard shift from the previous night, walked in wearily with a tired gait and a need for caffeine. Without seeming to have noticed the other young man already there, he headed directly for the counter to order his usual coffee. One 13-shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mocha coffee with extra white mocha and caramel.

It may have been a bit strong, but no less necessary after the shifts he had at work as a stock clerk. Even so, he had no desire to sleep so soon after clocking out, and if he was to do anything else that day, he needed something to keep him awake.  

[Tori Honoo]

As the door opened again, Zane shuddered-- as did the waitress-- at the chill of air that came in with the young man that walked in. Zane shook his head and grinned up to the waitress, nodding in agreement at her remark on how much she hated the weather and finishing his short order. When she walked off, he turned his attention absently to the guy at the counter, blinking to full attention at the order for coffee he gave.

Holy cow.

Looking away in disbelief a moment, he shook his head then turned back to the newcomer. "Can you really handle that much, this early?" he asked, before realizing he was speaking.

Mentally, he swore at himself.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

The young man gave Zane a glassy-eyed glance before his words processed and he chuckled weakly. "I don't think I could function without that much," he said, digging into his coat pocket to pull out his wallet. "Not after a graveyard shift spent stocking shelves."

After counting out the correct amount and leaning wearily against the counter with a sigh, he turned to appraise the fellow who had addressed him while waiting for his beverage to be made. "What about you? You're up early. Got a job to go to?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Zane shook his head in disbelief. Thirteen shots...? "That's crazy, man..." he chuckled, still in shock at himself for being amiable so early in the morning.

When asked if he had a job, his soft laugh died away. No, he didn't have a job just yet; he was still running off credit and the small payments he had gotten from his last odd chore. He sighed, thanked the waitress as she brought him his drink, then sat back in his chair again. "Nah... I'm meeting up with some girl I just met," he said, shaking his head again. " 's just to early to head over there. Didn't want to be impolite. She probably needs the rest, anyway."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Odd, meeting up with a date without a job to pay for it," Akira murmured, still only half-conscious. "Unless you don't plan to spend any money on this date of yours. Is that how commoners do it...? Thanks," he told the barista at the counter, taking a deep, long drink. Ooh, that was better. "Either way, still doesn't explain what you're doing up so early. Shouldn't you be sleeping in too, if you don't have any reason to be awake?"  

[Tori Honoo]

Zane tilted his head, brows furrowing at the stranger's words. " 'Commoners'? What are you, a duke?" He shook his head again, running a hand through his hair and back before lifting his mug again. "And nah, it's not a date. Far from it, actually."

Seriously, did this guy think he would talk about a girl he wanted to date like that? Even his hindsight on calling her 'some girl' was bugging at his conscience.

Honestly, he didn't even know what was drawing him to another outing with the girl. He really had no real business with her problems anyway, but she had offered him lunch. It wouldn't hurt to at least check up on her and hear her out. Some people just needed to talk things out, and though he had only really spent time with her once, he realized right off that she was a passionate young woman , full of emotion... and troubles, it seemed.

Setting his cup aside, he watched the guy. "You staying for a while?" he asked gruffly, motioning to the chair across from him. No reason to dislike this one, yet, he guessed.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Mm...?" Realizing what he'd said, Akira sighed heavily. "Don't mind me; I don't know what I'm saying. So tell me 'bout this girl," he continued, almost slurring his words. Time for more coffee. He took another big gulp, nearly choking. He hadn't realized drinking so much at one time had that much of a difference in temperature. Probably better to take small sips.

"Do I look like I've got anything better to do?" He asked in response to Zane's question, sliding into the chair at his table. It was going to be some time before his coffee cooled down and he figured he'd be recovered enough to make the trip home without collapsing of exhaustion on the way. He needed his wits about him in that area of the city.  

[Tori Honoo]

He watched absently as the young man sat down before him, sipping at his own drink. "There's really not much to say about her, I suppose. At least, not much that I know, yet. I only just met her," he shrugged. "She's fit, pretty... looks like she's able to take care of herself, for the most part. She just broke up with her boyfriend and I think she's had the worst of it... I'm just going so she's got someone to talk it out to. Sad really."

Why anyone on earth would treat a young woman like this with such disrespect, he had no idea, though he did realize he only really knew half the story. From what she had told him--though it hadn't been much-- the young man she had thought she was meant to be with wasn't worth his weight anyway; then again, Zane wasn't sure he believed any guy described the way she had described this man--though it had been more what she hadn't said that alarmed him-- was worth much his weight.

Cutting his eyes at the table, the man sipped at his drink again, willing himself not to get too involved. She just needed someone to talk to, and there were always going to be guys like that around. He just sure as hell wasn't going to be one of them...if he could help it.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Akira yawned as he waited for the caffeine to work its magic. In the meantime, he nodded absently, only vaguely listening to the words this guy was saying. What he was hearing sounded like most of the girls back at his old school - or at least what outsiders might have thought of them. Interior and exterior prettiness were two very different things...not to mention beauty was in the eye of the beholder.

He might have thought this was the very same girl he had just met, only Seraphine had not broken up with any boyfriend he'd known of. At least not that she told him. Oh, shoot, had she broken up with anyone since she'd talked with him? He sincerely hoped not. That was the last thing Akira wanted to be right now...a relationship-wrecker...

"Sounds like a pain," he said honestly. "Going to someone just so they have someone to talk to? What, she doesn't have friends of her own?" He sipped some more at his drink. "Do you actually enjoy going over there and listening to her whine about her old boyfriend, wallowing in her own self-pity when probably anyone would do? I doubt it'd make much difference to her if you didn't show up; probably just talk her pet poodle's ears off instead."

Girls seemed to enjoy doing that sort of thing. What Akira didn't get was why spill your guts to someone you hardly knew and who probably didn't even care. This girl must have been really been desperate. And here he had been thinking he was pathetic. He hadn't had anyone to talk to after his break-up... "Do you really care about what she has to say, or are you just trying to get on her good side?" Akira asked half-heartedly. "Because it sounds like you're just going there to listen to her blabber on about herself."  

[Tori Honoo]

Zane frowned deeply, then sat aside his mug. "She's new in the region like I am and hasn't made many connections yet, and I offered. Then she offered lunch, so..."

He shrugged, still frowning. "Can't really hurt, and I'm sure she won't want to talk about him the entire time. She was hesitant at first to really even get into it until I asked her to--That was my mistake. I think she honestly just needs more people to be around." From what he had gathered, she seemed like the type that had been surrounded with people in her home region.

Clearly, this guy wasn't a morning person, or maybe he just didn't have any compassion for the female gender. He looked him over, then, sipping at his drink again. "Kind of harsh, assuming all that about her, don't you think? Considering you haven't met her."

Maybe he did have reason to dislike this guy.  

[Kitomyx]

Connections. Something about that word struck a cord in Akira. It wasn't a term he knew commoners had much reason to use. His mouth became a thin line, but he continued to casually sip his coffee.

"I was thinking it might be boring to hear her talk about herself, but you're right. I didn't even consider the time she might take up talking about her boyfriend."

Needed more people to be around? Akira would have assumed that someone who was upset over a recent bad break-up would have wanted to be alone - not around other people. And certainly not around strange new guys so soon after their last relationship.

It sounded suspiciously to him like this girl was just reeling this guy in for a sucker, feeding off his pity and using it as an excuse to get close to him. Too many girls he'd known in the past had been like that, including ones like Masami and Ayano. Their methods may have varied, but their goals were often the same.

Akira sighed. "Girls play coy. It's their thing," he told the other young man. "Just because they act hesitant doesn't mean they are/. Come on, that's the oldest trick in the book." He took another long sip of his coffee.

Considering the guy's accusation toward him, he nodded slowly. "Maybe I am. I apologize; she just sounds a great deal like the girls I used to know in high school. Man-eaters, the lot of them."

He sighed and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes. "People who need other people are the sort I can't stand. They're the last sort of people that I want to be around right now."  

[Tori Honoo]

Zane did little to hide his scowl as he rolled his eyes. This guy obviously wasnt going to try to relate to the situation, and honestly, the trainer couldn't find any real reason to keep trying to make him understand, other than to protect the girl's honor, and even that wasn't his place. It wasn't a date and it wasn't some therapy session--it was simply a time to get to know a new aquantaince better.

Downing the rest of his drink and forcing himself not to think too much on the surly stranger's opinions, Zane looked to the young man in front of him again. "Forget I said anything, then. What's got you up so early?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira took another sip of his drink and raised his brows when he noticed Zane rolling his eyes. "What, don't tell me you've never met any girls like that?" he commented.

"Besides, you hardly know this girl, either. She could just as easily be a serial killer who moved here as a fugitive and has parts of her dead boyfriend with whom she 'broke up' with in her basement." Or maybe he was just being cynical. Either way, he wasn't sure why this stranger was getting so worked up over his opinion. They didn't even know each other's names.

At the question he was posed, Akira laughed, looking incredulous. "Didn't I already tell you? Just got off a graveyard shift spent stalking shelves." He sneered. "Maybe you should have some of my coffee - you seem pretty out of it."  

[Tori Honoo]

Damn it.

The conversation had gone to far, and again, he had no intentions of his temper rising so early in the morning. No woman deserved to be thought of in such a negative way, even if the accusations were true. Especially not when the man hadn't even met the girl he was--

He cleared his head, stopping his train of thought, and took a deep breath before speaking again.

"Really, just forget her," he growled, moving aside his now empty mug. "You said you just off work, right? Where do you work?"

He smiled to the waitress as she returned with a new mug of tea. Though it was still kind, the smile was cooler, tainted by the conversation he had just dismissed. As she left, assuring him that his breakfast would be out soon, he thanked her, then turned back for the boy's answer.