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Needful Things; Rikona's Introduction (Open)
Topic Started: Apr 27 2016, 08:29 PM (242 Views)
Erin Everett
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The shopping mall: it was the crowning accomplishment of the human race, as far as Rikona was concerned. Millennia of invention, innovation, spiritual evolution, war, peace, and sushi experimentation had all been but a precursor to the miracle that was the shopping mall. It was everything anyone would ever need, all in one place. If it were allowed, Rikona would have rented the book store's back room as an apartment and just lived at the mall.

Tanjiro was particularly good. This chain hadn't had a location at all where she was from, and the girl (today wearing a horizontal-striped black-and-white top with faint pink flower images underlaying the stripes, complimented by a black skirt and deep-red leg-warmers) fully intended on spending the whole day just browsing until she either fell asleep where she stood or the riders of the apocalypse swooped in to drop the curtain on the universe... whichever came first. She had even bought herself some soda for the occasion, which wasn't usually her choice of drink (so many empty calories!) but was something she liked to enjoy on days when she decided to just cut loose and not think about anything responsible at all. It was a rare kind of day for Rikona Fukuda.

There was a bounce in her step as she strolled along the second floor, sipping melon cream soda from a bottle through a straw (all the better to avoid rotting her teeth out). She'd spent at least a few minutes in every shop she'd passed by so far, except for the eateries. She would check those out another day. Except for the soda, though, Rikona hadn't bought anything yet. She only had enough money on her for a bit of food and some school supplies, so she had to be smart about her spending. Still! She got a charge from just seeing what there was to see, like that store way back on the other side of the floor that specialized in foreign fashions. Not even specific foreign fashions, just foreign fashions, all of them. All the fashions, all the foreign. They even had a catalog and could take special orders. Rikona liked what she could get at an everyday department store well enough, but that was still one hell of a shop.

The girl slowed up as she passed the latest store, sucking a slow stream of savory sweetness through her straw as her eyes swept the items on display. Antiques. It was an antique store. Stepping up to the window for a closer look, Rikona stared from one item to another. The store was long, but narrow, a squeezed-in store that burrowed as deep as it could into its tiny allotment of mall space. There were antique Japanese paintings, masks, books, and there was Western stuff, too. A grandfather clock caught her eye, a display on the bookshelf in the back marked ENGLISH, one next to it marked FRENCH. It looked like they were all pretty well-worn paperbacks. There were shelves filled with a lot of different colorful pots, some dishes... what looked like a set of bronze scales balancing on the counter by the cash register...

A tug on her shoulder alerted the girl to movement in the general vicinity of her purse. Rikona twitched and looked back--and met the eyes of a wiry-looking teenage boy in a frayed school uniform, his hand frozen in the act of lifting her pocketbook from the purse. Those eyes widened, his fingers released the pocketbook, and he bolted.

Rikona was left standing where she was, watching the boy barrel away amidst the scandalized yellings and grumblings of the pedestrian peanut gallery, slowly zipping her purse back up and allowing herself a few moments of exasperation at the audacity of that boy. He looked like maybe a first-year or second-year, and if he'd been reduced to wearing his uniform during end-of-year break? It wasn't hard to forgive him for trying to pinch a few yen.

"Still! The nerve of him..." Rikona hissed to herself. "Anyone could have seen him."
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Miharu Yoshikuni
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"You should be careful around here," a voice said just a couple of feet to the left of Rikona.

It belonged to a girl that was admiring a few ship figurines in bottles. She was of average height, probably around five-and-three inches or five-and-four. Wavy strands of brown hair fell gently on her left shoulder, tied together by a chic silk handkerchief. She wore a beige poncho with orange Aztecan print that paired nicely with dark denim skinny jeans that tucked into tan cowboy boots. Slung on her shoulder was a shapeless hobo bag two books peering out from the inside. The girl offered a small smile.

"Busy areas such as this tend to carry that kind of people," she said. "Even if they get spot, they can easily get lost in the crowd. I take it though that you didn't lose anything?"
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Erin Everett
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Rikona gave a slight start of surprise, and looked to the left. The girl who'd spoken up instantly stuck out to her as someone she'd like to talk "shop" with sometime, if only to figure out where she'd gotten the different pieces of her outfit from. She was wearing some stuff that Rikona could swear she remembered seeing in that foreign-fashions shop, too.

"Oh, I know. Don't worry about me," said Rikona, brushing some of her hair back out of her eyes--it had flapped over her face when she'd turned to face the pickpocket so quickly. "And, no. He didn't manage to get my money out of there before I caught him." She laughed a little, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth, as if the laugh were a cough. "It's like he lost a game of Operation."

The girl looked back the way the pickpocket had run, her lips down-turned.

"Is petty crime a big problem in Nagashima?" she asked. It occurred to her that she'd never looked into it. Had her father and mother, before deciding to pick up and move their life here?
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Miharu Yoshikuni
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The girl managed a small chuckle upon hearing about the pickpocket's failure. She looked at Rikona intently with indigo-colored eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't have the exact statistics, but it's been common enough to happen on a day-to-day basis if one's careless," she said. She then covered her mouth upon realizing something. "Ah, how rude of me. Here I am striking up conversation without even introducing myself."

She made a short, polite bow and smiled softly.

"My name's Murasaki, Ayano," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss...?"
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Erin Everett
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Rikona's feelings upon receiving that answer were uncomfortable. In most places, crime rates were just statistics. You had to be extremely unlucky to become part of that statistic unless you happened to live in a bad neighborhood. But this Ayano Murasaki seemed to be telling her that it was a likely enough thing even here for Rikona to need to keep her guard up. Actively. Constantly. How could anyone live that way?

She took another sip of her melon-cream soda, to calm her nerves. The polite introduction was unexpected, and Rikona found herself thrown-off for a short moment, betrayed by the abrupt cessation of soda flow from the bottle through her transparent, green bendy-straw. She caught herself and bowed in return. "Rikona Fukuda is my name," she replied. "Pleased to meet you, Murasaki-san."

The girl seemed to be a little older than she. It occurred to Rikona mid-introduction that Murasaki-senpai might be the proper form of address. She had to remind herself that she was a senior now, and whether or not Murasaki was a college student, this placed them in two different circles. That apart from being a complete unknown; there was no reason to think Murasaki couldn't have pursued a career path outside of college.

But Rikona had expected Murasaki to simply spare her a few words and be on her way. She was simply the outgoing type, then? The girl relaxed a little, and sipped a bit more soda to speed the process.

"Thank you for showing concern," said Rikona. "I'm sorry for my ignorance, but I just moved here yesterday evening. I should have done some research on more than just the sights before I went exploring."
Edited by Erin Everett, Apr 28 2016, 09:29 AM.
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Miharu Yoshikuni
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"There's nothing to apologize for," Ayano said as she raised a hand reassuringly. "I think you have a quick enough eye, so you shouldn't fret about it too much."

Ayano's eyes drifted around the store for awhile. Near her was a shelf of ship models in glass bottles. She carefully examined one of a frigate in a milk container and traced a finger on the glass surface. Her finger gathered no dust, to her relief. She turned back to Rikona.

"So you just moved here, huh?" she asked curiously. "I take it that you'll be studying either at Taiyoutono or Reitaku High School, then. I myself just graduated from Taiyoutono."
Edited by Miharu Yoshikuni, Apr 28 2016, 09:43 PM.
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Erin Everett
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The display of ships-in-bottles was close to the front window of the shop, so close that Rikona almost didn't realize that Murasaki was technically inside--but there they were, the shop's magnetic shoplifting-detectors, between her and Murasaki...

It felt kind of awkward to have a conversation with those between them, so Rikona stepped into the shop and took up a position next to Murasaki, letting her eyes scan the bottles and adjusting the purse-strap on her shoulder for comfort. The woman's question was answered by a nod, and a smile.

"I think the school's name was Reitaku, yes," Rikona said. "I don't know anything about the schools here, though. Could you tell me anything about them, Murasaki-san? I haven't even had a chance to swing by and have a look, so it'd be nice to get some idea of what to expect."
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Miharu Yoshikuni
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Ayano pinched her thin and thought about it.

"Hmm..." she said. "Well, I graduated from Taiyoutono, so I don't know much about Reitaku. It should be a decent public school, I guess? I haven't really gone near it nor do I know people from it."

Ayano refrained from mentioning a certain stereotype set for Reitaku. A lot of her yuppie friends dubbed it more of a school for delinquents without proper discipline nor education. She didn't think this need be true. After all, those of higher standing tended to exaggerate the inferiority of those beneath them.

She gave Rikona a reassuring smile, however.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," she said. "Though, I suppose going to a new school will always give someone butterflies at first. I definitely am for college."
Edited by Miharu Yoshikuni, May 2 2016, 05:39 AM.
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Erin Everett
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Taiyoutono High School. Her parents had sought to secure her a spot there, but with the amount of time they had to work with, it was simpler for Rikona to spend her final year at Reitaku, without having to work as hard to apply. Rikona didn't mind. With her previous academic record, whatever lesser reputation Reitaku carried with universities surely wouldn't prove much of an obstacle.

She smiled a little at the remark about butterflies-in-the-stomach. "It does..." she admitted, turning to face Murasaki. "It doesn't help that this is my final year. Anybody that I meet while I'm attending Reitaku, well... we'll be out of each other's lives before we even have time to be part of them. It's not an encouraging thought. At least for college, you probably have several years with the same people to look forward to. I don't know what university I'll apply to after this. I'm still trying to find a good cram school."
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Miharu Yoshikuni
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"I suppose you're right," Ayano said. "Though, perhaps you'll be fortunate enough to see friends even after high school. After all, many graduates here in Nagashima proceed to study at Rokujima, which is a good university in itself."

Good enough, as her grandmother said. After all, the old woman graduated there herself. But that was enough talk about something as boring as school. Ayano had come to the mall in order to select a few items to get her ready in advanced for the new school year: a few things she could place in her new unit in Sawabe and new clothes. While school was months away, Ayano knew how to make do with timeless pieces and current trends. She liked to stay a step ahead. And thinking about fashion, Ayano looked at Rikona's own apparel and smiled.

"I love your attire," she said. "I myself can find it quite hard matching stripes with print, but you managed to pull it off."
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