RP Log: Kajimoto & Ryoma

[perfect-synch.livejournal.com]

Date: Backdated to Thursday, October 13
Rating: PG for a bad word or two on Ryoma's part. ^^;
Summary: Ryoma and Kajimoto run into each other in the English section of the bookstore, and (kind of?) attempt to size their fellow mutant up.

(PS: Jen, there's no Kajimoto tag... unless I'm blind >>;)




The English section of the bookstore was not well-organized. Echizen Ryoma sighed, leaning back from the bookshelf a bit and glancing at something other than the mismatched titles before him for a moment. It never ceased to amaze him how disorganized English sections were – one would think someone on the bookstore staff somewhere could get it right, but apparently not so. He blinked a few times and leaned forward again, scanning the titles and selecting a few, pulling them out to page through them. He didn’t really care so much what he read, so long as it could hold his attention and the story made sense.

There were a lot of things that amused Kajimoto Takahisa and watching a grumpy chibi selecting what seemed like random books off the shelf was one of them. It was not so much of what he was doing that was amusing him… It was more of the disgruntled look on the boyishly cute face that made him want to smile that secretive smile of his. He eyed the shelf of English books and selected a book that he had read before, running his fingers across the soft cover of the blue book.

Quietly approaching the shorter youth, the brunette placed the book in his hands, before swiftly turning to select another. He tilted his head as he regarded the bookshelf once more, acting as though nothing had happened. Nothing at all.

Ryoma almost started as book slid into his hands – sure, he’d known someone was coming over here, and that they were a mutant (though he didn’t have to worry about accidentally synching anything for the time being) – but he hadn’t expected them to deposit a blue-covered volume in his hands like they were old friends. He looked up, confirming that it certainly wasn’t anyone he knew. No one he’d seen around Ryuhana, even, though he supposed that might not mean so much.

He glanced at the title of the book: Eragon. Flipping it over, he saw that it looked interesting enough. But more immediately than that, he wondered who the hell this other boy standing next to him was, looking through titles as though he hadn’t just handed Ryoma a book. “This your recommendation, then?” he asked, straightening up (as though it would really help, he sighed inwardly).

"Ah?" Kajimoto half-turned and lowered his gaze slightly to meet the gaze of the pair of golden-orbs that stared back at him. He smiled softly, reaching up to tuck an imaginary lock behind his ear. "Yes. It is an interesting book." It was, and there was no doubt that the human would probably enjoy it. (He had, after all, no reason to believe Ryoma was a mutant.) He had read it a number of years back, probably when he was 14 or so and had been enthralled with the story.

"The second book should be around here somewhere," he added needlessly. "But it'll probably require some effort to find it." Turning back to the bookshelf, he raised his brows and let his lips curve into a slow smile. It was interesting, considering that he had expected a demand for an explanation.

“Hm.” Ryoma considered the book, then the boy again, who was turned back to the bookshelf. “You read in English then,” he said fluently in English, assuming the other must if he’d made it through a book this long. “You go to school around here? You don’t go to mine.” It was a bit of a guess, yes, but he really was fairly sure that his school was small enough that he would have noticed someone like this around. And if there was someone else who spoke English as well as he did… it might be interesting. Besides, he wondered if the other knew he was a mutant. His power felt strong enough, but he supposed some people were good at denial. Or convenient ignorance.

"Sometimes," Kajimoto shrugged nonchalantly, amethyst eyes twinkling merrily. While his English wasn't as perfect as he sometimes wished it was, it was more than acceptable. Years of trying to rid himself of the Japanese accent while he spoke in the western language had aided him somewhat although it did not even come close to the fluency in which Ryoma spoke it in.

"A school around here, yes," his smile dissipated slightly as he turned to face the dark-haired youth. "But it is not a topic worth bringing up. I am new around here and am still learning the ropes. And you?"

Ryoma shrugged, switching back to Japanese (though he had to admit, the stranger did speak decent English). “School’s not that far, just started here a few months ago. Haven’t been out much, but it doesn’t seem like any of the bookstores around here know how to organize their English sections,” he said, waving a hand at the shelves. He studied the other mutant, curiosity still piqued – so he still very likely didn’t go to Ryuhana; maybe he didn’t know he was a mutant? He’d met plenty of people before that hadn’t. Though there was only one way to find out, and though he didn’t give much of a damn either way, he didn’t want to get grounded all over again for causing a big commotion. “So d’you see this other book you mentioned?” He figured more time to study the other might give him more clues. Besides. This guy was interesting, if nothing else.

"No," Kajimoto agreed, the subtle laughter back in his eyes. "They do not, and no I don't." He scanned the shelves with a critical eye, focusing on the titles of the books as he swiftly scanned the topmost shelf. It wouldn't surprise him if it was hidden somewhere at the back though. "Were you looking for a book in particular?"

“Nope, just looking. Wanted something to read that’s not for class, and the school library’s kinda stuffy.” He liked bookstores better than libraries – they felt much more open to him. He turned back to the shelf himself, but directed his voice to the stranger on his left. “So your school’s not right around here – s’gotta be pretty close though, right?” He remembered there was another mutant school around here – or something of the sort, seeing as the partycrashers and Yagyuu had had to come from somewhere.

"Quite," the brunette acknowledged calmly, ignoring the not-so-subtle hints the chibi was sending him now. There weren't many schools in the area and Kajimoto was starting to question the other teen's… race, for lack of better word. Practicality told him that the chances of meeting another mutant at a bookstore in the English section were exceedingly small. Instinct told him otherwise, however. "You think if I offered to help them clear it up they'll hire me?" It was a thought he had been considering for quite some time now, actually. He did need the money, and he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to resort to illegal means to get it.

Well, he wasn’t being very helpful with information about his school, Ryoma thought, eyeing the stranger once more. But then, he wasn’t sure he cared enough to put forth the effort to find out. “Hm. They might,” he said, glancing around the bookstore. They did perhaps seem a little understaffed. Well. At least in the English section, he thought for at least the third time that day. “They’d probably make you do other stuff too, though. Don’t think you could get away with just watching a tiny section like this.” He glanced up at the brown-haired stranger, smirking softly.

"Nn," Kajimoto frowned. "Still, the section's in a mess." A very large one at that. "Other stuff too, I could probably handle." As long as the pay was decent. The quiet youth frowned thoughtfully, carefully considering his options. It wasn't a bad idea and it wasn't as though he lacked the time for it anyway. "I might just do it."

He met the smirk with another of his understated smiles, resisting the urge to ruffle the mop of dark hair. The youth was an interesting character… Kajimoto could probably spend an entire week devoted to simply watching people… or mutants.

“Go for it, it is a mess back here,” Ryoma agreed. “They all are, no one cares enough to bother keeping them decent.” He sighed. He supposed it wasn’t really a big concern of his, but it would still be nice to be able to find the books he wanted instead of having to hunt in every single store every single time. And reading in English just took so much less effort than reading in Japanese.

… But really. He was sick of this strange power pressing against his senses – it was strong, as strong as anyone’s at Ryuhana’s, and this boy had to know about his own powers. And it wasn’t like Ryoma cared all that much – he was still of the opinion that not synching was the way to go, even if his power did decide to return – but he really wanted to know where this boy was from. And the best way to do that was to get the ball rolling. “So,” he said slowly, studying the blue-bound book still in his hands as if he were asking a very simple question (because he was), “what do you do?”

"… …" Kajimoto regarded the stranger, studying him as much as he could without appearing rude. "I go to school, read my novels, do my homework and go for training." His calm expression did not betray his increasing heart rate as he turned most of his attention back to scanning the shelves for the book he was looking for. "It’s pretty much a routine by now." And it helped that he wasn't lying except perhaps by omission.

“That’s not quite what I meant,” Ryoma said, smirk reappearing as he finally looked over to the other. “I meant… well. Y’know. What’s your training in?” He couldn’t tell an individual’s powers from the way they felt. (Yet? He had no idea what he’d be capable of someday – it wasn’t as though he could synch himself.) But it was obvious now that this boy knew about his own powers – it was simply a matter of getting him to admit to them.

"Not much," Kajimoto shrugged. Nothing new or useful at the moment anyway. Everything had been all to simply confirm and test the control over his powers he had cast himself into. He shot the green-haired youth a small smile that betrayed nothing. "And you?"

The smirk remained. “Same here, really,” he replied just-as-vaguely – because it was also the truth. It really was seeming more and more as though Hanamura had no real idea how to train him. And now that his active power seemed to have all but disappeared, there really wasn’t much at all getting done during the training sessions she continued to insist he attend. “But then, if you’re as new as you say you are… seems like training doesn’t kick in for a while, eh?” Again, a guess based on the assumption that any Ryuhana-like school must operate under the same basic principles. Though maybe that wasn’t the case.

"Soon," Kajimoto shrugged, now more at ease with the topic. "They mentioned that testing would be over soon." And he darn well hoped so too. Having your body literally stretched to its limits was not fun in the least. While amusing at first, the doctors - and Sakaki- had become more annoying that anything else.

He glanced over at the green-haired youth, suddenly curious about his powers, before deciding that if he found out about the younger mutant's powers, he'd be obligated to reveal his and he wasn't inclined towards the thought at that moment.

Ryoma nodded. “Doesn’t take that long for most of us,” he agreed – he himself had only gone through a couple days of physicals before beginning his training. As though it had helped. “Just watch out for the actual training. Depending on what you can do, I hear it’s a bitch. Don’t think it matters much where you go.” He cocked his head, studying the other. Well, now that they’d pretty much both admitted to being mutants.

"Took me a week," Kajimoto shrugged. He was still being considered as in-training. He brushed gentle knuckles against the spine of the books and smiled. "But it didn't make much of a difference. I'll take things as they come." He glanced at Ryoma and tilted his head. "And we've been conversing like acquaintances and yet I still can't claim to know your name?"

His name? “Echizen – Echizen Ryoma,” he said; it wasn’t as though they’d been told not to give their names or anything. Or as if he’d have cared, even if they had. He might not know where this other mutant had come from, but it hardly mattered – he didn’t seem hostile, and even if he was, it wasn’t likely he’d try something in a bookstore full of people. “What about yours?” That might tell him better than anything whether or not this was another Ryuhana student (though he’d pretty much ruled that out by now) or not.

"Kajimoto," the brunette responded, inclining his head in a semi-formal bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you." And it was. The shorter mutant was perhaps the first of their 'kind' whom he had spoken to aside from Sakaki-sensei. Direct interaction, while not as amusing as watching from afar and reading journals, was most definitely interesting.

Ryoma merely nodded at the formality – he’d never really been one for such things – and studied the other. The name didn’t sound familiar after all, so he must not go to Ryuhana. Well… that left the “Brotherhood” school he’d heard about (but never visited), or possibly some third school he’d never heard of, though the chances of three mutant schools in such close proximity were pretty slim. But then, if Kajimoto was part of the Brotherhood, that made them enemies. Sort of. “So, you out alone?”

“Don’t see anyone else around me, do you?” Kajimoto met the golden gaze of the other mutant with an amused glance, not a hint of sarcasm evident in his tone. “Yeah, I’m alone.” The brunette had, similarly, come to a conclusion that the other must go to the Ryuhana, the school he’d nearly joined just a week ago. He briefly entertained the notion of telling Ryoma that, but decided against it, wondering what his life would currently be like in the other school. “And you?”

"Well, I dunno. Not too many people like to hang out in the English section, you know?" Ryoma glanced at the bookshelf before looking back up at Kajimoto. "Yeah, I'm alone too. Just getting a coupla things before dark." He had his second training session of the day in about an hour and a half, and still had to find a decent pair of sneakers before heading back. Though that shouldn't be too hard - he wasn't picky, something along the lines of what he had now, only bigger, would be fine. "Got training again soon."

And he had to get back for his appointment with the brotherhood’s resident doctors. They were pretty strict about punctuality and it seemed that turning up early was the best way to please them. He hadn’t been punished as of yet, and Kajimoto wanted to keep it that way. His eyes lighted up as he caught side of a red hard-covered book and he snatched it off the shelf with suppressed glee.

“You’re leaving soon then?” He asked scanning the contents of its back jacket before glancing back to look at Ryoma.

"Yeah - don't wanna get in trouble again." He'd had quite enough of being grounded, thanks, and he didn't plan on giving Hanamura any other reason to ground him. Ever. "Should probably get going, really." He hefted the book, turning to head to the register to purchase it. "Guess I'll give this one a try, then," he said, nodding to the other. He gave the other a small smirk. "Have fun with your own training, then.

He watched the shorter mutant go, a small smile on his face as Kajimoto hefted the book in his hands.

Oh yes, direct mutant contact was amusing.