May 17 11:46AM Half-Moon Rank 2
She is standing against the railing in front of the Wakatsu when I walk up to her. She's wearing a pastel orange blouse and a large bag is slung over her shoulder. A small orange flip phone is in her right hand. She's looking down, sending a text to someone else. I had Chidori scan the building and a two block radius before I showed up. Her scans came up empty, but there was still a chance she missed something. We didn't take chances.
I have my briefcase with me, armed to the brim with explosives. If any of her comrades showed up, I'd blow the building into high heaven. No one would make it out alive. Chidori is sketching outside, keeping an eye on the place in case of trouble.
Minako Arisato doesn't turn at my approach. I tap her lightly on the shoulder and her eyes snap in my direction. They're brown. Like dried blood. But under the sun they seem to glow red, like rubies.
Her eyes check my pants, my jacket, and then my eyes. After she is satisfied, a smile instantly appears on her face. "Hello. My name is Minako Arisato. You can call me Minako or Arisato if that makes you uncomfortable." she offers a little bow before sticking out her hand for me to shake.
Her hands are calloused, not at all girly. Even Chidori had soft hands. "I'm Jin Shirato."
"Shirato…san?" No one has ever called me that before. Both Takaya and Chidori called me Jin and the people in the Kirijo group... I didn't talk about them but they called me a different name altogether. I kind of liked this new title. By the smile on her face, she seemed to enjoy it as well.
We walk into the restaurant, each of us getting a platter. I have plenty of money. More than I ever thought I would as a kid. Spending a couple thousand yen on food means nothing.
The moment we put our order in, the Arisato girl pulls several large textbooks out of her bag. I eye them suspiciously "What are you doing?"
She gives me a quizzical look, cocking her head like a bird. "You said you would help me study. Exams are next week and I haven't finished all my practice problems."
"I…" I was smart, but I didn't know jack about what they taught in school. Never stepped foot in a traditional classroom in my life. I highly doubt my experience in the Kirijo labs would do any good here. What the hell did I do now? A pencil case. A workbook showing a teacher in front of a chalkboard. Typical things any student would have. All of it is foreign to me. All I can do is stare.
"Japanese, first." She pulls out a green workbook, and all conversation ceases. There is no issue at all. Every so often her eyebrows will knit together in concentration, and she'll open up a different notebook to cross reference something. She doesn't ask me for help. Even if there is something giving her difficulty, she'll simply stare at it for several minutes as if the answer is buried somewhere deep in her mind if only she waits long enough.
Watching her work is interesting. Her head is pressed really close to the table when she writes. She holds her pencil tightly, as if it can be turned into a weapon at any time. She has trouble not smudging the paper, uncharacteristic for a girl. She is a fast reader. Her red eyes flit across the pages with incredible speed as she skims her textbook for the answer. Her face is prettier up close.
She eats her platter slowly, putting a bite into her mouth every few minutes. I look around the restaurant, moving as little as possible. No enemies in sight. The restaurant isn't exactly crowded. None of the other patrons seem suspicious at all. Many of them order and leave. I take mental notes in case someone might appear more than once. I find nothing. All around us are normal customers, a few teenagers enjoying their weekend. Was this girl really here just to study?
"Shirato-san." What was this girl's plan? What did she want? An elderly couple had been staring at her earlier. Had they been comrades in disguise? It was possible, but the man had walked with a limp that seemed natural enough. Had that been an act to make him lower his guard? "Shirato san!"
My eyes snap onto hers. They're close. Too close. She's leaning over the table; her eyes huge as they stare into my own. In my haste to get away, I forget that I'm sitting.
*Bam*
The chair falls to the floor with a slam, bringing my body with it. The girl immediately gets out of her seat to pull me up, "Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
My face is red. I can feel it. Everyone in the restaurant is looking at me. Some of them look shocked, whispering behind their hands. I cover my face with my arm, and get to my feet, setting the chair back in its original position.
Arisato is hiding her own face behind a notebook, but she peeks her head out over the top to look at me. Her expression tells she is trying very hard not to smile, a light blush coloring her cheecks. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't be stupid." I turn my head away so she can't see my face.
"I really am sorry. I just had a question." I turn around to look at her, hoping my face has returned to its original color. I hated going outside. This was hell.
"What."
She puts her hand on my head, petting me like a child. For a brief second, I wonder if she wants to snap my neck, but that would be dangerous in a public place like this. She would be captured in a heartbeat. No escape "Don't be embarrassed. I just wanted to tell you I was done. Did you have any other plans for the afternoon?"
I swat her hand away. This was no time to be embarrassed. An entire morning wasted, and I hadn't learned a thing. "Do you…mind if I walk you home?"
Her hand pauses over her backpack. She looks at me as if slightly puzzled, but then smiles. "Sure."
I pay for our meal while she waits behind me. Part of me doesn't know what to say to her at all. I was told to gather information but talking online never seemed this difficult. I ball my hands into fists. What was I supposed to say? I couldn't flat out ask her about her persona, or Kirijo. She would never tell me, and even if she did, how could I be sure she wasn't lying?
"Shirato-san." The name jolts me out of my thoughts. It looks like she's been calling me for a while.
"Your change." She grabs it from the hostess and hands it back to me. The way she bites her lip tells me clearly, and without error that she's once again, trying not to smile.
The walk to the dorm is short. I'd scouted it several days ago in case I'd ever need to know. It gives me about 20 minutes to learn whatever I can. "So… are you in university?"
It's her who starts the conversation. She's looking up at me, expectantly. A spy would know I wasn't. Was she trying to make me lower my guard? There are a few people around us. No one is milling. They are clearly headed in some unknown direction. Maybe a grocery store, a date, or on some mission to find their cheating husbands.
"Uhh, no. I sell informational software." Technically not a lie. I sold information on the Revenge Website sometimes.
"Oh. That's interesting. I'm not very good with computers."
"You're good enough to wipe everyone at Hemelin." I mutter in response. She wasn't very good at lying. You had to be at least computer-literate to be able to play a game like that.
"Hemelin isn't very hard. You move, you activate abilities. I only follow the instructions." She shrugs, and my suspicion only grows. This was getting me nowhere. I should've been asking her about the other people at her dorm, or the Kirijo group. Why is she the one whose taking control of the conversation?
"Do you like working?"
I shrug in the same way she does. What an odd question. Was there anyone in the world who liked working? A job is a job. "It's work."
We keep walking for nearly half a block before I realize she's stopped to look out at the shrine. She's not looking at me when she asks her next question. "Do you want to stop at the park?"
The park is a playground for small children right outside the temple. Usually the park is full of children on weekends. Fortunately, the sun would be starting to set soon. Any tiger mom would've squirreled their precious child home already. A white and grey dog is sitting on the steps, his red eyes watching us intensely. His eyes never leave me. For a minute, he bares his fangs but he neither growls, nor makes any move to attack me.
Time seems to move incredibly slow at this point. I don't know how long we sit in awkward silence, but she is the one who breaks it. She grabs a hold of one of my sleeves in a death grip. "I want to thank you, for that night. What you said about being friends made me really happy."
I bark out a sarcastic laugh. This was not at all what I expected. "Why? A pretty girl like you should have lots of friends." Chidori brought back a lot of people. Despite her creepy attitude, many people found her attractive. Different kinds of men followed her home at night thinking she would be easy. We killed them all during the Dark Hour.
She contemplates my words for a moment before tucking her legs under her chin. "Do you have any friends?"
I should be insulted, but I'm not. Something about this girl made it very hard to be mad at her. It didn't seem like she was making fun or me. It didn't even seem like she expected me to answer her. "Yeah. A couple."
"Do you love them? Would you die for them?"
The questions catch me off guard. Would I die for them? I didn't know. Takaya definitely, but what about Chidori? I spent a lot of time with her, arguably more than I did with Takaya if you included the time she spent sleeping on my bed, or eating meals on my floor. I would want her to stay with us, but it wouldn't hurt me if she left. If I knew she was happy, I wouldn't stop her from leaving. Was that love?
"One of them."
"Do you ever wonder if they would die for you?"
I didn't. The thought never even occurred to me, but now that she's planted the question into my head, I can't let it go. Takaya wouldn't die for me. His philosophy was to live life for yourself. Do things for yourself. Don't get attached because at the end of the day, you were by yourself. Every man lives their own life, and dies in their own graves. I couldn't even be bothered to wonder about Chidori. It would give me a headache.
"No."
"Would they?"
Probably not.
"Maybe."
"Then how do you know they're really your friends?"
She is still smiling. Her head resting on her knees, but her face is turned towards me. Her eyes are watching me with wonder, like she's never seen anything at all like me. My immediate thought is that she is trying to ruin us, tear us apart from the inside.
"What about you? Would your friends die for you?"
"I don't have friends. I told you that before."
Her words make sense now, if this is how she thinks. Did anyone have friends then? Was there anyone who would give up their life for their 'friends'?
"No one would die for someone else."
"You think so?" There is a playful undertone in her voice and it bothers me. Almost mocking. As if she knows something that I don't. Was she making me run around in circles? What did she want? What was she trying to do? These questions didn't mean anything. They wouldn't lead anywhere. I would never leave Takaya. It didn't matter if he loved me. It didn't matter if he would die for me. My life was his. I would do anything for him. Nothing else matters. So why? Why did her questions make me so angry? Why did I want to justify myself to her? As if I could validate the devotion I have for Takaya.
"Yeah. People are selfish. They would abandon anyone if it meant saving themselves and getting what they wanted."
"Does that make you lonely?"
Yes.
"No. That's just how people are."
"It makes me lonely."
Then why are you still smiling?
By now, the sun has gotten dark. She stands up, stretching her short arms above her head. When she looks sufficiently ready to leave, she grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet. Her hands are small. They feel warm against my own. "Don't you want someone to love you as much as you love them?"
Yes.
She doesn't wait for an answer. We walk back to the dorm in silence. She lets go when we reach the front door, and I panic. She was leaving, and I didn't want her to. What the hell is this feeling? The fact that I hadn't learned anything at all isn't even a priority anymore. It's just a nagging thought at the back of my mind at this point.
She turns to look at me and her eyes seem to be shining. Rubies. That was the first thing I thought of when I looked at them. They are what I think of now. "I had a lot of fun today. Do you…maybe want to do this again?" Her hands are behind her. I can't see them anymore, but I can imagine them. I want to hold them again. Badly.
There is no doubt in my mind. Every particle in my body compels me to go to her. My conscience gives me the justification. Learn more about her. For Takaya. For him, I will do anything. This is for him. "Yes."
She reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone. "Here's my mail address. You can send me a message whenever you want."
MinaMin92. The handle is really simplistic, kind of like her phone. I copy it down. This is it. The goodbye. What do I do? How did these things work? I rub the back of my neck before I walk away without saying anything. This was getting awkward.
"Bye!" The door is open behind her. Someone could walk out at any moment. They could see me and ruin everything, but she looked so happy just standing there, waving at me. I wave back once before literally running down the street back to the station. I needed to get out of there.
Akihiko is sitting in the dorm when she walks in, a book in his lap. He is healing well. They'd all be fighting together soon. He would make a great addition to the team. "Hey, Arisato. Who was that walking you home?"
"A new friend." She grins before bounding up to her room, three steps at a time, leaving a confused Akihiko in her wake.
*Bing*
~Sorry about leaving like that. I had somewhere to be."
Minako could feel herself smiling. He was so awkward. A complete weirdo, but she liked that about him. He was different. She sends him a quick reply before heading to the shower. There's a new message when she gets back to her room.
~I'm home. Yeah. That sounds good. I'll meet you at 4:30pm next week.
Next Chapter: 10/17/2017