Souma glanced quickly about the almost abandoned park, a flood of relief washing over him upon realizing that the blonde girl he had made the promise to had yet to arrive.
Dark eyes taking in the soft, pristine scenery of mounds of perfectly formed snow covering what used to be vibrant greenery, a small smile tugged at the teen's lips as he slowly approached a bench, not paying particular mind to its occupant and taking a seat at the far edge away from the other man.
After several minutes of slowly rocking in place, Souma wrapped his arms around the navy-hued school uniform he currently sported, cursing the thin fabric, a small voice in the back of his mind hoped that his absent-minded friend was fortunate enough to fortell the weather and come better dressed, perhaps even being precognative enough to realize Souma himself didn't know and would bring a scarf out of the dearness of her heart.
Souma smiled softly to himself, the tender thought of Himeko sending a flushing warmth through his body just fleetingly, quickly enough to make him realize how cold he really was. He glanced at the formerly faceless stranger who was still next to him, smoking casually, stoically, not really seeming all that interested in him.
His pale face held an aura of familiarity; there was something about it that Souma could have sworn he had seen before. Not just his face, which was almost as white as porcelein and just as beautiful, but the entirety of his presence seemed nostalgic in some way. Upon staring just a tad harder, something inside of him seemed to coil in his stomach; a leaden feeling, something undeniable and spiritual weighed heavy in his stomach. That, coupled with the sudden compression in his chest made him feel almost uncomfortable around the aqua-green haired man.
"Like what you see?"
Unpleasantly jarred out of his temporary reverie, Souma's eyes widened and he felt a sudden flush of red splash onto his cheeks as he was greeted by the man's faintly sardonic face. He looked away, face adorning a sheepish expression as he opened his mouth to say something though he was unsure exactly as to what. An apology, a half-arsed explanation, a proper greeting; anything at all that would ease his awkwardness was prayed for, but no words came.
The man snorted, taking a long sip out of his cigarette before staring off blankly into the white tufts of snow patted together so neatly before him. "It's cold. Isn't it?"
Souma blinked several times in succession, head turning to look at the enigmatic, stark man. His question seemed to break the metaphorical ice and the teen allowed himself to relax somewhat.
"Yeah. It is," was all he could manage in reply. A burst of feeling, a soothing emotion, told him that was all that was needed.
The crimson-eyed man took another drag out of his cigarette before sighing in agreement. After that, there was silence, silver and pure and free of any tension, of any cynical suspicions one wouldn ormally feel when sitting next to a stranger, free of fear or dejection. Neither male seemed bothered by lack of vocals shared between them, and the quietness, coupled with the park's natural ambience made the silence seem almost ethereal.
"So," another sip of his cigarette, "where're you from?"
"Here. Mahoroba," the teen glanced upward, eyes fixed on the path he came into the snowy park from.
"Mm. So am I," his adroit digits tapped the ashes of the cancer-stick onto the ground beneath before placing it between his lips, letting wobble as it pleased as he spoke. "And where are you going?"
Black eyes moved from the snowy ground back to his own, frigid hands. He hadn't thought specifically about where he and Himeko were intending to go. The girl had told him she had some buisness in town, and then she wanted to visit a certain shrine in the country if he recalled correctly...
"To be honest, I'm not sure," the uncertainty in his voice came through just slightly as he lifted his gaze and rested it on the other man who seemed to be mulling over the words just spoken.
"Aah... Same, same."
Souma smiled at the curteous stranger before avertnig his gaze to the path he had been staring so contently at before, sparing his companion a lingering glance every now and then, taking time to enjoy the silence.
Unlike the manner before, the silence was broken through the other man's standing up, his own crimson eyes transfixed on the cigarette he gracefully dropped and stepped on with his black boot.
"You're waiting for someone?" his question seemed more spoken to himself rather than Souma, who had his ever-intent gaze on the man once more.
The teen nodded, regardless of who the question belonged to. "I am."
The pale figure turned to start for the exit of the park, the path Souma had taken in. Before walking off, however, he turned his head to smirk at the boy, mumbling a "Me too".
Souma's content expression faded into one of slight confusion at the lack of logic the entire moment he spent with the perfect stranger contained.
"I will be seeing you... Souma," with that he walked away, not bothering to bow or wave or even look at the boy he was leaving behind for the moment. As the teen lifted a hand to wave politely to his conversation partner, he stopped, hesitating, something compelling him not to give words of departure just yet. Who he was or what his unusual questions meant or the fact that he knew his name was Souma before properly introducing himself struck the boy, but he didn't dwell on the ideas too long, not wishing to entertain the sordid possibilities and the overall truth as to what they all really meant. He would save the contemplation for later on tonight, he resolved to himself. Today, he was going to take Himeko out and go with her to visit her friend that never was.
"Souma-kun! Souma-kun!" the perky voice he was so accustomed to, followed by the little pitter-patter of her rapid footsteps flooded his ears, and Souma set his thoughts aside just momentarilly to tend to Himeko's needs. And as they walked and conversed idly, the aura of love and protection seemed to exude from the fated children.