RP Log: Momo & Ryoma
Aug. 14th, 2006 03:30 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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tenipuri_xpDate: BACKDATED to Friday, July 21 (I think :D;)
Rating: G
Summary: Some things will never change: Momo and Ryoma go out for burgers. :D
Ryoma hadn't been allowed to attend training this afternoon, though he'd had to go to classes earlier in the day (with his very own scribe, it had seemed, as Niou had somehow seen fit to come with and take notes for him) and had resorted to waiting in the second-floor kitchen for people to filter back up on their way back from powers work. He finally spotted Momoshiro making his way up the stairs, and stood, crossing the small distance to catch the other boy before he retreated into his room.
His head was pretty much fine by now, for the most part. - he still got headaches every once in a while and typing and writing were a bit fuzzy, but the doctors in medlab said that should clear up very soon. And it was about time, too. He'd felt sick for the first part of the week, sure, and it had been easy to sleep most of the time. But by now, headaches aside, he was ready to do something again. As long as it didn't involve synching or exploding or heads being smashed into the ground.
"Hey - you still up for food?" he asked, finally stepping up to Momoshiro and figuring the answer was probably pretty predictable. "Doctors say I c'n go off campus as long as m'careful." And didn't use his powers - but really, he wasn't about to, not ever again unless he was training or he absolutely, absolutely had to. It just brought too much trouble, otherwise, and he was tired of being trouble.
Controlling his strength had been coming to Momo a lot easier than it had been, lately, and it had become even more apparent within the past month and during the time he spent in Niou’s class. Practice always made perfect, as he learned back while he was training for the elementary school basketball team, and this was, of course, no different. He hadn’t accidentally broken anything in a long time, nor had he bent the backboard while trying to shoot hoops in the gymnasium – and, there hadn’t been any strange mishaps in his classes, either. All in all, it made Momo a very happy Momo, and what made Momo an even happier Momo was getting out and doing things with the diverse range of friends he made at Ryuhana.
While walking up the stairs with the intent on flopping on his bed in his room while listening to his MD player, Momo was surprised to be met with Echizen and he couldn’t fight the joyous grin that tugged upward at his lips while nodding enthusiastically. There was almost nothing more he liked than eating (if his crazy fast metabolism and eating habits were of any indication) – friends were the only thing that came above. Momo didn’t know that Echizen was fine already… at least, he didn’t’ expect to be able to go out for lunch so soon after asking. “Heh, that sounds good to me. What kinda food are ya up for?” Running a hand through his hair, the grin never once faded. Momo liked Echizen – he was almost freakishly-alike a friend Momo used to go to school with and used to play on the same baseball team with.
Ryoma shrugged - he was open to pretty much anything, really. The cafeteria here had a relatively diverse menu... of about seven things that they just kept rotating in different combinations. He had to admit, it had been decidedly less interesting eating since Bunta stopped helping out there. Though maybe that had its good points as well...
In any case, that wasn't exactly helping right now. "Dunno - anything's fine as long as it's not too far." Even if he was allowed off campus, nearer might be better, just this once. "There's a coupla places not too far, we c'n head down that way I guess." He figured one of them would see something they wanted, and Momo seemed like he'd generally be agreeable to just about anything - that was the way he was, and Ryoma actually kind of liked that about him. He was agreeable in a way that never made it seem like he wasn't taking you seriously or just giving in. "You wanna head out now, or stop by your room?" He was aware he was kind of catching the other off-guard, so it wouldn't be fair to just drag him off if he needed to drop things off first.
Glancing down at himself, Momo made a slight face and nodded toward the direction of his room. “I think stoppin’ by my room would be a good idea, first.” He didn’t feel very clean, but there was no point in taking a shower before leaving campus – it wasn’t like he and Ryoma were going to be gone for very long and he could always have a shower before bed if he was really all that worried about it. Motioning with his hand, Momo transcended the last of the stairs, taking two at a time, and started into the direction of his room, able to watch where he was going over the top of everyone else’s heads.
As soon as he was in front of the door, Momo waited until Ryoma caught up and entered, immediately dropping his stuff onto the bed and choosing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before moving toward the bathroom. “I’ll only be a sec – you can sit on my bed, if you’d like,” and with that, Momo closed the door behind him, quickly changing out of his training clothes and into the clean clothes; and with a second thought, he might as well brush his teeth while he was at it, too.
It was only a matter of minutes before Momo swung the door open again, stuffing his wallet into his sweatpants pocket and grinning at Ryoma. “’Kay, ‘m ready whenever you are.” Nice, greasy burgers sounded delicious, at the moment – or… maybe he was just hungry. With that thought, he walked backwards in the way he vaguely knew to be the door and went to turn around, accidentally bumping his head on the open door. “Aw, man, I always do that.” Rubbing his head grumpily, Momo waited for Ryoma, again, while his stomach made a few low grumbling noises.
Ryoma followed the other back to his room, taking a seat on the bed as indicated and waiting for Momo to change, glancing around the other's room for a few minutes. Momo wasn't too long, though, and soon he was back and they were headed out -
Until Momo banged his head on the door, that is. Ryoma was caught halfway between a sigh and a snicker - Momo had always seemed a little dense, but it was still kind of... unintentionally funny. He wasn't about to ask if Momo was all right when it was pretty obvious that he wasn't hurt - especially if this happened often. So he settled for a soft snicker and a, "... You should watch where you're going," before leading the way out into the hall and finally out into the evening air, which wasn't too bad, really, thanks to the sun starting to sink towards the west and the long shadows covering the sidewalks.
He couldn't exactly ignore the rumbling of the other's stomach, behind him; with another small snicker, he glanced towards the other, asking, "So maybe the closer the place the better, huh?" Really, he was getting hungry himself - he hadn't eaten much at the beginning of the week - and the suggestion sounded good to him.
Fast food, ramen, a real sit-down restaurant – there were many different places they could go to that were all within the general radius of the Ryuhana campus. It was going to be a tough choice, decided Momo, rubbing at his stomach sheepishly. “Yeaaaah… closer is definitely better.” Glancing around as they passed different stores and restaurants, Momo decided to just follow his nose and let his feet lead him to a suitable place. “Though, gah, I still don’t really know what I want.”
Ryoma made Momo feel shorter than usual – which was strange because there was still quite a height difference between them, but maybe it was just because he was used to hanging out with people like Tomoka who was quite short compared to Momo’s standing height at a good size 5’11”. “Heh, so, Echizen,” crossing his arms at the back of his head and pillowing his head on them, Momo continued to glance around at the passing restaurants – a Sizzler was just down the road, he knew, but that didn’t sound all that great; his brain was repeating, ‘greasy burgers, greasy burgers!’ so fast food it was probably going to be. “When exactly did you come to Ryuhana?”
Ryoma nodded, keeping an eye out as they passed the first few places. He didn't really feel like a real sit-down restaurant - too fancy and too much of a pain - so maybe the next fast food place they passed. He glanced up at the question, blinking and actually thinking about that for a moment.
"Been here since last summer," he answered after a moment, trying to remember the date. "I think it was July - prolly almost exactly a year." Thinking back on it, it felt like so much had happened since then. Well, probably because it had; he cast the other a wry grin. "Life's never boring here, that's for sure." He'd rarely had more than a month between insane disasters, it felt - most of which had not been his fault. Really.
With a chuckle, Momo nodded in agreement. There hadn’t been one moment, yet, in his entire time of being at Ryuhana where he thought he didn’t want to be there – sure, some of the events weren’t always good, but there were things that made up for it like the festival and dance. “I think it’d be impossible for life to get boring, here, and I’ve only been ‘round since March.” Out of the corner of his eye, Momo saw the familiar golden arch of McDonalds just up ahead and could smell the delicious aroma of grease – which probably wasn’t the greatest of smells by everyone else’s standards, but hell, McDonalds was good. “Aha, there’s one!” Subconsciously, Momo sped up a bit – he really wanted his food.
"Yeah, at least you missed the dorms-turned-warzone incident," Ryoma commented dryly (Well, so had he, in a sense...) as he realized the other was walking a bit faster to reach their destination. McDonalds, huh? Well, Ryoma could definitely do with some greasy burgers - he and Niou never went out to eat, simply because Niou rarely ate much at all, despite Ryoma's continuing efforts. He still ate at least most of a meal per day, but it wasn't showing much. It was a marked difference to be out with someone who clearly had room for little else on his mind but the food they were headed towards. Though, Ryoma thought with a small smile, not bad at all.
He followed Momo's longer strides up to the restaurant and in the automatic doors, welcoming the air conditioning and glancing up at the menu before looking to his dinner companion. He was just the tiniest bit morbidly curious as to the amount of food Momo was going to buy, as he took a spot in line behind the powerful mutant.
Morbid curiosity was definitely right – Ryoma really didn’t want to know how much food Momo was going to order unless he wanted to be thoroughly disgusted, or something. Truth be told, every time Momo entered a restaurant he entered regularly, the workers usually didn’t even question what he bought… but, in the case of going to new places… the workers were definitely in for a bit of surprise. Momo just learned, over the years, to be polite and cheerful while ordering and strike up a brief conversation with whoever was at the till to take their mind off the huge order.
Waiting for the person in front of him to take his tray and leave, Momo stepped up to the counter and smiled at the girl – probably a year older than him, or so – and asked how she was doing before placing in an order of two Big Mac meals (along with super-sized fries and drink – really, the Japanese McDonalds should take a leaf out of American McDonalds and offer the full sizes rather than the tiny Japanese sizes), and four cheeseburgers. The girls’ eyes were wide as she punched in the order almost in disbelief, and took the money Momo offered her (he knew there was reason why he couldn’t eat out often – the price he had to pay to fill his endless pit of a stomach was a sum that made his mother swat at him every time).
With a wink in Ryoma’s direction, Momo moved away to the side to wait for his order (the girl said it would take a little longer than usual and that she was sorry for the wait) to let Ryoma place his own.
... Well, then. Yeah, definitely not gonna be the same as eating with someone who looked at you like you were insane when you offered him a whole piece of bread. Ryoma felt a bit sorry for the girl working the register, but she seemed to be placated just a little by his regular order of only two hamburgers and regular fry and drink sizes. It was a wonder Momo wasn't dirt poor - then again, he didn't think the other probably went out to eat so much. It would make sense.
While they waited for their orders, he leaned against the wall by the counter, and sent a mild grin up to the other. "S'this the normal amount, or s'it any different when you're not coming from practice?" He wasn't sure what the physical class was working on at the moment - as he'd been barred from attending all power practices for this week - but he had a vague idea, given that he knew the instructor so well. "Your mom musta been glad to get you outta her kitchen."
It only took a moment for the girl to give them both their trays (and in Momo’s case, practically overflowing with food) with a small smile and escaped back behind her counter where she could deal with normal orders from other customers. Glancing around above everyone’s head, Momo moved toward a table where he and Ryoma could sit at without answering the other’s question while they got settled. Only another quick minute passed before Momo dug right into his meal, opening the first Big Mac and taking a large bite before swallowing.
“Heh, my mom was kinda glad to get me out of the kitchen,” rubbing the back of his head, Momo took another large bite – he was almost half finished the burger already; man, was it ever good – and a quick swig of one soda. “And unfortunately, yeah, this is the normal amount – not usually devoured this fast, but you know what practice can be like.” A toothy grin and Momo finished off the first burger in record time and started on one of the smaller cheeseburgers.
"I bet," Ryoma observed, watching the first of Momo's burgers disappear in a total of about two bites. Wow. Just... wow. He concentrated on unwrapping the first of his own, still mildly amused for some reason he couldn't quite name. He wondered if the other had ever considered entering an eating contest...
"An' yeah, you guys do more... real work than the other classes." It was a little unavoidable, considering the "physical" class couldn't really do much but work on honing and controlling their strength (or other physical abilities), and Momo must burn a lot of energy that way. And if he couldn't turn his strength off, really, well then he probably just burned a lot of energy just sitting.
He took a couple of bites, watching as more of the other's food disappeared. "You're really this hungry all the time. Remind me never to synch you." Ryuhana's kitchen would probably be bare within minutes.
In Momo’s opinion, being synched would probably be a bad idea unless Ryoma was prepared to need to eat five times the normal person – then again, if Ryoma liked eating as much as Momo did, then there probably wouldn’t really be much of a problem. “Yup, I really am this hungry all the time.” With a snicker, Momo sat back in his chair slightly and popped a few fries in his mouth, chewing quickly, and practically inhaling some more in.
“There’s nothing better than just fillin’ my stomach up after a hard round of class.” A couple more fries went in the mouth and Momo decided to take a small break of eating – even though he really didn’t need to, and his stomach was going to protest at him if he sat idle for too long – and let Ryoma at least catch up a bit. “It’s really a good thing I like eating so much – if I didn’t, I’d probably just crumble into nothin’, or something, my metabolism is so fast.”
Ryoma just shook his head, wondering if Momo ever actually tasted his food, or if he even cared. But whatever; the other seemed to pause for a moment, and Ryoma took a few more bites, grabbing a couple of fries, grinning. "Just not used to eating with someone who wants to eat," he said, sitting back a little and taking a sip of his drink. "So you can't turn your strength off, right? S'just there all the time?" He sure understood that concept. And it seemed like strength was something that would definitely be 'on' all the time.
Taking another sip of his soda, Momo realized that he was already down three-quarters of a cup before he really realized – sure was a good thing he ordered two of them, or else he’d have to go scare the girl at the counter again. Momo’d have to make a note to visit this particular McDonalds a few more times so he didn’t receive funny looks every rare time he walked in – wasn’t his fault he needed to eat a lot. “Heh, yeah, it’s just there all the time.”
Unwrapping another cheeseburger, Momo took a bite (half of it gone in one go right there) and chewed, thinking thoughtfully. “It really sucked when I didn’t know how to control it at all – I’d break random things and constantly hurt myself because of it.” He remembered once when he was playing ice hockey on a rare occasion, and when he went to shoot a goal, the puck rebounded hard off the post and whipped at Momo, leaving a bruise that was there for weeks. “And when I first found out about being a mu- er, about my strength, I accidentally punched a hole right through my bedroom wall and into my siblings’ room.” That wasn’t fun, either – that was the moment when Momo realized that going to Ryuhana would be a good thing and listened to his parents.
Ryoma nodded. "Yeah, figured it'd be something like that." It didn't sound like much fun - and he guessed when he thought about it, a little like his situation. Things would go crazy for a little while - he wouldn't know what was going on, or what he was doing - but at least he hadn't really ended up hurting himself (just that arcade wall... but that had definitely been an accident, and not just him but the mutant whose powers he'd synched as well).
"Well, guess you're doing okay now, though." When he'd been in the physical class, no one had seemed particularly out of control, and seeing as most of Ryuhana was still in one piece, people like Momo weren't having too much trouble keeping things controlled.
"... So you gonna register?" It seemed like a strange question to ask, as soon as he'd asked it - but he'd been out of commission for nearly a week, and every time he tried to keep up with journals Niou had sent him back to bed (and really, with good reason, Ryoma thought in retrospect). He wasn't planning on it, himself, but he was a little curious as to what other people thought.
That was a rather quick topic change, Momo thought as he devoured his last cheeseburger and finished off the last of the cup of soda. Truth be told, he hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into the registration, yet – while he could see why others were opposed to it, Momo didn’t think it was all that big of deal for himself. His powers weren’t exactly harmful (and if they are, it was usually only harmful for himself), and he didn’t have anything to hide. Certainly, it wasn’t the greatest feeling of needing to classify yourself as “different” than a normal civilian, but there wasn’t a whole lot Momo could do about it.
“I wanna talk to my parents ‘bout it first, but yeah, I think I am going to register.” Starting on the second Big Mac, Momo took the first bite and chewed thoughtfully, actually taking his time for once. “I don’t really have anythin’ I gotta hide, or anything, and it does kinda suck, but I think it’d be better to do it rather than avoid it and maybe be caught later.” That’s what Momo was afraid of – he didn’t want to be in trouble with the government just for being a mutant and not registering when told to.
"Mm," Ryoma replied, thinking about that a moment. He wasn't planning on it, himself, but with his luck, something like the bookstore could happen again and then he no only wouldn't have a choice, he'd be punished. Probably severely. Ryoma sighed, still not liking the idea of doing it himself, and grabbed another handful of fries.
"Guess it's not so bad for you, though," he said with a nod, and studied the last few fries in his fingers before eating them. Glancing up again, he asked, "So you got siblings? What're they like?" He wondered if they were 'normal' or if they had powers too - or if they were too young to tell. This whole mess with Ryoga had him confused too - he hadn't liked the fact that his brother had risked taking his place in jail, and he hadn't gotten to really talk to him since the other had gotten out. Ryoma had been unable to at the beginning of the week, and Ryoga was probably passed out for the next few days yet wherever it was he lived. Which, Ryoma realized, he didn't even know where that was.
All that Momo had left to eat, now, was half a box of friends and the Big Mac, and he stared longingly at the food before taking the Big Mac out of its box to take a large bite – why did his food always have to disappear so quickly? Swallowing quickly, Momo nodded enthusiastically, “I do have siblings, though I call them spawn of the devil – also known as the pain in my ass.” With a chuckle, Momo ate a few fries before continuing. “Though, they’re really sweet kids – Tsuyoshi’s nine an’ obsesses over the video games I like to play, and Natsumi’s eleven, though she really acts like she’s older than that, sometimes.”
After Oishi’s post, the thought of his siblings possibly being mutants never once left his mind – the possibility was quite high, after all, and his parents were keeping a close eye on it to see if any strange things happened around them. If anyone, Momo thought it would probably be his sister, though, again, wouldn’t be surprising if both his siblings ended up in the same boat as he. “They’re both really active, too! Tsuyoshi has played on a baseball team since he was about five, and Natsumi is a dancer and has won a couple’a competitions in her district.” As much as Momo complained about his siblings, he sure loved bragging about them – hopefully he wouldn’t blabber on for too long.
“How about you? You have a sibling, too, right? Ryo…ga, I think his name is?” Finishing off the fries, Momo tried to savour the last bit of his Big Mac but miserably failed – and his stomach was still grumbling at him.
Ryoma nodded, vaguely amused by the way Momo seemed to like going on.... he seemed like he was pretty proud of them. And that was cool - having grown up thinking he was an only child, at least, it had always interested Ryoma at least a little to hear about life with siblings. He definitely had liked life without anyone terrorizing him - though he and Ryoga had such a... strange relationship now that it was just too difficult to try to extrapolate to the past and think about what it would've been like.
"They seem cool," he said when Momo had finished, nodding again. "Sounds like they gotta decent brother to look out for 'em." Momo definitely seemed like he'd be a good older brother - he just... had that quality about him. He nodded in response to the other's question as well. "Yeah, Ryoga. But I didn't know I had a brother 'till last year - my dad's more'n a little weird," he said, by way of explanation. Though it really wasn't much of one, and his father knew it. "You've prolly seen him sleeping on the grass - Dad, that is."
Thinking back on it, Momo did recall seeing a man sleeping around on the grass, but he never did know who it was. He always assumed it was some random person who just liked sleeping on the Ryuhana grounds – never would he have guessed that was Ryoma’s father… and did Ryoma just say he didn’t even know he had a brother until last year? “Yeah, I’ve seen him,” half-pouting at the remains of his meal (wrappers and two empty cartons of fries), Momo picked up the second soda and finished it off, leaning back in his seat while regarding Ryoma. “Why didn’t you know you had a brother, though? Isn’t that usually… um, things you do know? Or was there some special circumstance?” One rarely heard of cases such as that – Momo was curious.
Ryoma eyed the face the other was making, and though he'd probably regret it, he wordlessly offered the remains of his fries over to Momo in case he still wanted some, finishing the bite he was working on before replying. "I dunno - my parents didn't feel like telling me I had a brother, I guess. He didn't live with us that I c'n really remember, an' he an' Dad don't exactly seem to get along." Well, not that Ryoma and his father did either, really, but at least they'd been able to live together - for the most part - for all of Ryoma's life. "He lived with my Aunt n'Uncle in Florida until a little while ago."
From the look on the other's face, he was pretty sure he could guess at what Momo was thinking. "My family's not exactly the prime example of 'normal'," he felt the need to elaborate - his own far-too-interesting life and currently blue patch of hair aside, Ryoga had just spent at least two weeks in jail pretending to be his younger brother and Nanjiroh was being oh-so-fatherly by appearing to ignore the entire situation. His mother wasn't back from her trip to the US yet, but he was sure he'd (and Ryoga too, probably) get an earful from her when she got back.
Momo didn't quite believe in the term 'normal' for any sort of family, but just nodded along with Ryoma's words anyway, deciding not to take the offer of the last few fries. He couldn't imagine being in the position of believing that you were an only child until someone came along who claimed to be your brother - it sounded like something from the movies Momo liked to watch with his friends. And Ryoga used to live in Florida... that was in America, right? That was an awful long way away, in Momo's eyes. "That'd be kinda weird," the teenager leaned back in his seat, absently crumpling a cheeseburger wrapper in his hand. "You guys get along just fine, though, right?" Momo had seen them interact through the journals before, so he was assuming the answer was yes.
Seeing that Momo wasn't going to eat them, Ryoma finished off his fries, and then his drink. "Yeah it was weird, kinda." The first time they'd met had been... strange. It had jarred a few memories loose that Ryoma hadn't even known he'd had, which was unnerving in and of itself, not to mention the sudden acquisition of a living, breathing older sibling.
He nodded at the question, though - "Yeah, for the most part." Again, if one could call taking your brother's place in jail 'getting along,' but it definitely ran deeper than that. They didn't fight, that was for sure, and they didn't really seem to have much different in opinion on most things, at least. Ryoma liked his brother well enough, even if he was still getting used to the idea of having one, months later. "He came home with us for Christmas an' nothing exploded." That had been a pretty good deal, he'd thought.
Crumpling up the rest of his wrappers, Ryoma looked to Momo - it looked like the other was done eating his (huge) meal; "Think we should head back?"
Hearing stories about other people's families was fascinating to Momo, even if some of the stories were downright strange. He liked the sound of Ryoma's family - a little weird, and Momo didn't think he'd like the idea of not knowing that he had a brother, but it was interesting none the less. Crumpling the last three cheeseburger wrappers and flattening the fries boxes, Momo stuffed them into one of the big mac boxes and nodded to Ryoma's question, saying, "Sure, sounds good t'me."
Coming to a stand, Momo picked up his tray and deposited the items into the garbage, inwardly wondering if he should get an ice cream or something for on the way back. Though, thinking on it, there were treats at Ryuhana he could have, and even if there were none at the moment, he was sure Eiji or someone would want to do some baking for him - mm, sugar. "Alright, back to school?" Maybe Ryoma would like to join him for a basketball game or something once they got back - it never hurt to ask, right? They could get others to join them, too, if there were people interested. Basketball sounded like a good idea after a great fast food meal.
Watching Momo ball up all his garbage, Ryoma collected his balled-up wrappers and stood, tossing them in the trash as he and Momo headed out. That had actually been... really good; he didn't eat fast food very much anymore, but every once in a while it was exactly what he wanted.
They walked in silence for a block or so before Ryoma said, grinning just a bit, "Y'know, you ever thought about gettin' a job to help fund all your food?" He knew Bunta used to work in the kitchens, actually - maybe they'd let Momo do that, and he could eat any leftovers they had. Or he could just get a regular job - Momo seemed like the kind of person who'd enjoy it.
Before coming to Ryuhana, Momo only really held one job - and that was merely a paper route. He also babysat the kids on his street - every single one of them adored him, and their families were always inclined toward allowing Momo to look after the children - but besides from that, there was really nothing else he had been able to do at his age; most places didn't considered hiring teenagers until they were at least fifteen, and by then, Momo didn't really need to be working.
With a grin, Momo shook his head. "I haven't thought about gettin' one now, though I used to have a paper route and babysit some of the neighborhood kids." Moving a hand to rub at his stomach, and the other the back of his head, the powerhouse mutant let his eyes wander around the street - there were some cute girls around, today! "Maybe I should get another one, though... I wanna visit food places more often." Ryuhana food wasn't bad, per se, he just enjoyed eating the wonderful greasy fast food, even if it really wasn't all that great for him.
Momo, babysitting? That was an amusing thought - though Ryoma had to admit, the other boy'd probably be good at something like that. He got the impression Momo liked kids, and he was the kind of guy that was pretty easy to get along with. He shrugged. "Bunta used to work in the kitchens, s'all. Or m'sure Hanamura could use some help with the grounds - not like Dad does anything." Nanjiroh mostly lazed about and did a whole lot of, well, nothing. Niou still cleaned, sometimes, but now that he was teaching there wasn't so much time for his escapades with the giant man-eating vacuum cleaner. And Momo seemed like he'd like manual labor, maybe - he wouldn't have to cut back with his strength at least, and maybe that'd help wear him out so he wouldn't accidentally use it when he didn't want to.
Walking back seemed to take less time - maybe because they weren't hungry - and soon they could see the school gates in the distance. Ryoma realized, though, that he'd had a good time - not only was he glad to be out, and his head felt better, but Momo wasn't bad company at all. "Lemme know f'you do ever save up enough to do this again," he said, glancing back up at the other. He wouldn't mind a similar trip in the future at all.
The thought of doing some jobs around Ryuhana wasn't an unpleasant thought at all. He would put a bit more thought into it, but he thought it would never hurt to ask Hanamura if there was something he could do - if it meant being able to go out places more often without having to rely on his parents for funds, then that would be awesome! And then, if not, there really was the idea of going out to work somewhere... maybe he could work at a sports store or a fast food restaurant (he'd get discount on prices!) or something of the sort. Again, it was something Momo was going to have to think about and decide what he wanted to do.
As Ryoma spoke, Momo stopped whistling - when did he start to do that while he was walking? - and nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets and played with the frayed ends of his wallet absently. "I definitely will!" He had fun with Ryoma; the older boy was interesting and Momo got to learn more about the other. "Say, before we go back to our rooms, would you like to play a game of basketball with me? I feel like shootin' some hoops." He hoped Ryoma would say yes - maybe they'd also run into others in the gym, too, and get a mini-game going.
Basketball? Ryoma blinked - he guessed he was okay at it; he was pretty good at most sports he tried, and he hadn't minded playing that in gym. He hadn't played in a long time, though - Ryuhana didn't have the same kinds of " P.E. classes" that regular schools did, since generally their powers training sessions covered that. He'd been conned into playing soccer a couple of times by Kuwahara, though, and really, Momo was a good guy. Ryoma guessed it'd be okay. He'd just been stuck in bed for a week, after all - moving might do him some good.
"Yeah, sure, why not," he said, shrugging, as they entered the school gates. "For a little while's okay." He was pretty sure he was going to lose - especially since Momo was taller and probably played a lot more regularly - but Ryoma wasn't one to back down from a challenge so simple, so they'd see just how this game of basketball went.
Rating: G
Summary: Some things will never change: Momo and Ryoma go out for burgers. :D
Ryoma hadn't been allowed to attend training this afternoon, though he'd had to go to classes earlier in the day (with his very own scribe, it had seemed, as Niou had somehow seen fit to come with and take notes for him) and had resorted to waiting in the second-floor kitchen for people to filter back up on their way back from powers work. He finally spotted Momoshiro making his way up the stairs, and stood, crossing the small distance to catch the other boy before he retreated into his room.
His head was pretty much fine by now, for the most part. - he still got headaches every once in a while and typing and writing were a bit fuzzy, but the doctors in medlab said that should clear up very soon. And it was about time, too. He'd felt sick for the first part of the week, sure, and it had been easy to sleep most of the time. But by now, headaches aside, he was ready to do something again. As long as it didn't involve synching or exploding or heads being smashed into the ground.
"Hey - you still up for food?" he asked, finally stepping up to Momoshiro and figuring the answer was probably pretty predictable. "Doctors say I c'n go off campus as long as m'careful." And didn't use his powers - but really, he wasn't about to, not ever again unless he was training or he absolutely, absolutely had to. It just brought too much trouble, otherwise, and he was tired of being trouble.
Controlling his strength had been coming to Momo a lot easier than it had been, lately, and it had become even more apparent within the past month and during the time he spent in Niou’s class. Practice always made perfect, as he learned back while he was training for the elementary school basketball team, and this was, of course, no different. He hadn’t accidentally broken anything in a long time, nor had he bent the backboard while trying to shoot hoops in the gymnasium – and, there hadn’t been any strange mishaps in his classes, either. All in all, it made Momo a very happy Momo, and what made Momo an even happier Momo was getting out and doing things with the diverse range of friends he made at Ryuhana.
While walking up the stairs with the intent on flopping on his bed in his room while listening to his MD player, Momo was surprised to be met with Echizen and he couldn’t fight the joyous grin that tugged upward at his lips while nodding enthusiastically. There was almost nothing more he liked than eating (if his crazy fast metabolism and eating habits were of any indication) – friends were the only thing that came above. Momo didn’t know that Echizen was fine already… at least, he didn’t’ expect to be able to go out for lunch so soon after asking. “Heh, that sounds good to me. What kinda food are ya up for?” Running a hand through his hair, the grin never once faded. Momo liked Echizen – he was almost freakishly-alike a friend Momo used to go to school with and used to play on the same baseball team with.
Ryoma shrugged - he was open to pretty much anything, really. The cafeteria here had a relatively diverse menu... of about seven things that they just kept rotating in different combinations. He had to admit, it had been decidedly less interesting eating since Bunta stopped helping out there. Though maybe that had its good points as well...
In any case, that wasn't exactly helping right now. "Dunno - anything's fine as long as it's not too far." Even if he was allowed off campus, nearer might be better, just this once. "There's a coupla places not too far, we c'n head down that way I guess." He figured one of them would see something they wanted, and Momo seemed like he'd generally be agreeable to just about anything - that was the way he was, and Ryoma actually kind of liked that about him. He was agreeable in a way that never made it seem like he wasn't taking you seriously or just giving in. "You wanna head out now, or stop by your room?" He was aware he was kind of catching the other off-guard, so it wouldn't be fair to just drag him off if he needed to drop things off first.
Glancing down at himself, Momo made a slight face and nodded toward the direction of his room. “I think stoppin’ by my room would be a good idea, first.” He didn’t feel very clean, but there was no point in taking a shower before leaving campus – it wasn’t like he and Ryoma were going to be gone for very long and he could always have a shower before bed if he was really all that worried about it. Motioning with his hand, Momo transcended the last of the stairs, taking two at a time, and started into the direction of his room, able to watch where he was going over the top of everyone else’s heads.
As soon as he was in front of the door, Momo waited until Ryoma caught up and entered, immediately dropping his stuff onto the bed and choosing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before moving toward the bathroom. “I’ll only be a sec – you can sit on my bed, if you’d like,” and with that, Momo closed the door behind him, quickly changing out of his training clothes and into the clean clothes; and with a second thought, he might as well brush his teeth while he was at it, too.
It was only a matter of minutes before Momo swung the door open again, stuffing his wallet into his sweatpants pocket and grinning at Ryoma. “’Kay, ‘m ready whenever you are.” Nice, greasy burgers sounded delicious, at the moment – or… maybe he was just hungry. With that thought, he walked backwards in the way he vaguely knew to be the door and went to turn around, accidentally bumping his head on the open door. “Aw, man, I always do that.” Rubbing his head grumpily, Momo waited for Ryoma, again, while his stomach made a few low grumbling noises.
Ryoma followed the other back to his room, taking a seat on the bed as indicated and waiting for Momo to change, glancing around the other's room for a few minutes. Momo wasn't too long, though, and soon he was back and they were headed out -
Until Momo banged his head on the door, that is. Ryoma was caught halfway between a sigh and a snicker - Momo had always seemed a little dense, but it was still kind of... unintentionally funny. He wasn't about to ask if Momo was all right when it was pretty obvious that he wasn't hurt - especially if this happened often. So he settled for a soft snicker and a, "... You should watch where you're going," before leading the way out into the hall and finally out into the evening air, which wasn't too bad, really, thanks to the sun starting to sink towards the west and the long shadows covering the sidewalks.
He couldn't exactly ignore the rumbling of the other's stomach, behind him; with another small snicker, he glanced towards the other, asking, "So maybe the closer the place the better, huh?" Really, he was getting hungry himself - he hadn't eaten much at the beginning of the week - and the suggestion sounded good to him.
Fast food, ramen, a real sit-down restaurant – there were many different places they could go to that were all within the general radius of the Ryuhana campus. It was going to be a tough choice, decided Momo, rubbing at his stomach sheepishly. “Yeaaaah… closer is definitely better.” Glancing around as they passed different stores and restaurants, Momo decided to just follow his nose and let his feet lead him to a suitable place. “Though, gah, I still don’t really know what I want.”
Ryoma made Momo feel shorter than usual – which was strange because there was still quite a height difference between them, but maybe it was just because he was used to hanging out with people like Tomoka who was quite short compared to Momo’s standing height at a good size 5’11”. “Heh, so, Echizen,” crossing his arms at the back of his head and pillowing his head on them, Momo continued to glance around at the passing restaurants – a Sizzler was just down the road, he knew, but that didn’t sound all that great; his brain was repeating, ‘greasy burgers, greasy burgers!’ so fast food it was probably going to be. “When exactly did you come to Ryuhana?”
Ryoma nodded, keeping an eye out as they passed the first few places. He didn't really feel like a real sit-down restaurant - too fancy and too much of a pain - so maybe the next fast food place they passed. He glanced up at the question, blinking and actually thinking about that for a moment.
"Been here since last summer," he answered after a moment, trying to remember the date. "I think it was July - prolly almost exactly a year." Thinking back on it, it felt like so much had happened since then. Well, probably because it had; he cast the other a wry grin. "Life's never boring here, that's for sure." He'd rarely had more than a month between insane disasters, it felt - most of which had not been his fault. Really.
With a chuckle, Momo nodded in agreement. There hadn’t been one moment, yet, in his entire time of being at Ryuhana where he thought he didn’t want to be there – sure, some of the events weren’t always good, but there were things that made up for it like the festival and dance. “I think it’d be impossible for life to get boring, here, and I’ve only been ‘round since March.” Out of the corner of his eye, Momo saw the familiar golden arch of McDonalds just up ahead and could smell the delicious aroma of grease – which probably wasn’t the greatest of smells by everyone else’s standards, but hell, McDonalds was good. “Aha, there’s one!” Subconsciously, Momo sped up a bit – he really wanted his food.
"Yeah, at least you missed the dorms-turned-warzone incident," Ryoma commented dryly (Well, so had he, in a sense...) as he realized the other was walking a bit faster to reach their destination. McDonalds, huh? Well, Ryoma could definitely do with some greasy burgers - he and Niou never went out to eat, simply because Niou rarely ate much at all, despite Ryoma's continuing efforts. He still ate at least most of a meal per day, but it wasn't showing much. It was a marked difference to be out with someone who clearly had room for little else on his mind but the food they were headed towards. Though, Ryoma thought with a small smile, not bad at all.
He followed Momo's longer strides up to the restaurant and in the automatic doors, welcoming the air conditioning and glancing up at the menu before looking to his dinner companion. He was just the tiniest bit morbidly curious as to the amount of food Momo was going to buy, as he took a spot in line behind the powerful mutant.
Morbid curiosity was definitely right – Ryoma really didn’t want to know how much food Momo was going to order unless he wanted to be thoroughly disgusted, or something. Truth be told, every time Momo entered a restaurant he entered regularly, the workers usually didn’t even question what he bought… but, in the case of going to new places… the workers were definitely in for a bit of surprise. Momo just learned, over the years, to be polite and cheerful while ordering and strike up a brief conversation with whoever was at the till to take their mind off the huge order.
Waiting for the person in front of him to take his tray and leave, Momo stepped up to the counter and smiled at the girl – probably a year older than him, or so – and asked how she was doing before placing in an order of two Big Mac meals (along with super-sized fries and drink – really, the Japanese McDonalds should take a leaf out of American McDonalds and offer the full sizes rather than the tiny Japanese sizes), and four cheeseburgers. The girls’ eyes were wide as she punched in the order almost in disbelief, and took the money Momo offered her (he knew there was reason why he couldn’t eat out often – the price he had to pay to fill his endless pit of a stomach was a sum that made his mother swat at him every time).
With a wink in Ryoma’s direction, Momo moved away to the side to wait for his order (the girl said it would take a little longer than usual and that she was sorry for the wait) to let Ryoma place his own.
... Well, then. Yeah, definitely not gonna be the same as eating with someone who looked at you like you were insane when you offered him a whole piece of bread. Ryoma felt a bit sorry for the girl working the register, but she seemed to be placated just a little by his regular order of only two hamburgers and regular fry and drink sizes. It was a wonder Momo wasn't dirt poor - then again, he didn't think the other probably went out to eat so much. It would make sense.
While they waited for their orders, he leaned against the wall by the counter, and sent a mild grin up to the other. "S'this the normal amount, or s'it any different when you're not coming from practice?" He wasn't sure what the physical class was working on at the moment - as he'd been barred from attending all power practices for this week - but he had a vague idea, given that he knew the instructor so well. "Your mom musta been glad to get you outta her kitchen."
It only took a moment for the girl to give them both their trays (and in Momo’s case, practically overflowing with food) with a small smile and escaped back behind her counter where she could deal with normal orders from other customers. Glancing around above everyone’s head, Momo moved toward a table where he and Ryoma could sit at without answering the other’s question while they got settled. Only another quick minute passed before Momo dug right into his meal, opening the first Big Mac and taking a large bite before swallowing.
“Heh, my mom was kinda glad to get me out of the kitchen,” rubbing the back of his head, Momo took another large bite – he was almost half finished the burger already; man, was it ever good – and a quick swig of one soda. “And unfortunately, yeah, this is the normal amount – not usually devoured this fast, but you know what practice can be like.” A toothy grin and Momo finished off the first burger in record time and started on one of the smaller cheeseburgers.
"I bet," Ryoma observed, watching the first of Momo's burgers disappear in a total of about two bites. Wow. Just... wow. He concentrated on unwrapping the first of his own, still mildly amused for some reason he couldn't quite name. He wondered if the other had ever considered entering an eating contest...
"An' yeah, you guys do more... real work than the other classes." It was a little unavoidable, considering the "physical" class couldn't really do much but work on honing and controlling their strength (or other physical abilities), and Momo must burn a lot of energy that way. And if he couldn't turn his strength off, really, well then he probably just burned a lot of energy just sitting.
He took a couple of bites, watching as more of the other's food disappeared. "You're really this hungry all the time. Remind me never to synch you." Ryuhana's kitchen would probably be bare within minutes.
In Momo’s opinion, being synched would probably be a bad idea unless Ryoma was prepared to need to eat five times the normal person – then again, if Ryoma liked eating as much as Momo did, then there probably wouldn’t really be much of a problem. “Yup, I really am this hungry all the time.” With a snicker, Momo sat back in his chair slightly and popped a few fries in his mouth, chewing quickly, and practically inhaling some more in.
“There’s nothing better than just fillin’ my stomach up after a hard round of class.” A couple more fries went in the mouth and Momo decided to take a small break of eating – even though he really didn’t need to, and his stomach was going to protest at him if he sat idle for too long – and let Ryoma at least catch up a bit. “It’s really a good thing I like eating so much – if I didn’t, I’d probably just crumble into nothin’, or something, my metabolism is so fast.”
Ryoma just shook his head, wondering if Momo ever actually tasted his food, or if he even cared. But whatever; the other seemed to pause for a moment, and Ryoma took a few more bites, grabbing a couple of fries, grinning. "Just not used to eating with someone who wants to eat," he said, sitting back a little and taking a sip of his drink. "So you can't turn your strength off, right? S'just there all the time?" He sure understood that concept. And it seemed like strength was something that would definitely be 'on' all the time.
Taking another sip of his soda, Momo realized that he was already down three-quarters of a cup before he really realized – sure was a good thing he ordered two of them, or else he’d have to go scare the girl at the counter again. Momo’d have to make a note to visit this particular McDonalds a few more times so he didn’t receive funny looks every rare time he walked in – wasn’t his fault he needed to eat a lot. “Heh, yeah, it’s just there all the time.”
Unwrapping another cheeseburger, Momo took a bite (half of it gone in one go right there) and chewed, thinking thoughtfully. “It really sucked when I didn’t know how to control it at all – I’d break random things and constantly hurt myself because of it.” He remembered once when he was playing ice hockey on a rare occasion, and when he went to shoot a goal, the puck rebounded hard off the post and whipped at Momo, leaving a bruise that was there for weeks. “And when I first found out about being a mu- er, about my strength, I accidentally punched a hole right through my bedroom wall and into my siblings’ room.” That wasn’t fun, either – that was the moment when Momo realized that going to Ryuhana would be a good thing and listened to his parents.
Ryoma nodded. "Yeah, figured it'd be something like that." It didn't sound like much fun - and he guessed when he thought about it, a little like his situation. Things would go crazy for a little while - he wouldn't know what was going on, or what he was doing - but at least he hadn't really ended up hurting himself (just that arcade wall... but that had definitely been an accident, and not just him but the mutant whose powers he'd synched as well).
"Well, guess you're doing okay now, though." When he'd been in the physical class, no one had seemed particularly out of control, and seeing as most of Ryuhana was still in one piece, people like Momo weren't having too much trouble keeping things controlled.
"... So you gonna register?" It seemed like a strange question to ask, as soon as he'd asked it - but he'd been out of commission for nearly a week, and every time he tried to keep up with journals Niou had sent him back to bed (and really, with good reason, Ryoma thought in retrospect). He wasn't planning on it, himself, but he was a little curious as to what other people thought.
That was a rather quick topic change, Momo thought as he devoured his last cheeseburger and finished off the last of the cup of soda. Truth be told, he hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into the registration, yet – while he could see why others were opposed to it, Momo didn’t think it was all that big of deal for himself. His powers weren’t exactly harmful (and if they are, it was usually only harmful for himself), and he didn’t have anything to hide. Certainly, it wasn’t the greatest feeling of needing to classify yourself as “different” than a normal civilian, but there wasn’t a whole lot Momo could do about it.
“I wanna talk to my parents ‘bout it first, but yeah, I think I am going to register.” Starting on the second Big Mac, Momo took the first bite and chewed thoughtfully, actually taking his time for once. “I don’t really have anythin’ I gotta hide, or anything, and it does kinda suck, but I think it’d be better to do it rather than avoid it and maybe be caught later.” That’s what Momo was afraid of – he didn’t want to be in trouble with the government just for being a mutant and not registering when told to.
"Mm," Ryoma replied, thinking about that a moment. He wasn't planning on it, himself, but with his luck, something like the bookstore could happen again and then he no only wouldn't have a choice, he'd be punished. Probably severely. Ryoma sighed, still not liking the idea of doing it himself, and grabbed another handful of fries.
"Guess it's not so bad for you, though," he said with a nod, and studied the last few fries in his fingers before eating them. Glancing up again, he asked, "So you got siblings? What're they like?" He wondered if they were 'normal' or if they had powers too - or if they were too young to tell. This whole mess with Ryoga had him confused too - he hadn't liked the fact that his brother had risked taking his place in jail, and he hadn't gotten to really talk to him since the other had gotten out. Ryoma had been unable to at the beginning of the week, and Ryoga was probably passed out for the next few days yet wherever it was he lived. Which, Ryoma realized, he didn't even know where that was.
All that Momo had left to eat, now, was half a box of friends and the Big Mac, and he stared longingly at the food before taking the Big Mac out of its box to take a large bite – why did his food always have to disappear so quickly? Swallowing quickly, Momo nodded enthusiastically, “I do have siblings, though I call them spawn of the devil – also known as the pain in my ass.” With a chuckle, Momo ate a few fries before continuing. “Though, they’re really sweet kids – Tsuyoshi’s nine an’ obsesses over the video games I like to play, and Natsumi’s eleven, though she really acts like she’s older than that, sometimes.”
After Oishi’s post, the thought of his siblings possibly being mutants never once left his mind – the possibility was quite high, after all, and his parents were keeping a close eye on it to see if any strange things happened around them. If anyone, Momo thought it would probably be his sister, though, again, wouldn’t be surprising if both his siblings ended up in the same boat as he. “They’re both really active, too! Tsuyoshi has played on a baseball team since he was about five, and Natsumi is a dancer and has won a couple’a competitions in her district.” As much as Momo complained about his siblings, he sure loved bragging about them – hopefully he wouldn’t blabber on for too long.
“How about you? You have a sibling, too, right? Ryo…ga, I think his name is?” Finishing off the fries, Momo tried to savour the last bit of his Big Mac but miserably failed – and his stomach was still grumbling at him.
Ryoma nodded, vaguely amused by the way Momo seemed to like going on.... he seemed like he was pretty proud of them. And that was cool - having grown up thinking he was an only child, at least, it had always interested Ryoma at least a little to hear about life with siblings. He definitely had liked life without anyone terrorizing him - though he and Ryoga had such a... strange relationship now that it was just too difficult to try to extrapolate to the past and think about what it would've been like.
"They seem cool," he said when Momo had finished, nodding again. "Sounds like they gotta decent brother to look out for 'em." Momo definitely seemed like he'd be a good older brother - he just... had that quality about him. He nodded in response to the other's question as well. "Yeah, Ryoga. But I didn't know I had a brother 'till last year - my dad's more'n a little weird," he said, by way of explanation. Though it really wasn't much of one, and his father knew it. "You've prolly seen him sleeping on the grass - Dad, that is."
Thinking back on it, Momo did recall seeing a man sleeping around on the grass, but he never did know who it was. He always assumed it was some random person who just liked sleeping on the Ryuhana grounds – never would he have guessed that was Ryoma’s father… and did Ryoma just say he didn’t even know he had a brother until last year? “Yeah, I’ve seen him,” half-pouting at the remains of his meal (wrappers and two empty cartons of fries), Momo picked up the second soda and finished it off, leaning back in his seat while regarding Ryoma. “Why didn’t you know you had a brother, though? Isn’t that usually… um, things you do know? Or was there some special circumstance?” One rarely heard of cases such as that – Momo was curious.
Ryoma eyed the face the other was making, and though he'd probably regret it, he wordlessly offered the remains of his fries over to Momo in case he still wanted some, finishing the bite he was working on before replying. "I dunno - my parents didn't feel like telling me I had a brother, I guess. He didn't live with us that I c'n really remember, an' he an' Dad don't exactly seem to get along." Well, not that Ryoma and his father did either, really, but at least they'd been able to live together - for the most part - for all of Ryoma's life. "He lived with my Aunt n'Uncle in Florida until a little while ago."
From the look on the other's face, he was pretty sure he could guess at what Momo was thinking. "My family's not exactly the prime example of 'normal'," he felt the need to elaborate - his own far-too-interesting life and currently blue patch of hair aside, Ryoga had just spent at least two weeks in jail pretending to be his younger brother and Nanjiroh was being oh-so-fatherly by appearing to ignore the entire situation. His mother wasn't back from her trip to the US yet, but he was sure he'd (and Ryoga too, probably) get an earful from her when she got back.
Momo didn't quite believe in the term 'normal' for any sort of family, but just nodded along with Ryoma's words anyway, deciding not to take the offer of the last few fries. He couldn't imagine being in the position of believing that you were an only child until someone came along who claimed to be your brother - it sounded like something from the movies Momo liked to watch with his friends. And Ryoga used to live in Florida... that was in America, right? That was an awful long way away, in Momo's eyes. "That'd be kinda weird," the teenager leaned back in his seat, absently crumpling a cheeseburger wrapper in his hand. "You guys get along just fine, though, right?" Momo had seen them interact through the journals before, so he was assuming the answer was yes.
Seeing that Momo wasn't going to eat them, Ryoma finished off his fries, and then his drink. "Yeah it was weird, kinda." The first time they'd met had been... strange. It had jarred a few memories loose that Ryoma hadn't even known he'd had, which was unnerving in and of itself, not to mention the sudden acquisition of a living, breathing older sibling.
He nodded at the question, though - "Yeah, for the most part." Again, if one could call taking your brother's place in jail 'getting along,' but it definitely ran deeper than that. They didn't fight, that was for sure, and they didn't really seem to have much different in opinion on most things, at least. Ryoma liked his brother well enough, even if he was still getting used to the idea of having one, months later. "He came home with us for Christmas an' nothing exploded." That had been a pretty good deal, he'd thought.
Crumpling up the rest of his wrappers, Ryoma looked to Momo - it looked like the other was done eating his (huge) meal; "Think we should head back?"
Hearing stories about other people's families was fascinating to Momo, even if some of the stories were downright strange. He liked the sound of Ryoma's family - a little weird, and Momo didn't think he'd like the idea of not knowing that he had a brother, but it was interesting none the less. Crumpling the last three cheeseburger wrappers and flattening the fries boxes, Momo stuffed them into one of the big mac boxes and nodded to Ryoma's question, saying, "Sure, sounds good t'me."
Coming to a stand, Momo picked up his tray and deposited the items into the garbage, inwardly wondering if he should get an ice cream or something for on the way back. Though, thinking on it, there were treats at Ryuhana he could have, and even if there were none at the moment, he was sure Eiji or someone would want to do some baking for him - mm, sugar. "Alright, back to school?" Maybe Ryoma would like to join him for a basketball game or something once they got back - it never hurt to ask, right? They could get others to join them, too, if there were people interested. Basketball sounded like a good idea after a great fast food meal.
Watching Momo ball up all his garbage, Ryoma collected his balled-up wrappers and stood, tossing them in the trash as he and Momo headed out. That had actually been... really good; he didn't eat fast food very much anymore, but every once in a while it was exactly what he wanted.
They walked in silence for a block or so before Ryoma said, grinning just a bit, "Y'know, you ever thought about gettin' a job to help fund all your food?" He knew Bunta used to work in the kitchens, actually - maybe they'd let Momo do that, and he could eat any leftovers they had. Or he could just get a regular job - Momo seemed like the kind of person who'd enjoy it.
Before coming to Ryuhana, Momo only really held one job - and that was merely a paper route. He also babysat the kids on his street - every single one of them adored him, and their families were always inclined toward allowing Momo to look after the children - but besides from that, there was really nothing else he had been able to do at his age; most places didn't considered hiring teenagers until they were at least fifteen, and by then, Momo didn't really need to be working.
With a grin, Momo shook his head. "I haven't thought about gettin' one now, though I used to have a paper route and babysit some of the neighborhood kids." Moving a hand to rub at his stomach, and the other the back of his head, the powerhouse mutant let his eyes wander around the street - there were some cute girls around, today! "Maybe I should get another one, though... I wanna visit food places more often." Ryuhana food wasn't bad, per se, he just enjoyed eating the wonderful greasy fast food, even if it really wasn't all that great for him.
Momo, babysitting? That was an amusing thought - though Ryoma had to admit, the other boy'd probably be good at something like that. He got the impression Momo liked kids, and he was the kind of guy that was pretty easy to get along with. He shrugged. "Bunta used to work in the kitchens, s'all. Or m'sure Hanamura could use some help with the grounds - not like Dad does anything." Nanjiroh mostly lazed about and did a whole lot of, well, nothing. Niou still cleaned, sometimes, but now that he was teaching there wasn't so much time for his escapades with the giant man-eating vacuum cleaner. And Momo seemed like he'd like manual labor, maybe - he wouldn't have to cut back with his strength at least, and maybe that'd help wear him out so he wouldn't accidentally use it when he didn't want to.
Walking back seemed to take less time - maybe because they weren't hungry - and soon they could see the school gates in the distance. Ryoma realized, though, that he'd had a good time - not only was he glad to be out, and his head felt better, but Momo wasn't bad company at all. "Lemme know f'you do ever save up enough to do this again," he said, glancing back up at the other. He wouldn't mind a similar trip in the future at all.
The thought of doing some jobs around Ryuhana wasn't an unpleasant thought at all. He would put a bit more thought into it, but he thought it would never hurt to ask Hanamura if there was something he could do - if it meant being able to go out places more often without having to rely on his parents for funds, then that would be awesome! And then, if not, there really was the idea of going out to work somewhere... maybe he could work at a sports store or a fast food restaurant (he'd get discount on prices!) or something of the sort. Again, it was something Momo was going to have to think about and decide what he wanted to do.
As Ryoma spoke, Momo stopped whistling - when did he start to do that while he was walking? - and nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets and played with the frayed ends of his wallet absently. "I definitely will!" He had fun with Ryoma; the older boy was interesting and Momo got to learn more about the other. "Say, before we go back to our rooms, would you like to play a game of basketball with me? I feel like shootin' some hoops." He hoped Ryoma would say yes - maybe they'd also run into others in the gym, too, and get a mini-game going.
Basketball? Ryoma blinked - he guessed he was okay at it; he was pretty good at most sports he tried, and he hadn't minded playing that in gym. He hadn't played in a long time, though - Ryuhana didn't have the same kinds of " P.E. classes" that regular schools did, since generally their powers training sessions covered that. He'd been conned into playing soccer a couple of times by Kuwahara, though, and really, Momo was a good guy. Ryoma guessed it'd be okay. He'd just been stuck in bed for a week, after all - moving might do him some good.
"Yeah, sure, why not," he said, shrugging, as they entered the school gates. "For a little while's okay." He was pretty sure he was going to lose - especially since Momo was taller and probably played a lot more regularly - but Ryoma wasn't one to back down from a challenge so simple, so they'd see just how this game of basketball went.
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