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A Pocket Full of Quarters (Kai)
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Post by carrie on Jan 24, 2016 5:16:40 GMT
When one thinks of a quiet place, it was rare for them to think of the Arcade. Even on slow days kids were in and out trying to top one-another in shooters, pinball, dancing, fighting, or just getting a high score or kill screen. As high scores climbed and pinball wizards rose and fell, there was rarely a moment of piece and quiet. That's why Carrie liked this place. She couldn't hear herself think, and that was a very, very good thing as far as she was concerned.
"Carrie?"
Or so she thought.
"Carrie, there's a bunch of cute boys here! Come on, we should go up and introduce ourselves! That guy on the black machine looks like he'd be fun." Gotsumon's voice came clear as crystal to the schizophrenic, who took a deep breath and set aside the novel she'd read nineteen times already.
"We can't." She mumbled to herself, grabbing a bottle of water she'd sworn she refilled at the water fountain already. "We've been over this time and time again." The bottle was empty, unfortunately. She stood up and began heading to the back of the arcade, through a moderate sized crowd. "Most humans don't like digimon. I'm just saving you from embarrassing and humiliating the both of us."
"How do you know, you've never let me out in front of anybody who didn't already know."
"I'd rather not risk it. Remember how you almost blew my cover at home? We can't have you coming out because that means you're not likely to go back in!"
"Now you're shouting, gosh you reaaaally like attention." Of course, nobody could hear Gotsumon's gravelly voice but Carrie.
"Quiet... I was enjoying my book until you bothered me."
"You need to talk to more people!" Carrie finally made it to the water fountain in the back, next to the men's room. If her digivice was acting up she probably couldn't hear it over the sounds of the arcade.
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 24, 2016 17:46:12 GMT
"What's in there, Kai?" The speaker was a white creature, a Digimon, named Shiro. His appearance might be mistaken for a cat, save for the pure white eyes that matched his fur. And the talking. The talking was a problem. Especially since he was speaking with his head popping out of Kai's school bag. Where Kai had made him hide, so he wouldn't be noticed by the, y'know, many people that frequented Cat Street? At least his sister, Kuro, a black ferret-like creature was sensible enough to stay quiet and to stay out of sight. Why couldn't Shiro just follow her example?
Fortunately, it seemed like Shiro hadn't been noticed. Just so long as he didn't... Do what he just did. Kai threw his palm over his face as the Digimon ran into the building near them. The arcade, apparently. At least the people there had a lot of things to look at, and weren't paying a lot of attention to the little Digimon running underfoot. Thank goodness for small favors, he supposed, as he followed his partner inside.
It took some navigating to find Shiro. The Digimon had vanished quite promptly as soon as he had run inside, hidden behind a mass of humans and machines. By the time Kai found him... It was already too late. The little creature was staring up at a girl, his head in a curious headtilt that he often displayed. "Why are you talking to yourself?" he asked, tactlessly.
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Post by carrie on Jan 24, 2016 18:38:30 GMT
Carrie blanked and turned to the small cat-like creature. She set aside her water carefully and took out the digivice, hoping to heavens above she wasn't hallucinating again. As the device acknowledged it was, in fact, a digimon she gave a sighed of relief. "A digimon... what're you doing here?" She asked, looking around the arcade.
"How come he gets to run around?" Gostumon nagged Carrie, annoyed.
"Well he probably doesn't go around hitting on humans." She mumbled, spotting the boy in the window. She held up her digivice and shook it, trying to draw attention from anyone who would recognize it. "Talking to myself I'll explain later... uh." She puts the device away, hoping someone spotted it. "Do you have a tamer?" She asked, "Because if anyone sees you talking you might..." She paused, trying to think of what might happen with digimon if they're caught. Her imagination went to government experiments, naturally. She stayed that way, even as Gotsumon tried to snap her out of it.
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 24, 2016 19:22:54 GMT
It felt as though a great weight had been lifted from Kai's shoulders. Shiro may have spoken to a human... But nobody had noticed but her. And she was holding up a Digivice- A D-scanner to be precise. The mark of a Spirit user. Someone who it was not a disaster if she saw his partner Digimon. Or at least, not as big of a disaster as it could be. He slowly approached as Shiro excitedly said, "Yeah! His name's Kai! He's-""
Shiro was cut off by Kai scooping him up. He hadn't been noticed yet, but talking generally was a good way to get noticed. "That would be me. Sorry about Shiro, he's... Well, he doesn't really understand the idea of 'staying put.' Err, we should probably talk somewhere less crowded." He said, with a look at the crowd around them. They probably weren't going to listen in, but it still felt like a bad idea to talk about Digimon in the middle of such a busy place.
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Post by carrie on Jan 24, 2016 19:53:47 GMT
She snapped out of it as another human approached, smiling as he picked the cat-like creature up. "Uh yeah, I'll meet you outside, I have to grab some stuff. I'm Carrie." She bowed gently.
Gotsumon, meanwhile, was infatuated with what Carrie was seeing. "Wooow... He's even cuter than the other boy. You two should totally hook up." The girl ignored the voice in her head and returned to her seat, grabbing the book and following the boy out.
"I'm uh, I'm Carrie. Oh no, I already said that didn't I? Oh um, I'm sorry, I'm just not used to people yet... I'd introduce you to Gotsumon but she's a bit bold and uh, it's really hard to keep her under control..." She tried to ignore the inevitable response Gotsumon would have to that, and wondered if every spirit she ends up getting would act like this.
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 24, 2016 20:18:02 GMT
"Outside it is," Kai said, returning how bow with a nod. He would have given a proper bow in return... But he didn't want to be too conspicuous. Slipping the complaining Shiro back into his bag, Kai left the building and waited for the girl. The street wasn't quite as busy as the arcade, but it still had a fair number of people in it... But the alley next to it didn't. He pointed his head towards it slightly, non-verbally suggesting that they should go there, and walked into it.
Once safely out of the street view, Kai opened up his bag so Shiro could jump out, and he did so happily. Kuro, having been listening, had a grasp of the situation, and quickly climbed up Kai's arm, coming to rest around his neck. "Nice to meet you, Carrie. As you know, I am Kai. The rambunctious one here is Shiro," He said, directing her gaze to the energetic Digimon with a small movement of his arm, "And this one is Kuro," he finished, indicating the black Digimon looped about his neck. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Carrie." Kuro said softly, followed immediately by Shiro's "Yeah, nice to meetcha!"
Ah, right. Kai always forgot that the spirits of Spirit users had minds of their own. Hence the reason Scout had gone on a rampage after evolving to SkullGreymon, Kai thought. What's worse... Kai had been the one to suggest that he do it. All because Kai was just too useless to do anything properly. If only Kai had been useful, instead of just standing around while Kuro, Shiro, Rei, and Scout fought against the Sangloupmon. Then maybe Scout wouldn't have had to use that blasted spirit. How could Kai look Scout in the face after that?
Anyways, Kai had experience with spirits that were prone to acting on your own. "Don't worry about it. I'm lucky that Kuro and Shiro are as subtle as they are... Well, Kuro, at least. Besides, this isn't exactly the appropriate place to be turning into a Digimon, even if it is just us here." Err... Kai wasn't entirely sure what else to say. Ask how many spirits she had? What did that have to do with the price of tea in China?
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Post by carrie on Jan 24, 2016 20:54:20 GMT
"I- uh, I've been meaning to go back to the digital world, actually... do a bit of exploring and whatnot but I'm worried that uh..." She tried to think of a way to say this. She was very glad for that stuttering medication her friend had suggested to her way back when. Now she just had the awkward pauses to deal with. "I'm worried that if I go, I'll end up getting in trouble because of my problems... I know we just met, but you have two partners and maybe you could help show me around? I mean, if it's not any trouble." Carrie cleared her throat. Perhaps it was the pushing of Gotsumon, or perhaps it's because her days had felt like they'd been going on longer, but she needed to get out of the house more often.
"You seem to be a lot more uh, sorry, I'm assuming again, but it would just feel more safe to be with someone else, in case something goes wrong."
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 24, 2016 23:00:10 GMT
The sudden request caught Kai completely off guard. Go to the Digital World with her? He... As usual, he didn't exactly feel comfortable about it. He had made such trips several times in the past... And he didn't entirely feel comfortable with the. As weak as he was, how could he even consider taking responsibility for the safety of someone else! But... He didn't want to drag Scout along, as he usually would. It was still too awkward to face him... Even if Scout didn't feel that way. No, taking Scout wasn't the answer. And he didn't know anyone else reliable enough to invite! Yet... The alternative seemed to be, letting her go alone. As useless as he was... That was not going to happen, if he could help it.
Hah! No trouble! We can do it any day!" Shiro squeeked excitedly, answering for Kai. He absolutely loved the Digital world, as much as Kai hated it! For once, Kuro did not seem to be against the idea. After all, she had only been against it while she and Shiro had been limited to the Rookie level, unable to defend themselves. Now that they could Digivolve, and protect Kai... She was more amenable to the idea. Certainly, she was more optimistic than Kai, if not as enthused as Shiro. "Well, there you have it. Err... I presume we'll be taking the Trailmon? Oh! And when would you want to go?" He presumed she didn't mean now. As in, drop everything, and go to the Digital World. That seemed like a bad idea.
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Post by carrie on Jan 24, 2016 23:51:29 GMT
Carrie mentally berated herself. She was moving too fast, they'd just met! For all she knew about him he could have just been some guy who happened to have digimon, he could be weaker than her! "I'm sorry, I didn't, Gotsumon jus-" she was cut off by Shiro and Kuro. Their bluntness to her question was far quicker than how she would have handled it. Truth be told it was rather refreshing. "I'm sorry, I... yeah, I don't know any other way there but trailmon is nice. I hope you don't mind if I let Gotsumon choose... she's a lot better with the whole "digital world" thing than I am." She explained. "I'd like to start with either the city or the fields, though. They seem safe, but nice."
"Oh, right! Yes, after school tomorrow sound good to you?" She asked. "I go to the one just a few blocks from here, actually... where do you want to meet up?"
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 25, 2016 1:01:40 GMT
City and fields... Kai was struck by a sudden memory of a Digimon that had attacked him on the city's outskirts. But it should be fine now, right? After all, it had been defeated by Loli and Pop in their Champion level, the place Kuro and Shiro were now! And the city was always a fine place to go... Even if he wasn't always familiar with everything there. "Alright, yeah. City and fields would be a good start." Leaving it to Gotsumon? He knew Rei let her spirits take control in combat... But in everyday life? Well, exploring the Digital World wasn't quiet 'everyday life,' but that wasn't the point. Well, to each her own, he supposed.
"Oh, really? I go there too!" Kai said, surprised. How many tamers... Well, tamers and spirit users, went to the same school as him? Quite a few. "Anyways, after school seems like a good idea. Let's meet at the station? Though, since we'll be going from and to the same place... I suppose it wouldn't be surprising if we ran into each other on the way." It seemed better than waiting for her at the school gates or so... Kai didn't need any more rumors about him floating about the school!
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Post by carrie on Jan 25, 2016 1:23:59 GMT
"Oh, really? I, I suppose it makes sense... I mean, not really but, you know, it's a bit more convenient that way." She coughed, fumbling with her vocabulary like an epileptic holding a dictionary. "...So, what do you... do you usually come by the arcade because I do. I just really like it here, it's um... well, I find it calm compared to other places." She goes quiet again, realizing that she was, in fact, still terrible with talkign to people. "...So, what classes do you take? I-I know I should have enrolled in a class on digimon..." She gave a soft chuckle. "Th-that was a joke... because, they'd never have a class like that." She said, mumbling. "I'm sorry. It wasn't very good was it?"
"Compliment him! Be nice!" Gotsumon suggested.
"I like your glasses... I do! Th-that wasn't a teasing thing, I think they're very um, stylish. They go with your sweater. And you handle your digimon well... erm, I meant you handle one of them well. I didn't mean that to sound mean, i-it's better than I'm doing. I'm just... sorry."
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Post by Kai Haimura on Jan 25, 2016 3:12:27 GMT
It was painfully obvious that Carrie wasn't exactly socially adept. (The alternative, that she was intimidated by him specifically, never crossed his mind- Despite having been recently told by a classmate that he was, in fact, well known in the school, primarily due to the sheer number of clubs he was in.) Wait, was she flirting with him? Nah, couldn't be. It was just the socially awkwardness. He wouldn't read anything into it. Especially not if something was actually meant by it.
"You don't have to try so hard, okay? Just calm down and take a deep breath. To answer your questions: No, I do not come here often. Today it was just that Shiro ran off on his own- Knowing him, he probably got excited by all the lights and sounds." Shiro perked up at mention of his name. "As for courses, just the generics. Maths, sciences, english. Not in any specific path, yet. And I, too, wish I'd enrolled in a Digimon course. There's so much about them I just don't understand!" Not that he offered any specific examples of those. "And... Uh, thanks for the compliments... I think." He tried to keep his voice calm and steady. Hopefully, it would help the girl to calm down somewhat.
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Post by carrie on Jan 25, 2016 3:37:22 GMT
"Um... it was nice meeting you. I'll be at the train terminal after school, a-assuming I don't get in trouble or... oh, I know!" She took out her cell phone. "We should exchange numbers, that way if something does happen I can call you! Or you call me..." She then realized that she'd just given a complete stranger her phone number and blushed hard. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, did I not do that right? Giving you my number, I mean? It's probably customary for the boy to ask but..."
Gotsumon groaned, wishing so much she had control of Carrie's hands to smack her into less of a nervous wreck. "Just say goodbye! He has your number, he can call you now! What else do you need from him? Besides the blatantly obvious." Carrie's blush only grew heavier with that last comment.
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