[PRP] Late Night Shifts

[Akira Midoriyama]

It was the beginning of another night shift at a small convenience store in Camphoreon. A brown-haired young man had just finished unloading the last of the boxes from a new shipment. He stretched his aching back and winced, trying not to think of the work that lay ahead. Hard labor wasn't exactly his forte, as anyone would have been able to tell from his newly-calloused hands and slender frame. Just a few minutes of moving boxes had already caused him to break a sweat as if he'd never before worked a day in his life.

The plain-looking young man's name tag read 'Akira'. His two other co-workers were off-duty tonight and the jerk-of-a-manager in charge during his shift had gone out for a drink, leaving the young man on his own. He sighed heavily, reaching up to tug on his bangs. It was going to be a long shift.

The single employee remaining highly doubted that the fellow planned on returning any time that night, but he couldn't just leave his position. There was always the possibility that he would be wrong and his boss might come back to an empty store, for which he would certainly be fired. Besides, Akira was not the sort who could abandon a duty given to him without a large amount of guilt - often disproportional to the amount of responsibility he had shirked.

Therefore, the young man continued about his work while waiting for his shift to end, hoping no one would come in and want to buy something so he wouldn't have to try to ring them up and risk getting something wrong. He re-shelved items and re-stocked the shelves, keeping note of inventory until the door's bell rung, causing him to look up. Akira hurried to the end of the aisle he was in, ready to greet the potential customer while secretly wincing inside. "Ah...welcome," he said, bowing his head politely - yet another old habit of his. "Can I help you...?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

The wind helped the door open as it was pushed on, though taking more effort to close it as the wind intended to keep it open.
"Brrr-" A blond girl with a blue sweatshirt on and pink jeans stepped further into the store once she made sure the door was closed, trying to warm herself up as she brushed her hands over her arms a few times.

The number of chilly days were starting to add up, and the nights were only that much colder.
Rosie was greeted into the store, she didn't recognize the voice until she looked up to offer the employee a smile and a greeting in returning, happy to accept their assistance if they wouldn't mind.
"Hi, thank you- Oh! Hi! Uh... ummm Akira! Right?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Sorry about that. This wind is - R-rosie?" He blinked, astonished. He hadn't expected to see the young lady here; not this late at night. He certainly hadn't expected her to remember his name. Hurrying over to help her with the door, he couldn't help asking, "Miss Rosie, what are you doing out so late? Are you alone?"

It may have been rude, but as a big brother and someone who deeply concerned himself with young women, he couldn't help but worry. It was a city, after all, and from what he'd heard, it was pretty dangerous. Not that he doubted Rosie knew.  

[Blood_Goddess]

AH it was him! Good! But how could she forget? He had been one of the friends of Sera that she had invited to the brunette's surprised birthday party.
the sight of a familiar face that in turn recognized her perked the young blond right up. "Oh wow its been a while hasn't it, its great to see you again!"
Asking if she was alone she shook her head, and made a gesture behind her toward the door, arms still half crossed over her chest.
"Pastin is with me, well, most of my team is." She pointed out, making a gesture to her belt. "I'm just here to pick up some medicine, do you work here?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"Yes, it has! I'm surprised you remember me - " He paused, glancing down at his nametag. " - Er, though I suppose name tags are good memory aids. How are you?" He was pretty sure she'd said his name before he had come close enough to read his tag, though. She certainly did seem to be a people person. That was how he'd remembered her so well; she reminded him of Mitsuko, his first crush (or at least he'd thought it was a crush) in high school.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry, I forget about the pokemon and I just get so anxious about young ladies going out at night. It's what comes of having three sisters, I guess." Wiping his dusty hands on his apron, he nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. What medicine can I get for you? Heals, Potions, Revives...?" Briskly walking back to one of the isles, he browsed the shelves to find what she might need.  

[Blood_Goddess]

As she drew closer her blue eyes were brought to the name tag when it was pointed out, arching her eyebrows with her mouth falling open in a dawning understanding, but she just nodded and smile. "I still have you in my pokegear I think, you're one of Sera's friends."

"Mm" she shook her head "Its nice of you to be concerned, I know lately its been giving lots of people to be anxious. but its okay, I don't live too far from here."
At the mention that she had three sisters she giggled "Three sisters? I bet you love them a lot to be so instinctive to look out for them. I have family like that, so I understand."

As he walked away Rosie followed after him quickly, unfolding her arms as she went, "Oh, not for pokemon, I need cold medicine for a person." she explained "I'm sorry, something for a cough, for the day and to help with sleeping at night."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I certainly hope so," he responded, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. "...How...how is she, by the way? I haven't heard from her in a while and she didn't seem herself at all when I last did..." Memories of that day in the park still haunted him.

"That's good, at least," Akira said, nodding as she mentioned she lived close. "I know it's silly; I mean, you can probably defend yourself a great deal better than I can, especially with all your experience."

His smile faltered as he realized he had mentioned his sisters. He just couldn't avoid talking about them, could he? And he couldn't shift the topic to Rosie's sister, because...well, that wouldn't have been very polite conversation.

"Ah...yes, I do," he answered, a little yearning in his voice. "It's just a little hard to get used to, not having them around much anymore. Something I'm sure you could also understand." She had mentioned her own family, so at least he could say that much. But he wasn't going to continue further on that topic unless she furthered it herself.

Halting in his rummaging, the stock clerk looked up from the products. "For a person?" he repeated. "Oh, oh! I am so sorry; it's just that so many trainers come in here for their pokemon. Let me see what we have." Moving to the next isle over, he scanned the shelves a bit, one hand absently tugging his bangs as he mumbled over and over, "Cold medicine, cold medicine..."

At last, he cried, "Ah-ha! Cold medicine. There's cherry-flavored, grape, cough syrup, tablets, pills, medicinal lollipops for children - " Here he paused again. "I'm sorry, might I ask the age of this patient of yours...?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Sera?" the girl asked to confirm though it was clear she already knew who he was asking about. Tilting her head a little she smiled "She's doing better, Much better then before. Have you talked to her recently?"
Sera had been through some hard times int he past months, and had rarely wanted anything to do with anyone, she wondered how that must have affected her other friends.

holding a hand up with a light wave Rosie shook her head "I just try and stay out of trouble, I have enough to fight for without having to look over my shoulder. You don't get hassled here do you?"

Rosie let out a knowing hum when he mentioned getting used to his sisters not being around "I just moved out of my uncles house, so I do. where are your sisters now?"

Following after Akira as he lead her to different isles looking over the medicines he brought her too, she reached out to pull some of the syrup off the shelf.
"Its for Luke," She answered looking over the bottle before lifting her blue eyes over to Akira "He's been coughing a lot, so I want to try and ease that"
Its been getting worse, and she knows it hurts his back every time he does cough.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira's shoulders relaxed in relief when he heard Sera was doing better. But he started tugging harder on his bangs when asked the question that followed. "...No, I haven't, actually," he confessed. "I'm...not so sure she was too pleased with me the last time we talked and I didn't want to upset her more, especially not in the state she was in. I thought I'd give her some space. I know so little about Miss Seraphine," he said sadly, taking a box of cough syrup from the shelf and absently staring at the picture on the box. "Thank you for letting me know she's recovered somewhat. I'm really glad she has you and Luke to help her out."

"No, I haven't for the most part," the brunet answered, replacing the box on the shelf. "Unless you count my manager, heh. But it's a fairly safe community, I'd like to think. Not that I have much to steal." Actually, it was due to the poverty of the area that he figured most people didn't try any robbery in that part of the city. At least not that he'd heard of.

It was a moment or two before he knew how to answer the question regarding his sisters. "Back home in Sinnoh," he said finally.

"Oh, Luke? Poor guy," Akira lamented. "Arceus, you'd think he'd been through enough already." He shook his head, but smiled softly when he turned to look at Rosie. "I think he's been able to get though everything thanks to you and Miss Seraphine, though. You really are all so lucky to have each other."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Her expression softened when he admitted that he had not, and she didn't seem too terribly surprised to hear that the last encounter he had had with Sera might not have gone over too well, looking sympathetic, putting on a supporting smile.
"She's had her phone off for a long time, I know it might have been hard to get a hold of her, after the accident she just didn't want to be around anyone. But she really is doing a lot better, When you get the chance you should text her or go see her sometime. I'm sure she would be glad to hear from her friends."

"Oh, that's good," she breathed in a show of relief. "It seems like a really nice place to far, I do love it~ We moved around here becasue where my house is its closer to the university."
She explained, looking around the shop, she was grateful to hear that he didn't get too much trouble. as much as she liked to believe that her city wasn't bad and the people in it were good and honest, she knew that this city changed sometimes at night, in certain parts especially.

Her eyes widened a little when he mentioned where his sisters lied "In Sinnoh? I imagine you miss them, being so far away."

Her expression fell a little, joined with a sobering nod as she read through the label and returned the syrup to the shelf "He really has." She agreed, lifting her eyes to Akira once more with a small smile. "That's very kind of you to say, thank you. We're doing the best we can for him."
Rosie tilted her head with a light curiosity absently pulling another brand off of the shelf. "So you know Luke too? You met him at the party, right?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Akira smiled back, but his heart wasn't really in it. He doubted Sera didn't want to be around anyone or else she wouldn't have wanted him to stay with her at the park that day. He just likely hadn't been her first choice of company. Still, he knew Rosie was just trying to be kind, so he kept his mouth shut about his doubts. Rosie had known her longer and likely better than he did, after all.

"Maybe I will, then," he said softly, considering the idea. He wasn't sure she would still call him friend if she ever even had - he still felt more like they were just acquaintances - but if Sera's best female friend thought so, he couldn't see why it would hurt to try. "Thank you."

"Oh, are you attending the university around here?" the brunet asked in surprise. "I'd have thought you and the others would have been too busy training." He wasn't really sure what they taught there, though. Maybe it had to do with pokemon and training them. "I really don't know how you do it all. Between my meals, night shifts, and catching up on sleep during the day, I can barely keep up with the pace of living." He chuckled good-naturedly.

His melancholy smile returned at the topic of his sisters. "I do. But as I'm sure you know, sometimes life creates circumstances where we can't be with or be in touch with the ones we love. With every door that closes, though, a new one opens. That's what I like to think, anyway." He pat her shoulder lightly as she looked up to him with a small smile of her own, thanking him.

"Yes, I met him," he said, fixing a few misplaced products by putting them back in their proper locations. "Actually, I've spoken with him since. Met him at the park one day when he saved me from my own pokemon. It was pretty pathetic, but I was glad to have gotten the chance to talk to him." The brown-eyed young man turned to her with a grin and held out a bottle of medicinal gummy Teddiursa. "Do you think he'd like these?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

She watched his smile, though the subtle hints in his features that brought out a more hesitance and worry. When he spoke however, it was more positive to the idea of contacting Sera again,
"It will be good for her to hear from friends." Rosie concluded nodding thankfully when he said he would.

"Oh no no no." Rosie giggled, holding her hands up and shaking her head "I'm not attending the university, My cousin is, we're living together right now," lowering her hands again she tilted her head "No I don't have enough time to go to school, Pokemon training pretty much takes up all of that, if I want to improve its what I have to do. A lot of it is time management, once you get a schedule its easy. Though there are time when you have to count for unexpected events..." the blond added with a gentle nod and a glance down to the floor. "One does what one can."
Her tilted back up with a smile.

She caught the smile on his face with a slightly furrow of her own brow in concern. "I'm sorry if I brought something up like that. But you know- I do understand what you mean, veeery well~"

Looking at the bottle he held out to her she smiled with a little laugh, reaching out to take the bottle and look at the little gummy pokemon "Oh my gosh they are so cute." She admitted "I don't know if these would be very helpful to this cold." She lifted the bottle of cough syrup "I think this is what I'm looking for. I just want to help lessen his coughing, its getting so bad."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

"I'll do my best," Akira assured Rosie, though he couldn't help thinking that what was good for people wasn't always necessarily what they wanted.

"Oh! I beg your pardon," he apologized as she corrected his assumption. "I actually thought the university might have had to do with pokemon training because I'm aware of how hard you and your friends work at it. But yes, unexpected events can be troublesome...or pleasantly surprising." He winked in response to her smile.

"I'm sure you do," the young man agreed in regards to Rosie understanding. "Please don't be sorry. I appreciate your interest. It's always difficult to establish the line between polite distance and friendly interest, but with me, I take no offense to personal questions. In fact, I find it flattering that you would ask at all."

He beamed warmly as she laughed at the gummies. "Well if it made you laugh, perhaps it'll accomplish the same with him. And you know what they say - 'laughter is the best medicine'." Nodding at her selection, though, he said, "I wouldn't be surprised if you could get him to laugh all on your own, though. Here, I'll ring you up."

Leading the way out of the isle, Akira headed back behind the counter toward his register, signing into the system so he could check Rosie out. Then he paused. "Oh, I'm sorry! Was there anything else you were interested in this evening or was that it?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Mmm, no, The university doesn't really have anything that helps teach about training, but from what I hear there is a lot more courses that discuss Pokemon behavior and science. I think thanks to the League being around more." she smiled with an excitement in her eyes "Kodo's becoming slowly more pokemon oriented"

she was glad to hear that she didn't offend him, she knew it was different with each person, and she tried to be aware of that, as a result though she perked up and smiled with a sense of relief "I'm the same way. I'm glad."

She took the bottle of gummies to look them over, giving a very slight knowing nod. "He could probably use a little of that about now too." She admitted in a quieter tone, that was almost sad.
His encouraging words brought her eyes back up to the brunette, her expression softening. "I sure hope I can." She admitted.

Reaching her hand out to place the gummy bottles back onto the shelf, she moved to follow Akira to the register, holding the cold medicine she had come in there for.
"Mmmm..." Taking a moment to consider if she in fact did need anything else, and just ended up reached out for a candy bar, and held it up "Chocolate!"