A/N: Another breather chapter. Like I've done before, I randomized this one to see who I'd end up saving for later. Mild spoiler for this chapter, but due to this randomization, Takeshi will have to be touched upon later. Ah well. Hopefully I'll be more prepared to write his first conversation than I was for Eryu's.
Well, once again, Naoko had just been handed a whole heaping load of free time. It only made sense that he would have to do something interesting with that time. And, well, at that point, he had a pretty solid activity that he liked to fall back on. He had spoken to most everyone by that point, and he had learned a decent amount thus far. Unfortunately, there were a couple that he hadn't gotten to yet. The thing was, one of them just so happened to be on his mind, especially after what had been occurring around him recently.
He ended up catching Kimi on her way back to her room. Upon going up to her and getting her attention, she reacted in a manner in which Naoko had grown uncomfortably familiar with.
"What the fuck, dude? I just wanna go draw in my room. Would you lay off me for a sec?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Naoko replied. "I was just wondering if you wanted to, y'know, hang out."
Kimi gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously?" She glanced over to the door to her room. "Alright, tell you what. I'll get my supplies, and you can watch me work my magic. Deal?"
That sounded as good as Naoko was going to get at the moment, so he agreed. The next while was spent sitting on the cold floor as Kimi "worked her magic" on some blank paper. She made no effort to obscure what she was working on, so Naoko was able to sneak a peek, and he had to admit, she definitely was a good artist. Then again, that was sort of what she was good at, so it was no big surprise. She still definitely enjoyed being complemented, though.
Conversation was light, considering how preoccupied Kimi seemed to be, but otherwise, it felt to Naoko that he and Kimi had grown at least a little bit closer. Perhaps a gift would entice her? Well, he did have something that seemed like she'd enjoy them. It was a pair of clip-on earrings with a ladybug-esque pattern on them.
Kimi's eyes lit up at being presented with them. "Holy shit. Alright, well, I'm definitely taking that off your hands."
Naoko noticed that she was, for the moment, refraining from making direct eye contact with him. Why exactly she would be doing so was unclear, but it seemed as though she had something on her mind that she wasn't telling him. Still, at some point, she seemed to realize that things were a bit awkward and let out a sigh.
"Okay, I think I know what's going on in your head right now."
"You do?" Naoko asked.
"Yep," Kimi replied. "You're probably thinking something like 'what's with this sassy lost child?'"
A short beat passed before Naoko was able to respond. "What?"
Kimi let out a snort and waved him off. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Seriously, though, you're probably wondering about yours truly right now. Am I right or am I right?"
"Well, I am interested in talking to you about something," Naoko replied.
"Of course you are," Kimi said as if she had known all along. "So, what about me?"
"I dunno," Naoko replied. "I figured maybe you'd want to talk about yourself and your, y'know, talent."
"Aha," Kimi said happily. "You already have me pinned down, don't you? Well, I'm assuming you know what I do by now."
Naoko barely even had to think about the answer. "Well, of course. You're a cartoonist. You made an animation series. You've talked about this already."
"Basically, yeah," Kimi shrugged. "Though I gotta let you know real quick that, well, to be clear, the word 'cartoonist' may not be the best word to describe me."
"Why's that?" Naoko asked.
"Because," Kimi explained, "when people say someone's a cartoonist, that usually means they do comic books, and still images, and shit."
"So you're saying you're not a cartoonist? You're an animator?"
"Well, yeah, that too," Kimi replied boastfully.
"So you're saying you do both," Naoko replied. "So why are you called a cartoonist?"
"I dunno, man," Kimi admitted. "I guess if I wasn't called a cartoonist, or an animator, I'd be called...an artist?"
"Would that be any more accurate than calling you a cartoonist, then?"
"Well, it'd be vague as fuck, really. It's not like there's a bunch of different kinds of artists out there," Kimi said. "But hey, the word cartoonist has the word cartoon right in the name, so I guess in a way, it covers all my bases."
"That's an interesting way to look at it," Naoko responded. "Still, if you're known best for animating, maybe calling you an animator would be better."
Kimi looked at Naoko judgmentally. "What, you think just because I'm best known for something, that means it's what I'm best at?"
"Okay, that's fair," Naoko relented. "So, you're better as a cartoonist, is what you're saying."
"Well, I'm good at drawing in general," Kimi explained. "It doesn't matter if it's static or moving. If it's a comic book, or a cartoon show, or an anime, or anything like that, I'm down with it. And, of course, I've certainly dabbled, but I mean, stuff like manga and comics tend to be a bit, well, easier for me. Y'know, because there's less frames than something that's animated. That's kinda why I went for more comic or manga-style stuff when I was starting out."
"Hold on a minute," Naoko said, holding up his hand to stop her. "You're saying you were originally a cartoonist?"
"I guess I was. Why do you ask?"
"Then maybe that's why they say you're a cartoonist, rather than an animator or artist," Naoko reasoned.
"Huh," Kimi said in contemplation. "Y'know what, that doesn't sound too crazy. Still, I had to start somewhere. It'd be kinda weird if I jumped straight to animating, IMO. When I realized I had a knack for drawing, I definitely had to do something with it." Kimi sighed wistfully. "I remember when I first started out. The little comics I made. Nothing spectacular compared to my current work, but it got me here, and that's what matters."
"Maybe you could tell me about your early work, then," Naoko suggested.
Kimi mulled it over for a second. "Eh. Later. Right now, I wanna go and do something a bit more, y'know, interesting."
Naoko was a bit disappointed, but ultimately agreed. "Alright, then. Later."
Kimi left from there. Naoko had to admit, he was actually becoming rather curious as to what Kimi's earliest work could possibly be. She seemed like, to an extent, she was proud of her work, but she also said that she'd done better since. Did that mean it wasn't very good? Maybe, but it'd be hard to make an informed judgement on that until he heard more.
Naoko finally decided it was time to start prowling around the third floor. It only made sense to him that he'd want to spend time in a place that was still relatively new to him. Then again, though, a lot of it was kinda drab. The facility they were all in was by no means pretty, and so there was only so much he'd consider to be an interesting sight.
Then again, the flower nursery was certainly one of them. He peeked inside, and saw that Eryu, of all people, was already there, and was taking an interest in the room's primary contents.
"Oh, hey," he said, looking over at Naoko. "Nice place, isn't it?"
"Totally," Naoko replied. "It's a relief this place is here, really. The closest thing we had to plants before this was a fake potted plant."
"Ah, that's right," Eryu said in remembrance. "But, well, the real thing is definitely better."
Naoko couldn't disagree with that statement, so he ended up staying and enjoying the room's flora with him. With a room like the one they were in, it only made sense that they were supposed to stick around and enjoy it. With the vast array of colors, sizes, and shapes on display, it was just easy on the eyes compared to the dull gray they'd been stuck with thus far. And, well, Naoko felt like, since they were enjoying the room together, they probably had been able to grow a little closer.
He figured he may as well hand him something interesting, so he offered him something that he'd had for a while. It was a bag of mini-marshmallows. A bit of a strange thing to hold onto for an extended period of time, definitely, and perhaps an odd gift, but hey, who didn't like marshmallows? Eryu seemed to have no problem with it.
"Wow, Naoko, that's pretty cool. Looks like I'll be hanging onto this, then. Thanks."
After that? Well, Naoko was initially unsure of where to go from there. This was by no means the first time he'd talked to Eryu, but even still, he didn't really know for sure what sort of conversation topic he could approach him with. They each had a title they went by, an "Ultimate" title as they called it, and logically speaking, it seemed like it'd be a great conversation piece. For Eryu, though?
"Is something bothering you?" Eryu asked.
Naoko realized he was probably beginning to look rather troubled, thinking about this conundrum of his. "Sorry. I'm interested in having a conversation, but I don't know what to talk about."
"I see," Eryu replied. "Well, that's okay. It happens. Would you rather I offer a topic?"
"I mean, sure, that could work," Naoko figured.
"Perfect," Eryu said happily. "So...what exactly would you say you're interested in?"
"My interests, huh?" Naoko repeated back. "Y'know what, that's not a bad question. Maybe I should've asked you that myself."
"Well, my interests are...a bit all over the place," Eryu admitted. "I can't say that'd be something to talk about at this point. What about you, though?"
"Me? Well, I guess my interests, mainly, would be considered a little bit...I don't know if nerdy would be the right term. Geeky, maybe?"
"I don't really know any sort of distinction between those terms," Eryu replied.
"Hm. Is that your way of saying you're neither nerdy or geeky?" Naoko asked.
"They don't seem like they apply to me," Eryu answered.
"Damn. So, if we talked about that sort of thing, would you be bored?"
"I can't say I'd be bored," Eryu explained. "It's not like I haven't interacted with 'nerdy' people before."
"Is that so?" Naoko inquired.
"Yeah," Eryu said. "Even my younger sister is like that. Whenever I talk to her, she likes to insert these weird terms that I don't understand into her sentences, that I think are references to the stuff that she's into."
"Sounds like that'd be hard to understand," Naoko commented. "Is it difficult talking to her, then?"
"Only a little bit," Eryu replied. "At this point, though, I'm used to that sort of thing. If anything, I actually think it's rather cute how she's able to talk about her interests with such enthusiasm."
"Well, that's great," Naoko said happily.
"It is, isn't it?" Eryu responded contentedly. "To be honest, though, there's most likely some bias involved. She is my sister, after all."
"Well, it's a good thing she has interests, isn't it?" Naoko offered.
"Of course it is," Eryu replied. "Granted, just about everyone has some sort of interest. She has hers, you have yours, I have mine, and so on."
"Apparently yours are...eclectic?" Naoko supposed. "I gotta admit, that leaves me a bit curious."
"It does?" Eryu asked. "Well, I'm sorry, but I don't like to focus on how people categorize me. At least not by what interests me."
"Well, I know you like to categorize yourself as a leader," Naoko pointed out. "You're the Ultimate Autocrat, after all."
Eryu suddenly lost most of his contentment and began to frown. "Yeah, that's true. Hmm…"
"Is...something wrong?" Naoko asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just thought of something, that's all."
"Well, I'm sorry I made you think about it, then," Naoko replied.
"No, don't feel bad," Eryu assured him. "This is just about where this ends, though, wouldn't you agree?"
"I won't force you to keep this conversation going, if that's what you mean," Naoko said.
"Thank you," Eryu replied.
That was about where the conversation ended for them. Surprisingly abrupt, and quite the sour note. Naoko figured he probably broached a rather unsavory topic for him, when he mentioned his "Ultimate" title. It wasn't particularly positive, that was for sure. Perhaps he was skittish about talking about that.