solo theory, solo reaction.

❝You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.❞ Shintaro Kisaragi. ☆ ☆ ☆

[weaklingbody-deactivated2014052]

“…… Meow.”

Guess who’s going to draw a lot of cats now.

[soloreaction]

Damn these weird kids and their drawing-in-the-middle-of-nowhere habit-- WAIT A SECOND.

"H...HARUKA--?"

[soloreaction]

Closed @ Kano

[ikanotbelieve]

Well, how rude was that. Leaning against the wall as he began to push the numbers into the phone. Now did he really think that he was going to be small forever, no way! Kano was going to become really tall and strong one day, he knew he would and no one.. no one would take that from him! “Hold on, wait, no way. I’ll become really tall, just you wait, you shouldn’t knock it and you can’t just stunt my growth or something!” Now it was rude to take dreams from others, he could only close his eyes.

Maybe now was the appropriate time to close his eyes, here was the other becoming truly dramatic. Now, he was sure that Shintaro wouldn’t kill himself if he got taller. That could have been the loss of well, getting a bit up in height.. the pros and the cons. The other did like to be superior in a few things and maybe he took his height to be one of them. The thought crossed the male’s mind a few times before speaking up. "Well Shintaro, you look really good.. like casket sharp, so I’d understand if you.. you know. Croaked." Now he was only kidding.

Opening his eyes once hearing someone on the other end, he had to balance out who to respond to. “Hello, this is Kano Shuuya of..” Continuing his short reply, “Anyway, anyway, I’d love to order some— why are you all always putting people on hold.” A shake of his head as he spoke back to Shintaro, covering the receiver.

"Uhm. Are you trying to say I have a flat butt……" Now he just couldn’t believe. “Not everyone can get a fat rear end like …” Now who had a nice piece of ass, he couldn’t even recall, oh well. "I’m… oh so offended.." Looking off to the side..

"I was serious! About you feeding me though!"

[soloreaction]

Pushing on the matter of height wouldn't really get them anywhere, and although Shintaro would love to prove that he was right and that Kano would never get taller than him, only time could bring about the response to that theory. Since he didn't have a time machine or anything like that, he instead had to focus on the present, which... well, wasn't really much of a gift at the moment. Honestly, Shintaro was at a loss-- what was Kano even saying? Casket sharp? Was that a thing? What did it mean to be as sharp as a casket? Were caskets even sharp to begin with? He didn't understand this sort of slang, and yet Kano was always getting onto him about his internet speak... Tsk! What a hypocrite.

"That's-- what? I don't really get what you mean at all, though, so I.. Ribbit?" Of course he knew what the word 'croaked' meant, but the first comparison had left him completely and utterly confused, so as to escape from this moment of being dazed, he just decided to joke, if that was even what you could all it. To be honest, it was more like a poor attempt at humor, but at least an attempt was better than none at all, right?

He decided to stay silent as the other spoke on the phone, but that was short lived due to Kano being put on hold, which was honestly really ridiculous since it was a pizza place and they should have had pepperoni pizzas ready as it is, but who was he to judge how they ran their business? After all, he didn't even have a job-- well, no, he did, music making and whatnot, but the idea of trying to produce music that would just be seen in Hive City wasn't as appealing as creating a song to be heard by all of Japan and beyond.

"Well, I guess... um, it's not like you can't? People can work out and all of that, you know?" And now who was being the hypocrite? Although he was underweight for his height and age, Shintaro hadn't worked out a day in his life outside of doing P.E. activities in school when he attended. After dropping out, however, his stamina and his ability to exercise regularly had gone out the window before he could even think of the word 'sport.' "And, well.. it's not offensive-- didn't I already tell you to stop playing around-- wait, what?!"

Uggghh... What did he think this was, some stupid romcom? Even if Shintaro wanted to flirt with Kano like that, it just wouldn't work! "It's pizza, not a dessert or some fancy food from a five star restaurant. You're aiming too high!"

[soloreaction]

Closed @ Kano

[ikanotbelieve]

There were things that brought the best reactions so he took them in full, so noticing that the other covered his mouth, the younger felt accomplished. He was sure that even the little things like that was what brought him to like the other enough, even if he was sure the other wouldn’t admit he liked things like this too. A shake of his head as he snapped his finger as if he had thought of something but allowing the other speak first brought the younger to raise a brow.

And now, now he was stuttering. This was what he enjoyed. “Soooo, you’re saying that me being short is something cute. Well, I don’t think so. It’s annoying as heck,” note that he couldn’t curse, Ayano would get on him if he did. “But awe, my heart flutters to know you think I’m cute like this but just wait five years, I’ll be taller than you.” And he meant this. Though, to reverse this on him, "Height doesn’t matter though, the way your face was turning red as a cherry was the cutest thing, I should have gotten a picture."

Looking off to the side as he moved towards the kitchen’s phone, "Oh? You’d share with little ol’ me? Come on, I think those calories would go to my waist than my butt and I’d be in so much trouble." He teased, he didn’t mine purchasing for Shintaro in the slightest, "Come on and tell me, you want a romantic evening with yours truly~."

"You’d hand feed me, right?"

[soloreaction]

"Tch--!" Kano was seriously being hopeful, wasn't he? Despite that sort of optimism, Shintaro was sure that the words he spoke would never come true. Even if Kano did grow a bit taller (which Shintaro didn't see happening to begin with), he seriously doubted that the younger boy could ever be taller than himself. It just didn't work that way and, although it was nice to see him believing this so vehemently, he wasn't going to let it pass so easily. "That's.. not going to happen, alright? There's no way I'll let you be taller than me."

It wasn't as if he could actually do anything about it, sure, but he could at least be hopeful too should the situation ever actually arise. Besides, after hearing him point out how red his face had been, it only caused him to get more embarrassed, and so Kano totally deserved to be doomed to his current height forever just for that. "Besides... if you got taller than me, then I wouldn't like it! It would be seriously mortifying and I'd... I'd want to die!" It might have been dramatic, but it was the truth. To be lower than this guy... No way!!

His next few sentences.. What sort of statements were that? As he traveled over to the phone, Shintaro couldn't help but to allow his gaze to drop curiously.

"Um... I mean, it's not as if it would matter if it went to your butt, right?" Bringing his gaze back up after that observation, he tried to make it seem like he hadn't, well, looked. "I'm not saying anything bad about it, but it's not as if it would be a loss... In fact, it.. might be a gain?" No one could deny that his boyfriend was definitely a small guy, and although Shintaro appreciated him the way he was, well... Whatever! He could be greedy sometimes too, couldn't he?!

"...P-putting that aside, if by hand-feeding you, you mean shoving it in your face, then totally! Absolutely, even-- stop playing around."

[soloreaction]

Closed @ Kano

[ikanotbelieve]

He should have known, well he did know but who was to that he truly didn’t want anything to do with the popcorn. Kano was more so who enjoyed his with caramel laced among the salty goodness and it wasn’t like that was the only type of salt like substance Shintaro has ever had so he wasn’t so sure as to why the other didn’t want it. Getting caught in one’s teeth, in their hair, it was same difference! Anyway, the male only laughed softly as he took his bowl back.

The noise that left from him was really cute, he wouldn’t deny that and with popping another piece of his snack into his mouth. He pushed back from the counter and turned around in order to run some water into a cup. He was a bit thirsty. “Awe, how did you know being cute would get you what you want?” Turning just to give a wink.

Though there were times where he wish Shintaro didn’t talk to him like that, too much of that Tera game stuff in his life made him sound so weird.

"Alright, alright. Tell me, what kind do you want?"

[soloreaction]

Being called cute by Kano of all people only made him want to make more frustrated noises in response, but doing that would be pretty counterproductive and would probably only result in further embarrassment. Reaching up to cover part of his face with his hand, he looked off to the side and took a moment, using his other arm to support himself against the counter.

"...Mhm," was the only noise that he could muster at first before he slowly sighed, deciding to escape his flustered state by scolding Kano. "D-don't call me cute! It's really insulting to hear from someone like you, especially when you're the one who has the "cute" sort of height, y-you know? Cut the crap.." Yeah, that worked.

Dropping his hands back to his sides, he tucked them into the pockets of his jersey and closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about the pizza possibilities before deciding on the simplest and best flavor out of all of them. "I think pepperoni would be the best choice, yeah.. Well, I mean, that is, if it's just me eating it? I... wouldn't mind sharing with you, you know-- er, it is your money, after all!"

[soloreaction]

Closed @ Kano

[ikanotbelieve]

Wow, the kitchen, it was the best place to get something to eat but it wasn’t as if Kano was actually hungry. He was just a little bit bored and only nibbled on a few pieces of popcorn he had made only about fifteen minutes ago. The smell was nice to his domepiece and because of this, he was able to eat quietly in hi sown house. Now, being quiet wasn’t his favorite thing when he could do something else but no matter.

Throwing another piece into his mouth as he heard incoming footsteps, he was hoping it wasn’t someone to complain about the bills. Everyone had their own set of bills and he would swear to God if Seto came up to him about electricity he would have a problem. Ayano never had any problems about the house and it’s payments, Kano just believed paying thing sjust a bit late would be OK.

Though, it wasn’t Seto or anyone else, it was just Shintaro. Having the male stay around him for this long was surprising. Blinking a bit as he listened and lord, Kano had to stop chewing just to hear what he had said.

"Oh~. What was that?" Pushing the bowl of popcorn towards him, "Or something, right?"

[soloreaction]

Well, FUCK THIS GUY. Except not literally. He was definitely being annoying, so there would be none of that done for a while. A long while. ANYWAY.

His gaze dropped down to the popcorn that was passed towards him, which was definitely not what he had in mind, and although he was sure that Kano knew that, it turned out like this anyway. Shintaro didn't even like popcorn. It got caught in his teeth and whenever someone else made it, it always ended up too buttery. Due to this awful misfortune pushed upon him by someone so close to him, he could only feel slightly betrayed and was at a lost for words for a good moment.

"Hhnnnnnnnnn...."

Without even being aware of it, that noise escaped past his lips as he furrowed his brows and all around showed an expression that was full of distaste. If only things could have gone his way in the beginning... Bringing his glance back up to Kano, he completed the look with a frown.

"Kano, I didn't mean 'or something' literally.." It was just his terrible social skills at work, that's all! "I'm really only in the mood for pizza.. or ramen if we want to push it, but pizza is the ultimate."

[soloreaction]

Red Fish, No Fish- wait, what? [open!]

[ikanotbelieve]

i didnt een read this but if this is my fish you fucking piece of shit youre out my damn house you hear me

[soloreaction]

--and the ultimate sweating commences.

[soloreaction]

Red Fish, No Fish- wait, what? [open!]

It was a widely known fact within the household that Shintaro did not often go outside. This being said, the other residents often did, and although he wasn't very good with responsibility, while the others were out, that left a lot of animals to take care of. He was used to taking care of his own rabbit, Tono, and the hermit crabs that he had received some time ago (even though he had a habit of losing them), and it wasn't as if feeding the other pets was hard.

All he had to do was find the appropriate food, scoop it, put it in the bowls, and it made for a happy animal-- supposedly. Of course, with every perfect situation, there came a problem to ruin it, and it just so happened that this time the problem was the fact that one of the pets didn't have any food left. He couldn't even find the bottle of fish food for that... um, abomination of a fish that Kano had taken in, and while normally he didn't like going outside, he had to do something about that. Even a lazy person like him wouldn't let an animal starve and, from what he had heard, fishes died pretty easily!

He would just have to go and find the nearest pet store, except.. well.. it was safe to say that Shintaro wasn't a fish scientist. He could Google what sort of food he needed for this fish, sure, but to start with, he didn't even know what that thing was called, let alone if it were really a fish. The only safe bet was to take it with him and ask for suggestions, just to be safe, and even though that plan wasn't thought through one hundred percent, it surely showed his dedication to taking care of the house's pets, right?

Riiiight...

So, with this new plan set in motion, Shintaro took the fish bowl in his hands and very, very carefully let himself out of the house, taking extra precautions (see: bumping the door with his hip to close it and probably bruising himself in the process) in order not to drop the little creature's habitat. It wouldn't take too long to find a store where someone would know what he needed, he figured, but then again, Shintaro's perception of too long was way different than the average person's. 

A few blocks (or maybe even hardly that), and he was getting too tired to continue on. He could feel himself sweating and it wasn't even all that hot, in his opinion, so that meant that he had worked extra hard and deserved a break or something. Taking it upon himself to locate the nearest bench, he would set the fish bowl down first and then sit beside it, preoccupying himself with his cell phone as soon as he was situated. Shintaro hadn't checked it the whole time he was out and, that, in itself, was a pretty large accomplishment!

Everything was going fine and dandy, and he was totally ready to get back to what he was doing within about ten minutes or so, but since this "mission" involved Shintaro Kisaragi of all people, something definitely had to go wrong eventually. Unluckily for him, it was just about time that this happened, and as he stood up to get ready and go, he noticed that... something was missing. In fact, something seriously important was missing! The whole fish bowl was simply gone, someone had taken it and he hadn't noticed even though it was right next to him.

How was that even possible? How could be so pathetic, oh no, the fish was gone and he was at fault and he would probably die or something worse, he probably deserved something worse, and it was all because he tried to be a productive of society and help around the household for once and, damn you Mom for trying to make him believe that this was a good thing to do back when he lived with her, there was no possible way that he would ever do anything good in his life again, and worst of all, he--

Wait. He still needed to figure out where the fish was, right? Haha... Well, it wasn't like he could just.. find it so easily. A fish thief wasn't going to just give themselves up, right? But if someone had seen the burglary in process, then... maybe... Maybe they could help. Talking to people was something extremely difficult, but maybe... maybe if he could force himself to do that, then this situation wouldn't turn out to be completely faulty...

Ugh. He hated having a guilty conscience sometimes.

Forcing himself to smile (see: awfully), he continued to push himself up from the bench and glanced around, desperately searching for someone he had seen when he originally sat down. If they had been here he whole time, then there was no way that they could have missed it, right? Yeah, of course! That had to be, that had to be-- ah, there!

It took him a good three minutes to build up the courage to approach the person (and even then it wasn't top notch), but once he did, the words came tumbling out, making him look as lame as ever.

"I-- hey, um, I-- sorry for interrupting you, I mean-- sorry, sorry-- h-have you seen... have you seen someone steal a fish around here? Or a fish in general? You see, it's not mine, but I-- I was...taking it, um... somewhere, and... I--... Fish, have you seen a fish?!"

[soloreaction]

Closed @ Kano

There came a time in every boy's life where, no matter how many times he tried to avoid getting up and leaving his room to seek food, he eventually had to. Unfortunately, despite this being Shintaro's dreaded time, he didn't actually have the money to order said food. At home, he would have mooched off of his mother, but here? Here, he-- well, he did have a job at one point, but that... that was a long time ago. Not to mention that it had totally failed.

So! Pushing himself out of his office chair with a yawn, which he stifled with his hand, Shintaro decided that what he had to do was find the "man of the house." As much as he hated to consider the other boy in that position, when it came to when he needed food, he could budge... just for this. Upon finding Kano (in the kitchen, wow, the exact place where Shintaro could have found food on his own if it weren't for the fact that he was wanting something entirely different), he leaned against the counter and tried his best not to whine about his situation immediately. 

Key word: tried.

"Kano, um... Hey... Do you think--" How did he go about this nicely.. It wasn't as if he expected Kano to say no, but he was an unpredictable guy! "Do you think you could.. y'know... buy me some pizza or... something.." His voice lowered to a mutter as he went on-- whatever. He just wanted pizza.

[ikanotbelieve]

we were the burdens to our family ; | closed

[ikanotbelieve]

Closing his eyes, the male wondered where he had went wrong for the other to close his laptop. It was an every day thing back home, he had gotten use to it. Could it have been that Shintaro didn’t trust him? Well, it was probably true besides, Kano was a bit of a liar and if there was something on the male’s computer that could be used for fair game of embarrassment, he would take it. A brow raised at the beginning of his statement that had came to a pause, he ignored it thinking that the other was probably disgressing the situation.

Everyone was acting a bit weird, weren’t they? At times, Shintaro was rather straightforward but he didn’t say anything against it just yet. “Embarrassingly hip?” He questioned, leaning in his chair as he thought about a life like that. “I don’t think so, besides kids don’t sound like something I’d be responsible for, haha!” A nod to himself, he didn’t think he would be as bad as Shintaro with being a dad. Getting to his feet so that he stood right in front of the other, hands in his pants pocket.

“But come on, think of how uncool you’d be. I bet the child would cry for having you as a dad but.. There were lots of things said, she knew about the thousand of pets I had.” Eyes watching the feline that peeked through the crack of a door, watching him as if waiting for something. “I don’t even remember getting any of these cats but she knows, she might have put them on me.”

“She knew my name. She even knew you, like she was familiar with us. Ah, she even knew.. what was her name again..” A click of his tongue as he thought back, changing a phrase to get it out to the other, “Ayano, as well.”

[soloreaction]

"I--" Only frowning commenced within the next few minutes as he listened to Kano speak, mostly due to the fact that, okay, he'd totally been insulted! Although he would wait to argue it until another time, Shintaro would not be a lame father. In fact, he'd be the coolest father-- er, not that he would ever be one, anyway. There were some things that just didn't suit, yeah, and he had come to accept that a long time ago. Then again, a long time ago, Shintaro was the type to say that he hated kids in general. After experiences recently, like dealing with Mary (although technically not a child, you know, whatever) and Hibiya (...although he would get angry at being called a child, you know, whatever), he didn't have a choice but to at least tolerate them and learn how to interact with them. Even then, however, they just... well, he couldn't see it in his future.

Looking up from where he had been staring at the floor (just a bit), Shintaro directed his gaze to the cat when Kano did, trying to make sense of it. Yeah, okay, so thousands was definitely an exaggeration, but he had noticed quite a few of the animals and... well, he didn't even know the name of them, and he didn't know when they had come in either. In fact, he didn't know a lot of things about this house, and that thought there prompted a really good question. "...Yeah, I.. I don't know about them either, but-- she knew me?" Raising his eyebrows, he leaned back against the couch once more, trying to process that. He'd definitely never met this girl, or at least he didn't think he could remember her, but somehow she... knew him, so that was really weird and-- and-- how did he piece this together. "Maybe she's a stalker." He'd totally never met this person and, well, he knew how suspicious Kano looked at times, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had made friends with someone scary.

Oh, right-- back to the question at hand. "...But, then, you know, maybe not. I don't even-- well, you don't know the names of your own cats, and I.. don't even know why I'm here? What I mean is, well, when did I start living with you? It's a little... weird, quite frankly." Weird and awkward and not something he wanted to do with. Shintaro always imagined that, maybe, if he got super lucky, he'd end up living with a cute girl.. not this... person.

"I mean, I don't know, um.. Maybe I'm just picking at straws-- haha, yeah, that's probably it-- but...! It's.. a lot to think about, and--" Oh. Why did she... Even when he couldn't figure out what was going on and why he was here, he knew that name. He couldn't ever forget, and the fact that she was brought up now... It almost made him a little happy, but it mostly made his mood go down. Shintaro remembered her despite it seeming like he forgot all of these other things, so that was an obvious plus and a good nudge in the direction of his goal (never forgetting her), but... being reminded that she was gone, and-- and how exactly did this mystery girl know about Ayano? This was too much.. "...I-I see.. Well, that's.. that's definitely weird. Maybe she's... not lying." Because, really, he couldn't take anything else from that. Ayano was dead-- if this girl knew her, then someone had to tell her about the long gone teenager.

[ikanotbelieve]

we were the burdens to our family ; | closed

“Hey..” Words left from the blond’s mouth as he sat down right next to the other on the couch, chuckling softly at his next thoughts. What he was about to say could change their life or leave it the same as always. “I tried to buy some glasses today, I thought I’d look so educational just like you, Shintaro-kun-san-chan.”

“But you know what? This girl.. I don’t know who she was but she called me ‘Father,’ and seemed really mad about it too. I don’t think I’d be such a good Father for anyone. I’m glad I told her otherw— Heeeeey, are you even listening?” Shoving the raven slightly in the seat, he was always on that computer, wasn’t he? “Are you reading the news or something? What’s so interesting! Can I gueeessss?”

[soloreaction]

Ugh-- that was his immediate thought about hearing his voice and feeling the couch shift next to him. Maybe if he were lucky, he would just keep talking as if Shintaro were listening and not actually bother him. Maybe he could get away with that peace, just this once... 

Nope. 

As soon as he was pressed for answers about what he was doing on the computer, he decided to shut the laptop lid (it wasn't his preference when it came to computers, but it was fast and he didn't want to do much work), leaning forwards. Ah... This was seriously annoying...

"Go--"... Wait, what? Even though he had spoken one of the words, he couldn't get the other out. Shintaro was sure that it would have been easier to just tell him to go away, but.. there was some part of him that kept the final world trapped in his mouth, unable to come out. So, instead, after looking stunned for a moment there, he just closed his mouth and shook his head, trying to figure out... what exactly this was.

Of course, he couldn't just leave the other hanging (unfortunately-- er, wait, that felt wrong to think), so.. rolling his shoulders back as Shintaro slouched against the couch once more, he shrugged. "Um, what-- what were you saying again? Something about being a father?"

After giving that a moment to sink in, he stared at him, pressing his lips together before finally, finally exhaling. "I think you'd be an annoying father, like one that tries to be... er, embarrassingly hip."

[bleureine]

     His friends sounded like the scary time, and that actually made her feel pretty interested in who they are. But Diva didn’t ask, it would be rude if she did.

      “… Kill them if that’s the case.” Because that was a mature and proper response. She didn’t know much better though, and she would have done the exact same if she was the one in that situation.

[soloreaction]

Even though it was totally rude and he had forgotten any manners that he had learned up to this point (which were next to none anyway), he couldn't help but to stare at her. Was this a joke?

"....What? I can't just... kill them!"

Er, not to say that, well-- that he wasn't capable, since Shintaro had a firm belief that anyone could be a dangerous person with the right mindset, but... it just didn't suit the situation at all! "Please... please tell me that isn't what you would do." Because if it was, he seriously needed to leave. Now.

[bleureine]

     ”Just tell them to buzz off~.”

[soloreaction]

Even though it seemed like a totally sane response to the troubles these "people" would cause, it... just wouldn't work.

"If it were t-that easy, I would have gotten rid of the problem a long time ago..." As much as he would simply like to go, 'yeah, thanks!' to the pretty girl in front of him, it wasn't possible.

[soloreaction]

"I don't know about this Valentine's thing, I have a feeling it isn't going to go well." He had a feeling certain people were going to bother him..

Here's Shintaro.. closing his eyes really hard at the thought, the day was so close..

[soloreaction]

don't let them in... don't let them see... be the good girl you always have to be

[soloreaction]

i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't i lied no i didn't okay yeah i did ۵

Frickin’ Kano Shuuya. Anyway.

Shintaro did not like this feeling. It was pretty… well, unexplained, and it even made his attention draw away from the internet for a short amount of time. Too bad he didn’t know what to say. Did anyone ever know what to say in these situations? He told himself that they didn’t in order to feel better, but… let’s face it. There were much more smooth people in this world.

"Um, Kano— I—…. hey."

[demoninabottle]

My muse will be smitten with the first person that sends them ۵

And will most likely smother you with affection 

[ikanotbelieve]

➛ escape from the city } ca event / closed

[ikanotbelieve]

It didn’t bother him, the scent of things nor how trashed the place was, it was because he was use to it fight? Constantly changing, like the motioning cogwheel that could only get use to its job. His boots kicking against a can that he saw on the floor, the light that he thought would last forever had flickered above them. It seems that it was ready to go out. A hand raised thought he was a bit too short, he didn’t even try to fix it. All he needed was to find the light switch to turn it off. But that came to an end as his eyes followed the male’s complaint of someone else being within the room, he could only raise his brow.

“Hmm.” Looking at the figure that was within the room, he did watch hesitantly, it wasn’t much but with a shift of her person, he was what one would call face to face with her figure. The hands that were raised within the air had dropped back down on his side, his eyes staring fully at the scene and that was where confusion tried it’s best to lace itself upon his features. A hand raised as he covered his own mouth, acting as if he was taking deep breaths because of the stench that wafted through the house. Though, that wasn’t it as he chuckled wryly, this getting the best of him as he cleared his throat.

Who. That wasn’t right? Of course, his eyes darted from various places within the room. The light that stopped flickering for only a moment had shown it’s worth of the home that was rundown. The paper on the walls had curled as if forcing itself from the scenery, vases held already dead plants that seemed to have enough water to keep them going (if going was even the word, it was time to throw them out already.) A shake of his head as he tried to steady himself, the woman that Shintaro was ever so hesitant of did look their way but it’s as if she saw straight through them.

Oh, that twisted nostalgia.

Rather than a step back, he took a step forward. He shouldn’t have allowed his curiosity to get the better of him but here he was. This was funny, oh how it was making him sick, the face that he knew so well, better than anyone else, that he stayed with for such a long time was now possibly looking at him? Standing in place as the woman took her steps, seeming as if she was coming their direction. Stepping out of the way so that he wasn’t in her way, it was no way that she noticed them right? No, she.. the possibilities of that was none because she was dead.

“This..” Contemplating on what to say when he won the fact that she just walked right past him, he watched as she was now situated almost close enough towards Shintaro. Her arm extended as if she was reaching towards him, a hand shifting past his face as the string for blinds were grasped within her fingers. Pulling it down did she peak out a window and returned it back to it’s form beforehand. Though the woman had faltered in her steps, tripping over one of the bottles that decorated the floor, because of this had Kano moved forward towards where she had fallen.

But even still had he not shifted to help her up. He was, hesitating which was easy to see but before he could even think about doing anything, the female had ushered herself up from where she had fell. Poor thing. “Does she seem okay.. to you?”

[soloreaction]

Shintaro didn't understand what was going on at all. Briefly, he wondered if she were a ghost, something that he should run from, but... if that were the case, then she would have been able to see them and he wouldn't be able to see her, right? It should have been the other way around... Ruling that option out after those thoughts, he tried to think of something else. There was no sane explanation as for why his closet had turned into a secret door to someone else's apartment and there was no explanation as to why he couldn't see her. As far as he knew, it wasn't any sort of special day either. Nah had said something about Thanksgiving once upon a time, but he didn't even really give that holiday a second thought-- after all, he wasn't even American, so there was no need to celebrate it.

Of course, he was a pretty smart guy. Considering the possibilities a bit more carefully, he couldn't help but to think to the next holiday: Christmas. He wasn't sure how that connect either, of course, except for when he thought of that old movie. The one about the ghosts of Christmas or something? But that wouldn't make sense at all since he didn't think he had been particularly greedy... Had he? In any case, he tried to recall what he knew about it. Some old guy got in trouble for not being generous around the holiday season and ghosts took him back in time to show him certain events. Then they pushed him to the present and onward in an attempt to make him feel guilty. It worked, of course, but that wasn't what matter.

The crucial part of that story was that no matter how many times he tried to communicate with the people in the vision, he wasn't able to. So maybe that was the case now, except he was pretty sure that Kano wasn't a ghost of the past, present, or future.... and neither was he. Besides, he had no connections with this woman and he doubted he would ever see her in the future. That left him to consider that maybe, even though he didn't know her, someone else did (namely Kano). That might have explained why they had similar hair colours and face structures, but if that was really right, then wouldn't Kano have been more open about it? Eh... It wasn't good to assume, so he'd just wait it out.

When she came near, however, his theory about not being able to touch them was proven. He pressed back against the wall, shutting his eyes in an attempt not to think about how close she was. It wasn't as if he had anything against the woman, of course not, but he didn't know her, and being in this sort of situation... It was scary. It felt like one of his old dreams.

By the time he had opened his eyes, it was in time to see her fall. Shintaro almost wanted to kneel down and attempt to help even though he know he couldn't, but his own cautiousness and, well, fear held him back from doing so. Nothing good ever resulted from the dreams this place reminded him of, so certainly nothing good would come from this now. He just didn't want to wait for the bad part to come... Ah, it was scary...

"I... She might be drunk?" He spoke these words absentmindedly in response to the question, finally glancing over to Kano to see how he was holding up. Of course, his gaze didn't linger on him long as a door slammed and his attention was drawn back to that. In front of the now shut door was a particularly small boy, but he couldn't be younger than seven from what Shintaro assumed. Still... this sort of woman didn't seem as if she were in any state to be taking care of a child...

The boy headed over towards his mother who hadn't even looked up, holding out a paper in his hands that Shintaro hadn't even noticed before he showed it to her. He assumed it was a crayon drawing from what he could see, or maybe marker, since there were traces of coloured ink on his hands.. Anyway, despite showing the slip of paper to her, and despite the fact that she did, of course, glance down, it was as if her gaze practically went through him. She was looking at him, but she wasn't seeing him, and... well. It didn't sit all that way with Shintaro, but there was nothing he could do, so he instead looked back to Kano.

"...Poor kid." Pausing, he bit the inside of his cheek by accident, wincing at the same time that a small realization hit him. "He kinda looks like you, right? It's... awkward to see. I wish we could get out of here."