Most smiles...
The night air.
Was there a word to describe it?
It was chilly, that was for sure - but it was Autumn, so it was to be expected.
Lia sighed.
And then, sending a prompt 'goodbye' to her apartment, she lugged her backpack over her shoulder. It didn't have much, just the Academy uniform, necessities and clothes.
Just everything of any importance.
The door locked with a click, and the keys in her hand jingled. She stood there for a moment, frowning. Three minutes went by. Sighing, she leant down. Her hair brushed annoyingly against her face as she set down the keys in front of the apartment. She didn't own it any more. If the keys went missing it'd probably be her fault, but chances were they wouldn't get stolen (or maybe even noticed).
She straightened, and sent one last cautious look to the keys. And then, she turned, and walked away.
The night air.
Somehow, it was nostalgic. Or was that even the feeling it gave off? Honestly, if she was bothered enough and didn't have her blindfold on, she could've just stared at it - the sky, that is. The stars made it worthwhile, even though she couldn't see most of them due to the cloth hugging her face. It gave a certain kind of feeling - not one that made her feel accomplished or warm, or anything cheesy like that. It wasn't particularly mesmerising or dazzling either. To put it simply, she could stare at it... and not get bored.
She began to walk.
Her destination was actually pretty close, and when her eyes caught a glimpse of a pale-yellow brightness, she knew she was going the right way.
The street lamps illuminated soft warm glows and Lia mused that the street she lived on was actually quite pretty, in a sense. Serene, and humble.
She wondered what her new apartment would look like.
But wait, didn't Principal Massini already give her details about it? Something about a traditional house... whatever it was, she didn't really listen.
In any case, what did he mean by traditional? How could an apartment be traditional?
A gruff noise broke her from her thoughts but when she looked up, she could just catch a trail of light disappearing back into darkness.
A car?
She looked on suspiciously as the engine sound slowly faded from hearing range.
Well, oh well.
Cold light flooded over her figure - the lights inside the station, which was only an open area; nothing special.
When Ivan entered her vision, she blinked for a moment. Was it weird for her to expect him to be in the normal Academy uniform? Maybe a bit, but... it was her first time seeing him out of uniform.
So she focused on his outfit.
His feet were enclosed, as per usual, in the same brown boots, except this time - his left shoe's laces were in a crumpled mess on the cement floor.
His pants were baggy and green.
It was his jacket, or what she could see of it, that made her stifle a laugh.
'Japan', it read.
Curious, the boy turned around slightly, finally noticing her.
"Hello," he greeted.
The tips of her lips quirked upwards in a half-smirk and turning her head to the side, she stated offhandedly, "Your shoelaces are undone."
With a surprised noise, he bent down to examine his boots, and noticing that she wasn't just being mean, he fumbled with them for a bit before tying them slowly. She averted her eyes from his form to the bag near his feet.
There was something shiny beside it - one, no, two triangular-shaped things sitting innocently on the ground.
She squinted her eyes to get a better look.
White and triangular - was that...
"Onigiri...?"
The train rumbled like a dragon.
She kicked her legs back and forth for the millionth time.
Trains were interesting.
It was her first time being on one. Her parents drove her everywhere, after all.
The people on it were interesting as well... kind of.
The first few minutes, she scanned the train for any suspicious looking people, but since it was night time, not many people were on it. Only a dirty-blonde haired girl, a sleeping man, and two teenagers holding hands.
It was a slight advantage, having the blindfold on, even if the people sent her a weird look at first. If she looked at someone, they wouldn't really know. It was just a matter of being inconspicuous. Ivan looked unfazed - or maybe that was just because he was sleeping.
She didn't know how he could sleep sitting straight upwards without leaning towards one side or another... but he deserved the sleep. Now that she took a good look at him, he looked tired. There were bags underneath his eyes and Lia wondered if he slept well at night. If he was tired, he shouldn't have spent the time making both of them rice balls.
Still, it was a nice notion.
Making food for them, that is. Even though it looked as if it'd fall apart.
'The responsibility you get when a person gives you something; you feel as if you need to give them something back in return' - Lia didn't know what that that feeling was called - to reciprocate? - but...
That was what she assumed Ivan felt, to actually take time to make rice balls.
Because... she gave him the green tea? Whatever. She was a little hungry, so she'd eat it.
She pulled out the plastic-wrapped food from inside the pocket of her grey hoodie.
Her fingers grazed over the clear surface, and finding the edge of the plastic, she slowly peeled it apart. Almost immediately, bits of rice came tumbling into her lap and hurriedly, she wrapped it again, no longer the surprisingly neat package it was before. She sighed and picked the small white grains up and flicked them away.
How in the world did he even... when the rice wasn't even sticking together properly-? She sighed, again.
Carefully, she slid the plastic wrap down so that a bit of the onigiri was touching air. She held it still, but when the train jolted softly, the top fell into her hand, and she blinked. It was mostly rice, but there was something pink coloured in it. She sniffed it, and cringed away from it. Fish. She didn't like seafood that much.
After a moment of hesitation, she chucked it into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. It didn't taste that bad, to be honest.
She sneaked a peek at Ivan. He was still asleep. Good.
Somehow, she mused, if he'd known she was eating at right this moment, he'd probably be dying inside of anxiousness, then proceed to ask her if she liked it, and get a mediocre response that'd most likely bring down his mood. He already had enough to think about, so he didn't really need to worry about his cooking skills.
She gathered another clump of rice and fish, tuna, into her hand and ate it.
It was only after the third bite when she heard a strange sounding rumble come from across her, when Lia looked up and blinked confusedly.
It was the blonde girl. But really - she looked so young, maybe only 13?
Lia's eyes travelled from the loose black pants to the orange snuggly-looking sweater, and to the teen's face. Her eyes were probably the most distinct feature (that Lia could remember) - large, bright, green- and a shape similar to Lia's own. They looked tired, as if she hadn't had a proper night's sleep. It was obvious though, that this stranger was of Asian descent.
Shifting, the girl fidgeted and her green orbs, which were probably a shade darker to Lia because of her blindfold, flickered from the object in Lia's hands and back to her own lap.
Lia too, glanced at the rice ball and to the girl, and finally, she stated - with a tint of reluctance, "Catch."
Doing a fast, secure wrap, Lia raised her hand and threw it towards the girl.
It arched in the air and as soon as it came into the blonde's reach, her hand shot out and grabbed it.
Her reflexes were good, Lia noted - for a girl who looked pretty young.
"For me?" The orange-wearing teen asked in a bewildered tone.
Lia nodded.
There was a small silence.
The person in front of Lia blinked once, then twice. And then, her lips split into a toothy grin and from her mouth was a small, cheeky sounding 'heehee'.
"Thanks a lot!" She exclaimed in a voice that reminded Lia of 'trap' singers from Japan.
Lia leaned back into her seat and bobbed her head in a simple acknowledgement.
The grin on the blonde's face grew wider, before she opened the wrap around the onigiri with haste, before taking a huge bite out of it.
A few moments after, the train slid to a stop.
There was a clank, and a screech.
Then, somehow; Ivan tumbled from his seat and face-planted the floor.
Cleaning up the last pieces of food, the blonde-haired Asian blinked for the third time at the twitching male on the ground.
Unimpressed, Lia merely looked on.
Soon-
Laughter.
With a deadpan face, Lia switched her gaze from Ivan to the giggling - no... 'giggling' wasn't the right word for the girl's laugh - stranger and back to Ivan, who was now pushing himself up.
The eighteen-year-old raised a hand and gingerly touched his face. The sleepiness had gone, but now a dull ache replaced it. The floor hurt.
"Let's go," Lia sighed, standing up with her bag once again on her back.
After getting over the embarrassment of falling miserably in front of the stranger, Ivan nodded, stood up and gathered his bag in his hands.
Two steps were taken, before suddenly the boyish yet girlish voice called out, "Thank you!"
Ivan tilted his head when Lia paused and sent a sideways glance to the grinning girl, before shaking her head and stepping over the crevice between the train and the station. Before he followed her actions, he took one last look at the young teen.
Why did he feel as if he'd meet her again?
And then, inwardly, he shrugged. It was probably nothing.
His shoes met cement ground, and after a few short moments, the train ran off.
They left the station, which compared to the city...
She wasn't sure if Ivan had ever been in this particular area before, but the vibrant buildings and the people still walking around... all the lights reminded her of stars on land, kind of.
There was one thing for sure; it was bright.
Lia spotted what might've been the Justice Tower in the distance, but before she went forward, she asked, "Do you know what the time is?"
Because it was pretty late when they left and the train ride took a long time; so did their - or maybe just Ivan's - sponsors (she didn't even know what sponsor company she had for goodness' sake?) even bother to wait that long for them?
Ivan shook his head in response.
"Then, do you know how to get to that place we're supposed to be at?"
Ivan paused. And then he nodded.
Still, it was Ivan.
She wasn't exactly sure what place he was referring to.
"Where are we going?" She probed as he began to walk.
"The apartment," he murmured, scratching his cheek almost sheepishly.
"Your apartment?"
"...our... apartment?"
Lia's eyes narrowed.
"Our?"
Why hadn't she heard anything about... 'our'?
Ivan didn't reply. If anything, he sped up his pace.
"Wait- was that what the car was?"
He turned around slightly and tilted his head.
"In that car... was that Principal Massini?"
He nodded, albeit hesitantly.
But why would he be hesitant?
"What did he say?"
"A-ah..."
Immediately, and instead of speaking, he reached into his bag and produced a piece of paper. A map.
"Here."
Lia took it without hesitation.
And with one simple glance, she handed it back to him and strode forward.
"L-Lia?"
She paused at her name.
"Yes?"
"Do... you know where you're going?" Just to make sure, he reasoned to himself.
"What, you think I don't?" Her reply was quick, accusing.
"..."
"..."
A sigh.
If she felt sheepish, it didn't show on her face.
Rather, he could hear it when she said - "T-then... lead the way then... idiot."
He wasn't sure if the redness on her face was because it was cold, or because of the warm light above them. Or something else.
Lia only hoped he knew the way to their apartment as much as he seemed to.
...are started by another smile.
I AM SINCERELY SORRY.
I JUST. I HAD TROUBLE WITH THIS CHAPTER AND YOU KNOW WHAT I DECIDED TO DO?
GO ON TUMBLR AND JUST REBLOG SHIZ FOR HOW MANY MONTHS AND YEARS AND DECADES.
I'm so sorry.
If I lost readers because of this, then that is my fate and I shall accept it like a true samurai. /sigh. I'll get out the next chapter hopefully earlier than this darn chappie.
I'm sorry if this disappoints.
Oh and guess who blondie is -shot-.
Ah, and the hint I mentioned last chapter...
It was the fact that Ivan, in a way, was 'smarter' than Lia. The fact that he notices things she doesn't usually notice (nor do many other people) is awesome in itself. Shows how Ivan isn't much of a wimp or an idiot, y'know? And how he's worthy to become a Hero and all. And GYAHAHA I HAVE MANY PLOT BUNNIES. Which I have to figure out how to write into this story but maybe I'll write a oneshot or something one day.
Thanks for reading.
To sophiashyaway - next chapter shall be longer than this. Even if by one letter, it'll be longer! That's a promise! -sends love-