A day off (Open)

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc please read: I decided to write this post because my Aoi-muse asked me to. It was there, nagging me on the back of my mind... so here it is.
This post is open: I know many of you are busy with other threads and/or don't feel like joining.
I just want you to know that it's okay.
I don't expect replies anytime soon (probably I won't get any), but it is just fine for me because all I needed was to write this out.
Thanks for your time

ic:
[Aoi's outfit www.polyvore.com/aoi-mall/set?id=24418275 ]


It was one of those days where Aoi was free.
No tumbling practice.
No homeworks to do.
No checking on her brothers (they were on a school trip).
Free.
She could call one of her friends, Mari or someone else from the team.
No, maybe they were busy or had already other plans.
Besides, Aoi didn't really mind to spend the day by herself.

She had a quick shower and made herself a proper breakfast.
It was sort of strange to be at home all alone.
There was so much.. silence.
Aoi sighed happily while sipping her tea.
"I can go to the mall... I need a couple of new shirts anyway... And maybe I can stop by the music shop!"

Satisfied with her plans, Aoi cleaned up the kitchen and went back to her room to dress up.
She picked her favorite pair of jeans and a shirt which Mari gave her as a birthday gift.
"It really fits you" Mari said laughing back then and Aoi had to agree with her.
"Okay wallet.... keys.... Ipod... glasses... got it!"
She left her house and headed to the local mall.
It wasn't like the ones in Tokyo.
She had been to the big city countless times: so many shops, so many things to see and do.
But this was the only choice Aoi had there.

As expected, the place was quite crowded.
Of course the whole town come here on Saturday morning she thought.
Her first stop was a clothing shop.
Aoi loved shopping and now that she had so much free time, she could actually try as many things as she wanted.
In the end she picked a lovely pink shirt (this is gonna suit well with my white pants) and a black with blue stripes one.
Happy of her choices, she then moved on till the music shop.
If Aoi had to point out what was her favorite place in town, this shop would definitely get the second place (of course she'd pick the school gym as first).
Even if it was a small town, the shop never failed to amaze her with its selection and the latest releases always available.

She moved through the shelves, looking carefully at every CD displayed.
Aoi almost screamed out in joy when she found the latest album from her favorite band.
She was going towards the cash desks, when the games corner caught her attention.
One of the reasons why she loved the place was the huge amount of games they had.
Only her closest friend knew that Aoi actually loved video games.
Having two younger brothers probably had something to do with it.

Aoi walked right in front of the big screen in the middle of the shelves filled with games.
She was happy when she found out the shop owner placed it there so people could try the games.
Her eyes widened when she realized the game currently displaying on the screen was Guitar Hero.
She loved music, just as much as she loved rhythmic gymnastic.
Aoi often played the guitar whenever she could.
The only one to know about her passion besides her family was Mari, who luckily didn't make fun of her as Aoi thought she would.

Aoi looked around: there were only other three, four people in the shop and none of them seemed to come to the same school as her.
Good.
She carefully placed the album she wanted to buy on a nearby shelf and dropped her bag on the floor.
She stepped closer to the big screen and grabbed the fake guitar.
Aoi picked the remote to check the songs available and, after a quick scan, she picked one of her favorite songs and got ready.
As soon as the music started playing, Aoi pressed her fingers on the colored buttons.
She didn't realize it but she actually started to smile and laugh, almost acting like a child who was enjoying a silly game.
When the song ended, she striked a rocker pose, screaming "Yay" when she saw her result.
Aoi carefully placed the guitar back on its place, grabbed the CD and her bag and turned around.
And that was when she realized someone was standing not so far from her.

It was one of those days where Aoi wished she stayed at home.

[Nippori Hinako]

Ooc: Hinako’s Outfit

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Saturday. Hinako thought that there was a really nice ring to this day’s name. Especially when it was a free Saturday. Every once in a while she was told by Keiji or her father to take a day off, to go out a bit and to amuse herself. Today was such a day. Keiji would take care of the younger brothers while she could go to the town. She had, like always, felt a bit reluctant about leaving him alone with them. She knew that he was more than capable to take care of them and even to cook for them (though she wasn’t planning to stay out that long) but it was difficult for her to pass over a task she was so used to do every day.

She also knew though that she needed a bit of free time once in a while before she would go totally crazy. School was quite hard lately, she was in the last year of Middle school and she really wanted to achieve good grades. She also had to take care of her younger brothers and the household. She was never giving up though.
She just liked her chores too much for that.

To celebrate this special day a bit she decided to dress up in her best clothes. She put on a white, soft sweater and a jeans miniskirt with lace. A silver chain she got from a girls magazine finished her look.
Keiji gave her a weird look and made a disapproving comment about the length of her skirt, but Hinako just rolled her eyes.
“Don’t worry, didn’t you say that I am a brat? No boy will look at me anyway then, right?” She stuck out her tongue at him and left the house. Her brother was way too overprotective in her opinion. Sometimes it was fun to tease him about that but most of the time it was just very annoying.

She sighed while walking down the wounded way up to the street, watching the ships sail over the see.
Sadly it was true what she had said. No boy was noticing her. She hadn’t mind though, she had too much to do with school and at home and actually she thought that she was a bit too young for all this, but when she was listening to her classmates talking about dates she could become almost jealous. Almost.

She shook her head and brushed her hair behind her ears. She shouldn’t think about such stuff. Today was her free day, she was about to go to the town and check out… hmm, what should she check out? She decided that it was about time to go to a clothes shop and take a look at the newest styles. She could try on different clothes and styles and maybe take pictures of it. Something she occasionally liked to do.

The town was crowded. Of course it was, it was Saturday after all. She went with the flow, following a few giggling girls into a hip clothing shop she quite liked. She avoided going shopping with her classmates. She didn’t really wanted them all to know that they were so poor. Her father was a hardworking person and so was her brother, but she doubted that this meant for them more than a well filled wallet. Plus going shopping and never being able to buy anything while her friends could buy almost everything they wanted wasn’t really very fun.

She needed a job!

After checking out the newest clothing, trying on a few things and taking pictures with her mobile she hold very longingly a very nice dress in her hands. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to wear it very often since it was really pretty and she wouldn’t want it to get dirty while cooking or cleaning up. She shouldn’t buy it. Really shouldn’t.
But it was so… pretty and it had looked good on her. She sighed, checking the price again. Okay, this was definitely too much for a piece of cloth. She hung it back and left the shop directly after that. She knew that if she stayed a little longer she would end up buying it because she liked it so much.

Deciding that she needed a bit of fun after this quite unsatisfying experience she headed in the direction of the music store. She wanted to listen to a few CD’s. Maybe she could find some cheap album. There were sometimes older albums sold out for half the prize.

She stayed a while in the JPop section, listening to a few bands she liked and testing out new bands as well. She checked out the sales corner but there was nothing good and she was about to stroll towards the JRock section when something caught her eye. The shop owned a games corner in which were loads of games displayed and also a huge screen on which you could try out a few of them.
Currently a girl with long brown hair wearing a violet shirt and jeans with an American flag print was playing Guitar Hero, rocking out quite enthusiastically, laughing with joy while pushing the colourful buttons. Hinako smiled and walked closer, watching the girl and the screen. She was really good!

Hinako really liked to play games in this shop – but she was really bad. Actually, she sucked at it. This girl was really talented and was apparently enjoying herself a lot. Hinako couldn’t help but to feel infected by the girl’s happiness.
When she ended the games she was striking a pose and shouted “Yeah!” Afterwards she put down the guitar and picking up her back, turning around. That was when she noticed Hinako.

Hinako smiled at her, clapping her hands together in a little applaud.
“You were really good!,” she said honestly, and also because she didn’t want the girl to feel embarrassed because she thought it must be very awkward being caught up in a game and then turning, being watched by a Middle school girl.

“Gomen, I didn’t want to sneak up to you or anything.” She laughed a bit embarrassed, feeling how her cheeks grew red. She really had to learn how to suppress that blush when she got nervous!

“I am really bad at games. I wish I would be even half as good as you are… Maybe you could teach me?,” she laughed jokingly before she bit down on her lip, trying to stop herself from talking so much.

Oh dear, this girl must really think she was an annoying kid!

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: awwwww Hinako is just super cute!!!
I think Aoi is going to spoil her from now on


ic:

A few feet behind her stood a pretty girl.
Aoi tried to make a quick check, trying to remember if she saw the girl at her school.
No... she doesn't go to Kara high... I think she's too young for that...
She checked again the girl's face: she could be either at her first year of high school or her last year of middle school.
Either way, she had never seen the girl before.
And considering how they met, Aoi was a bit embarassed
Great Aoi, you just ruined your reputation as senpai...

The girl smiled at her and even started clapping her hands, successfully bringing Aoi back from her thoughtful state.
"You were really good! Gomen, I didn’t want to sneak up to you or anything."
The girl laughed, as if she realized the situation could be a bit awkward and blushed and Aoi couldn't help but think she was absolutely adorable.
“I am really bad at games. I wish I would be even half as good as you are… Maybe you could teach me?”

Aoi was honestly suprised: she knew she was pretty good at games (thanks brothers), but that request was really unexptected.
Aoi though about it for a moment: sure she didn't know the girl, but she seemed to be a very nice person.
She stole a quick glance at the clock on a nearby wall: still 11 am.
Too early for lunch and... for everything else actually.
Besides Aoi didn't really have plans and she had already bought what she was looking for.
She looked at the girl again, who still seemed a bit embarassed for the situation and smiled.
"Sure, I would love to!".

She walked over a nearby shelf again to put down the CD and drop her bag on her floor, then grabbed the guitar controller.
Aoi moved towards the screen and turned again towards the other girl.

"This" Aoi said showing up the guitar "is the controller. As you can see, there are five colored fret buttons and this black long bar is the strumming bar. On the screen you'll see that colored gems show up in time with the music. When the gems reach the bottom of the screen, you have to hold down the correct fret buttons and hit the strumming bar. There's a window of time to hit each note so be sure not to wait too much. Oh and be careful at the Rock Meter on the side of the screen! Because if it drops to the red zone, it means that you failed."

Aoi hoped her explanation wasn't too much confusing.
She had played that game countless times and performed most of the songs listed.
"There are segment of the song that will have notes which'll glow outlined with stars. If you get all those notes right, you fill the Star Power Meter and you can get even more points!"

Aoi looked at the controller for a second before reaching out with it towards the other girl.
"Here, take it. So you can pick a song and try"
She smiled encouragingly at the other.
And that's when a thought crossed her mind and she averted her eyes.
"Oh I forgot about it... My name is Asukura Aoi"

She smiled shily: trust Aoi to forgot such simple things when it comes to music.


--------------------------------------------

ooc: sorry for the very short reply, but I think it's enough to keep the story go.
Oh and it's been a while since I played Guitar Hero so sorry if I messed up something
To Hinako (suzume): if you think it's necessary for the post, feel free to godplay Aoi a bit

[Nippori Hinako]

Ooc: Oh it’s quite enough to go on with
And no worries since I’ve never played Guitar Hero I couldn’t tell the difference xD So, I also most likely messed up the gameplay >__<
Please feel free to correct me!

-----

The girl looked surprised at her request. Hinako couldn’t blame her for that, this situation seemed weird enough and she was pretty sure that this girl would of course deny the request and take her leave. She wasn’t sure herself why she had even said this out loud.
It was one thing to wish to learn something from someone because he was good at it, but it was another thing to ask a total stranger in a music store to teach her how to play a game. Even though she had been amazing.

To her surprise though the girl suddenly smiled at her and said: "Sure, I would love to!"

Hinako raised her eyebrows and she guessed she was also gaping at the girl who had walked over to the shelf to put down her back and a CD and to pick up the guitar again. Hinako quickly shut her mouth as the girl turned towards her again. She was positive that looking like a carp wouldn’t exactly flatter her.

She stepped closer, listening to the explanation of the other girl, looking at the screen and the guitar in her hands, checking out all the colourful buttons.
It sounded really complicated and she was wondering if she would be able to hit any note at all or if she would fail after a few seconds already. Especially this Rock Meter worried her a bit since she had always thought that her reaction time was pretty slow. On the other hand she didn’t really have any time to train it. Whenever she was able to play a game it was here or in the Arcade, but she never really went there. It was filled with boys and she would have to go there alone. Something she really didn’t wanna try out.

"There are segment of the song that will have notes which'll glow outlined with stars. If you get all those notes right, you fill the Star Power Meter and you can get even more points!," explained the other girl and Hinako couldn’t help but grimace a bit. So much to observe during the game!

She was positive that she would do really, really bad. Still, she didn’t wanna back out now. This girl had been nice enough not to refuse her wish and she should take her chances. Plus maybe she would have lots of fun. The girl had looked like that at least!

She accepted the controller the girl gave her and smiled shyly at her. Before she could start though, the girl suddenly introduced herself. This was when Hinako noticed that she herself had never told her name or anything! Blushing she raised her hand to cover her mouth, embarrassed of her bad manners, before quickly bowing to the girl.
“Ah, gomen, I forgot myself! Nippori Hinako!” She smiled at Asukura. “Which school are you going to? I am at the Miura Middle school.” She grabbed the guitar a bit firmer and faced the screen. Frowning she skipped through the menu. "Sooo many songs!"

She was trying to find an easy song, but even though it said that it was easy… she didn’t really know if it was. And she wanted a real good song for a beginner like her. She couldn’t decide on one though, especially because the names didn’t say her much. She wasn’t very familiar with the newest songs and bands because this was the only place where she could ever listen to them.

“Do you recommend any song for my first try?,” she wanted to know, glancing at Asukura over her shoulder. “Because I think… I am not so good at it.” She couldn’t help but laugh a bit at herself. She was pretty sure Asukura could have figured that herself after watching her for a few minutes though.

After Asukura suggested some song she thought would be easy, Hinako started the game. She was glad that it wasn’t going as fast as it was when Asukura was playing because she was sure that she would have sucked for sure then. It wasn’t exactly easy now as well, she needed a bit until she knew where her fingers needed to go and she was trying to watch the Rock Meter, the gems and from time to time her fingers.
This was hard. But also quite fun! She started giggling, promptly messing up a few notes, but having a really good time anyway.
When the song ended and her points were shown, she put down the guitar, huffing and laughing at the same time. She sure had looked ridiculous, but she had a blast.

“Waaaah, this was fun!,” she exclaimed, turning towards Asukura, glowing with glee and flashing the V-Sign.

---
I guess I godplayed Asukura a tiny bit, but not too much ^^
I hope this post gives you enough to work with, but please tell me if it doesn’t or if I need to change anything (e.g. the gameplay).

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: it's perfectly okay! I told you it could be good to make the story go
Besides I gave you my permission so don't worry


ic:

“Ah, gomen, I forgot myself! Nippori Hinako!” She smiled at Asukura.
“Which school are you going to? I am at the Miura Middle school.”
Nippori?
The name sounded so familiar...
And then something clicked on Aoi's mind.
There's a Nippori in the male rhythmic gymnastic team! Is she his sister?
Aoi looked carefully at the girl who was too busy checking songs on the screen to notice Aoi's gaze on her.
They look similar... Aoi thought.
She didn't know much about that guy.
She knew plenty enough about his so called aniki, Azuma Wataru.
And even more than enough about their blonde companion, Tsukimori Ryosuke: a guy who asked her out countless times.
She was really happy when he stopped trying to hit on her.
Definitely not my type she thought.
She got lost in her thought, thinking about her ideal type of boy: maybe someone like Takenaka or even a couple of guys she saw from the Washizu men's rhythmic gymnastic team.

Aoi was pulled back from reality when Hinako asked her something.
“Do you recommend any song for my first try?,” she wanted to know, glancing at Asukura over her shoulder.
“Because I think… I am not so good at it.”
"Eh? Oh sure.."
She stepped closer to the girl to have a better view to the list of songs and pointed out "Welcome to the jungle" by Guns N' Roses, one of her favorite songs.
I hope it's not that difficult for her
Aoi stepped back when the song started to play: she could see the girl had some difficulties catching all the right notes, but she definitely looked like she was having fun.
Hinako was giggling and smiling and Aoi couldn't help but smile as well: Hinako was exactly like her while playing games.
She started cheering for the other when gems started to show up and the Rock Meter was going down, trying to encourage the girl to keep going.
When the song ended, Hinako looked exhausted but happy.
Her result wasn't that bad, considering that was the first time she ever played that game.

“Waaaah, this was fun!,” she exclaimed, turning towards Asukura, glowing with glee and flashing the V-Sign.
Aoi clapped her hands and walked over to the other.
"It might have been your first time, but you did really well!"
She walked over to the shelf to grab again her bag and her CD.
She quickly turned around, curious to know if Hinako was who Aoi thought she was.
"Ne.. I go to Karasumori High.. Are you... Is your brother... part of the men's RG team at my school?"
Now that she looked carefully at her, Hinako did look similar to the Nippori she knew.
Thank God at least she has some taste in clothes...
Aoi checked the clock again and then a thought crossed her mind.
"Would you like... to keep going around the mall with me? I just have to pay for this CD then I'm free".
She knew her request could be a bit odd: she didn't know Hinako well, they had just met, but Aoi immediately liked the other.
Besides, she didn't have plans, no one to meet or other things to do.
Might as well spend some time with a person as cute and nice as Hinako...
"That's only... if you don't have other plans.."
Aoi blushed a bit and kept turning the CD with her hands, waiting patiently for a reply.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ooc: let me know if I sucked and if I have to change some things.
Again, feel free to godplay Aoi a bit if it's really necessary.
Other people can hop in if they want to!

[Nippori Hinako]

ooc: tiny miny godplay in here

btw: you can also godplay Hinako if you need to! I am fine with that!

if you find any weird mistakes, I am sorry but somehow I wrote so much cr*p in this, like words twice, etc xD
just notify me so I can change it ^^;

-------

Asukura was clapping her hands and Hinako blushed faintly, but smiling nevertheless. She bowed a bit at the compliment the other girl gave her. It made her feel embarrassed when someone was applauding her and she was never sure how to deal with that so she decided to accept it with Japanese politeness.
This had been really fun and she hadn’t expected to do so well. Of course she hadn’t been awesome but she hadn’t made a fool of herself – at least she hoped so.
Maybe she should go here more often and game a bit… but no, there was no time… Thinking about it, she took a slightly panicked look at her watch – just to notice that she still had plenty of time. She exhaled, relived. She hadn’t been out too long yet. She would have felt bad if she had been, even though she had lots of fun so far – and that’s what her family wanted for her on her free day after all.
A voice was cutting through her thoughts.

"Ne.. I go to Karasumori High.. Are you... Is your brother... part of the men's RG team at my school?" Asukura had picked up her CD and bag again and had now turned to face Hinako, who was slightly taken by surprise by what she had just said.

Sure, she kinda had expected Asukura to be at Karasumori High since a lot of people were and she had for a second thought it might be fun if she even knew her brother but finding out she really did – was kinda unexpected.

“Oh, well, yes. Nippori Keiji. He is my older brother,” Hinako answered slowly, nodding. “Are you in the same class? Or are you on the girl’s team?” She was really curious how Asukura came to know her brother.

She knew that the girl was older than her, she doubted her being in first class of Highschool, but she wasn’t sure if she was in second class like her brother or in third class like Wataru and Ryosuke. She had a slender body, so it was also possible that she was on the girl’s rhythmic gymnastics team. She couldn’t remember seeing her at the ‘A Touch of the Neighbourhood Festival’ though – on the other hand had she been fixated on her brother alone back then. And she had been so proud! She felt a smile spreading across her face, thinking about it. He finally managed to do the stag handstand after he had trained a handstand for days, making their wall all dirty. She was so glad everything had worked out back then…

She slightly shook her head, trying to stop spacing out all the time. She noticed Asukura checking the time on her watch. Ah, she most likely had to go already. Oh dear, Hinako sure had been holding her up or something. She immediately felt guilty and bit her under lip, twisting her fingers. She was just about to open her mouth to apologize and find a reason to say goodbye so Asukura could leave without having to make up an excuse, when the older girl suddenly made a proposal that surprised her. She gaped at Asukura for a second before she remembered: looking like a carp is sure not very charming.

She thought about it. Going around the mall with Asukura?
It occurred to her that it was quite weird to hang around with a person you just had met in a CD store because you asked her to show you how to game. On the other hand, she had made this first step after all and Asukura hadn’t declined it.
Sure, she didn’t know the older girl very well, but she thought she was really cool and that she wanted to get to know her better. Maybe they could even become friends? She would really like that…! She seemed to be very nice and Hinako immediately had liked her. Not every person would teach a middle school girl how to play a weird console game.

She looked at Asukura and noticed that the other girl was blushing and twisting the CD in her hands. She most likely felt just as weird as Hinako had when asking her to show how to game Guitar Hero.

“Sure! I would love to!,” Hinako replied with a smile. “I don’t have anything planned since today is my free day.” Plus she liked the idea to spend the day with another person and not on her own, getting pretty easily bored after a while. She was quite sure that Asukura had a good idea where to go next. Maybe she wanted to check out clothes? Hinako would love to see where she was buying her stuff because she really liked her outfit. Maybe she could help her picking everything out? Or maybe get an outfit arranged by her? (She wouldn’t be able to buy it, that was for sure, but she would surely find a good excuse for that.)

“Do you have any place you would like to go to next?,” she wanted to know, thinking about some herself, but she just came up with the toy store since she remembered that she had wanted to check out the sales area for action figures from Geki Ranger and Kamen Rider because her brothers adored them. She received a whole lot of hugs (and even kisses) when she brought something like that home occasionally.
She shook her head a bit. Nah, she shouldn’t suggest that. It would be really embarrassing. She didn’t want to give the other girl the feeling that she was walking around with a little kid – even though she was in fact a middle scholar.

“I’ve heard about some new opened ice café. And I think there is some cool clothing store over there,” she waved her hand in a vague direction while they were walking towards the register. “But I dunno… where you would like to go. I am pretty open to anything.” She laughed and looked at Asukura somewhat expectantly.

----

ooc: I hope this was enough to work with x____x

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: this is absolute cr*p, I'm really sorry
I also had to godplay Hinako a bit, aka I made the girls exit the shop, but what comes next is up to Hinako or to whoever wants to hop in.
I want consolation cookies for this fail, kthxbai


ic:

“Sure! I would love to!,” Hinako replied with a smile. “I don’t have anything planned since today is my free day.”
Aoi was actually surprised: she didn't really expect the other girl to accept her proposal.
But she was happy: Hinako was a nice girl and spending time together was going to be fun.
Having two brothers had made Aoi feel a bit.... alone...
She always wanted to have a younger (or even older) sister.
But her brothers were already too hard to manage sometimes.
And having another girl in the house didn't necessary mean Aoi would get help in dealing with them.

“Oh, well, yes. Nippori Keiji. He is my older brother,” Hinako answered slowly, nodding. “Are you in the same class? Or are you on the girl’s team?”
Ah!
I got it right then Aoi thought.
"No, we don't go to the same class.I'm a third year student and he is in his second year right? But yeah, I'm part of the girls team"
They started walking towards the cash desks: Aoi wondered for a moment if she should add something else.
Like the fact that Azuma and Tsukimori, the yankee friends of Hinako's brother, were in the same class, but Aoi wasn't sure if she knew them.
Aoi didn't even know if Hinako approved of that or if all of them had been friends for a long time.
So she decided to keep silent, while they moved to stand in front of a line (when did all those people showed up?).

“Do you have any place you would like to go to next?” Hinako asked.
“I’ve heard about some new opened ice café. And I think there is some cool clothing store over there, But I dunno… where you would like to go. I am pretty open to anything.” She laughed and looked at Asukura somewhat expectantly.
Aoi was busy looking for her wallet when she stopped for a second to ponder on what Hinako just said.
"That ice café sounds good! We can grab something quickly there and then look around for some shops before lunch..."
It was almost Aoi's turn when a thought crossed her mind.
"Or do you have to go home for lunch? Because if you are free there's a ramen shop close by. The food is really good there!"
When it was finally her turn, Aoi quickly paid for her CD and grabbed the bag the cashier gave her.

They walked out of the shop and stopped to look around for the café.
"Hmm maybe I should get something for those two troublemakers..." She said not too loud, almost talking to herself.
If her brothers found out she went to the mall and didn't get something for them, whether it's a cake or a toy, they'd make her life a living hell for at least a week.
"Ne, is there a toy shop here right? I might have to get something for my brothers. And then we can go around some clothing shops!"
She smiled while looking at Hinako: maybe the other had no idea where the toy shop was, but they could still go around to look for it.
They still had lots of free time on their hands.

[Nippori Hinako]

Ooc: Your post was great, no worries! *still gives a jar of yummy cookies*

And you are allowed to godplay Hinako, no problem! I mean I allowed you to, so don’t worry about it ^^ Plus it really moves the thread forward~

Now beware… Short and quite crappy post… uah. Also: Sorry for the long wait, but hysteric!Yuuta took over xD”

I was godplaying a bit I fear... sorry!

---

Hinako watched the girl intently. She was really curious what she might suggest. She was still a bit surprised that the older girl actually wanted to hang out with her. Didn’t she have anything better to do?

"That ice café sounds good! We can grab something quickly there and then look around for some shops before lunch..."
Hinako smiled when Asukura accepted her idea with the ice-cream. She had feared that the older girl wouldn’t like the idea since it was maybe a bit… childish. On the other hand, Hinako didn’t know anyone who hated ice-cream. Plus she could test this shop and maybe bring her brothers with her next time. Yuuki and Yamato loved ice-cream to no end and Nippori didn’t say no to ice-cream either. She hadn’t had ice-cream for a very long time either so she was really looking forward to it.

She was wondering if Asukura had any siblings. Family was something really important for Hinako and she couldn’t imagine how it would be to be an only child. She imagined it to be really boring and lonely. Most of her classmates thought it was great since they got all the attention and didn’t have to share the money. Hinako guessed she would be poor either way. She rather had her family instead of much money she guessed.

"Or do you have to go home for lunch? Because if you are free there's a ramen shop close by. The food is really good there!"
Hinako pondered about this for a second. Was she free for lunch? Technically she was. She was told to stay out as long as she wanted to. Just normally she returned back home after a few hours again because she had gotten bored all by herself. She wondered if she should stay out longer today. She felt guilty thinking about it even though she knew that her brother cooked very well (and even liked to cook). They wouldn’t mind, maybe they would even like that she was finally trying to relax?

“No… that’s fine, we can go to the ramen shop, that would be nice.” Luckily she had enough money with her. Still, eating out was a luxury she didn’t do quite often. Actually she couldn’t remember the last time… But ramen sounded great. Maybe she could bring some home for their dinner.

She waited patiently when Asukura was paying for the CD and followed her out of the shop afterwards. They had to stop in front of it because neither of them actually knew were the café was located. The mall was quite big with three stories and some hidden corners you could sometimes miss.
Hinako heard the other girl mumble something under her breath, but didn’t understand a word of it. She guessed it wasn’t meant to be heard by her but she was still wondering what it had been. Most likely she was just wondering about the directions or something.

"Ne, is there a toy shop here right? I might have to get something for my brothers. And then we can go around some clothing shops!"
Hinako was surprised for a second but then a smile was forming on her lips.
“Oh, that would be great! My little brothers sure would like something from the toy shop as well. – How old are your brothers?” She was really curious about it. Plus she was glad they had yet another topic to talk about. She was sure that talking about her brothers could keep her busy for hours.

“The toy shop is… over there I think…” She pointed in the direction in which she guessed the shop was located. “I am not so sure though…” She smiled sheepishly. It had been a while since she had been there since there was not much money to spend after all. Plus this mall was confusing!
They were heading in the direction Hinako had guessed the shop was located at – and they found it at last; just one story below the one they had been on.

“Are you looking for something specific?,” Hinako wanted to know. Even though she wasn’t good at finding the shop itself, she pretty knew the interior by heart. This most likely had to do with her brothers spending hours in there checking everything out. They even took a look at the girls section every time – just to go ‘ewwwww’.

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: okay, I don't like this at all, probably because I wrote it while having writer's block
Anyway, again, feel free to godplay Aoi a bit, if they have to go around the shop, it's perfectly okay.
And I'm sorry but this is really short


ic:

"Or do you have to go home for lunch? Because if you are free there's a ramen shop close by. The food is really good there!"
“No… that’s fine, we can go to the ramen shop, that would be nice.” Hinako said.
"Ah great!"

Now that she was done with her CD, Aoi was trying to remember the way to the toy shop.
She was pretty sure there was one there.
So when she asked about it to Hinako, she was surprised by her reply.

“Oh, that would be great! My little brothers sure would like something from the toy shop as well. – How old are your brothers? The toy shop is… over there I think. I am not so sure though…"
"Ah, you too have younger brothers?" Aoi said while they walked towards the direction Hinako had guessed the shop was located at – and they found it at last; just one story below the one they had been on.

"I have two younger brothers: Yuya is 12 and Taka is 10" Aoi explained while they entered the shop.
“Are you looking for something specific?,” Hinako wanted to know.
"Hmmm" Aoi thought about it for a moment, while she was checking the almost overly filled shelves around them.

"Yuya likes animals and cars so maybe a plushie? Or even some of those cars he can controll with a remote."
Aoi looked at a giant box placed right near the entrance filled with teddy bears and such.
Awww... it would be nice to have one...
But then she mentally slapped herself.
Get it right Aoi, you are not 5 anymore.

"Taka likes robots and samurai stuff. He already has some of those... you know..." - Aoi started gesturing - " those small katana swords... or something similar so maybe I can get him a robotic toy but I don't know much about them.... Any advice?" Aoi asked, looking at Hinako.

Suddenly they had to move from their position, because a family had to walk in.
Aoi counted:
1...
2...
3...
4...
5...

5?!
They had five kids?!
And they were all boys!
Aoi watched, half amused half terrified, those five kids entering the shop and immediately splitting in five different directions, while their parents tried to catch them back.

"Wow... Poor parents..." Aoi said, while those kids appeared and disappeared from an aisle to an other and their parents kept running after them.
"Those kids... They sort of remind me of my brothers... Troublemakers just like them..."

Aoi shook her head and turned again towards Hinako.
"What would you like to get for your brothers? Any idea?"

[Nippori Hinako]

I hope this is enough to work with! If not, I can add more / feel free to godplay Hinako in your post

---------
"Yes, I have two younger brothers,“ Hinako replied. “Well and an older one as you know,” she added with a smile. Grimacing, she went on, “Being the only girl stuck with only boys isn’t that fun most of the time… but I supposed I don’t have to tell you that…”

Hinako loved her brothers and she guessed Asukura did just the same since she also wanted to go to the toy store, but there were also those times in which you just wanted to strangle them or just never see them again. Like when they were using your bra when playing gigantic flies (‘But they make really good eyes, Hinaaa!”), or when they were pouring hot chocolate all over your homework you just finished.
There were also times in which Hinako loved her brothers to bits, like when they were bringing her self-made things home from school or kindergarten, or when they were bringing her a random bunch of flowers and grass.
Sometimes it was hard though since their father was working so much and Keiji and she had to try and bring up the younger ones. Still, she loved the closeness of their family.

The shelves in the shop were full with all kinds of toys and while Hinako got almost hypnotized by a fuzzy pink dog which could apparently sing since it starting doing this after a kid had been pressing on its heart-shaped red nose, Asukura pondered about what to buy for her brother.
"Yuya likes animals and cars so maybe a plushie? Or even some of those cars he can controll with a remote."

Hinako was pretty sure she knew exactly were the cars were located since Yuuki tended to get stuck in this area for hours, trying to convince her that he really needed this fully operative digger. Her argumentation that this little digger would be just as expensive as three weeks of food didn’t really matter for Yuuki. Instead his answer was that he could go and work on a building lot with this and gain a lot of money so they would be rich.
Hinako guessed he could become a pretty good lawyer since he never seemed to run out of counter-arguments.

She wouldn’t be able to buy him an electric car though. She just didn’t have the money and she wondered for a moment if Asukura was very rich and if she would look down on her if she knew that she wasn’t.

Glancing at the girl next to her, she decided that Asukura seemed way too nice for that. When the other girl was directing a question at her, Hinako thought for a second. Did she have any advice?

“Uhm, over there are lots of figurines from all kind of manga and anime. There are sure some guys with katana’s among them, like Kenshin.
There are also loads of robotic toys from all kinds of tv shows. My brothers are really into Gekirangers and Kamen Rider. They just love the toys. And there are so many of them…
I dunno if your brothers would like them though…?” Hinako shrugged and smiled at the other girl. “Let’s check them out, shall we? The electric cars are really close to that as well so if you want to, we can look at them as well.”

In this moment a family entered the store and Hinako and Asukura had to move aside. It was a quite big family with 5 children – all boys. Hinako really didn’t want to be in their mothers place, it was sure really exhausting…
She nodded at Asukura’s comment and grinned at the other girl. They most likely had just thought the same thing.

“Let’s go to the boy’s corner then!” She led the way and hoped Asukura wouldn’t mind. She stopped in front of the shelf with action figures, trying to get some kind of overview. There were so… many!
She turned towards Asukura.

“Well, I guess we have a lot to choose from!” She grimaced. There were a lot of things her brothers would love and there were also many which her brothers owned already. It was hard to keep track on the ones her brothers owned and which they didn’t.
She frowned, checking out a really cool looking figure, tapping her finger absentmindedly against her lip.

She cast a glance over to Asukura, checking how she was doing.

“Have you settled on something yet?” She hoped the other girl did better than her in deciding for something. “The cars are just over there by the way in case you want to check them out first.” She pointed at a corner just behind them. Suddenly she noticed a red sign.

This means sale!

“Oh, excuse me!,” she shouted before dashing towards the corner with the cars. Maybe she could in fact get such an electric car.
She wasn’t a fan of spoiling her brothers but she just had to check this out. And in fact they sold some cars for half the price! Happily she grabbed a really amazing looking sports car. Her brothers would love this!
Sadly the digger was nowhere to be found; most likely it was sold out already. Hinako was positive though that it would be forgotten when her brothers saw this really cool car she got here!

“Asukura-san, some of the cars are on sale!,” she shouted before she could stop herself. Blushing, she noticed that she had just naturally acted like with her brother, looking for cheap stuff and informing each other about it.
Hopefully the other girl wouldn’t think too much about this and draw any conclusions.

[Asukura Aoi]

ooc: sorry, this is made of cr*p XD


ic:

“Being the only girl stuck with only boys isn’t that fun most of the time… but I supposed I don’t have to tell you that…”
Aoi nodded.

Yeah, it could really be a pain sometimes.
Especially since their nanny died and Aoi had to take care of her brothers by herself, she knew exactly what the other girl was feeling.
Don't get her wrong, Aoi loved her brothers.
But they were boys... and younger... a natural combination for trouble...
She remembered all the times that they came back from school or from the park and they had played with their friends...
All the bruises...
All the scratches...
Aoi got used at it at some point...
But it was still a hassle sometimes...

“Uhm, over there are lots of figurines from all kind of manga and anime. There are sure some guys with katana’s among them, like Kenshin. Hinako said, successfully bringing out Aoi from her daze.

There are also loads of robotic toys from all kinds of tv shows. My brothers are really into Gekirangers and Kamen Rider. They just love the toys. And there are so many of them…I dunno if your brothers would like them though…?” Hinako shrugged and smiled at the other girl.

“Let’s check them out, shall we? The electric cars are really close to that as well so if you want to, we can look at them as well.”
Aoi thought about it for a second.
"Oh... Kamen Rider... I think I heard my brothers talk about this before... Yeah, that's a good idea!"

They tried not to get on the way of those small five hurricanes running up and down throughout the whole shop and reached the boys corner.
As Hinako commented, there were really lots of things they could choose!
Aoi actually felt lost for a bit: she didn't know much about this Kamen Rider thing but she tried to remember what her brothers said to her.

She picked up a few toys, reading the names more than once, trying to figure out which one was the best (and right).
“Oh, excuse me!" she heard Hinako say while the girl moved towards the spot where cars were.

Aoi studied the objects in her hands for a bit longer.
"Kabuto?... Den-O?... Kiva?... Aww I don't remember!"
She was still struggling with her decision when she heard Hinako calling for her.

“Asukura-san, some of the cars are on sale!”

Aoi looked towards the other girl before turning her attention back to the toys.
"Okay, that's it!"

She placed the toys back in the shelf, mixed them a bit and closed her eyes before randomly picking up one.
When she opened her eyes again, she noticed it was a toy from the Kabuto serie.
"He better like this" Aoi muttered before joining Hinako.

"Wow! There are so many!" Aoi said checking the cars displayed in front of them.
There were cars of every type: luxury cars, normal cars, police cars, rally cars and many more...
"Hmm... I think he has this one... and this one too..." Aoi said moving the toys a bit to check them all out.

And the she saw it: it was a fire truck, similar to the ones used by firefighters in those American movies, with ladders, fire extinguishers and everything.
"Oh this is awesome!"
She checked it carefully and noticed she could buy it for half of the original price.
"And it's not even that expensive! Oh I'll take this!"

Satisfied with her choices, she turned towards the other.
"So... found anything good for your brothers?"

But while she was speaking to Hinako, Aoi noticed in a shelf not far from them many plush hats.
And they all had the shape of an animal!

Aoi loved them.

"Oh Hinako look!"
Aoi said walking towards the shelf.
She placed her bag and the toys she wanted to buy on the floor and then picked one of the hats before putting it on.
"So..." she said turning towards the other girl, trying to look as serious as she could. "How do I look?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

ooc: those hats are so nice and funny Xp
Feel free to godplay a bit if it's necessary.
Also, if others want to hop in, they are more than welcome!

[Nippori Hinako]

OOC: I so hate my post

-----
Hinako was beaming at the car in her hands when Asukura arrived at the shelf as well. She had a little figurine in her hand and Hinako guessed that it had taken the girl a bit to choose it after all.
She pondered about going back to the action figurines to find some for her brothers as well, but then she decided that this would have been considered spoiling them. This car was amazing enough already – and she guessed that the battery would be empty very soon. Most likely even Keiji would love to try it – and she had to admit that she was quite keen on steering the car herself. Maybe she would be able to – when her brothers were away or lost their interest in the toy, even though she doubted that this would happen very soon.

She was so glad that they had decided to come here! This was definitely a lucky day!

She watched Asukura checking out the cars. There were so many cool ones, Hinako almost wanted to think over her choice, but she decided to keep the sports car. It just looked way too cool. Plus she really didn’t want to look to close at all those cars since there were so many and in the end she maybe wouldn’t be able to decide on any of them.
Asukura was moving the boxes around a bit, checking them all about, while muttering almost to herself which car her brothers seemingly owned already. Hinako curiously watched her and tiptoed a bit to see the cars the other girl was checking out. Luckily her brothers weren’t here, they sure could have spent hours, looking at all the different types of cars.
Because she didn’t want Asukura get the feeling to be watched or that she was trying to rush her in any way, Hinako checked out the car she had settled on. She noticed that it had lots of tiny details on it and even inside the car everything was carved out carefully as she noticed while looking through its window. She definitely had to check out the price again.
Yes, there was still the red, shiny sticker on it saying 50% off and the actual price had been crossed out to be replaced by a messy written new price. Amazing!

“Oh this is awesome!," Asukura said all the sudden and Hinako focused on the other girl again who had apparently decided on a car. When she turned, Hinako saw that it was a fire extinguisher. It looked like the ones from the movies and even had a tiny ladder. That was really a great choice!

"So... found anything good for your brothers?," Asukura asked and Hinako nodded, holding up the car she had decided on.
“Yes, this one! Doesn’t it look cool? I think this car is enough for them, I shouldn’t spoil them too much or they won’t be happy about any of the other little gifts they get from time to time.
Your choice looks really cool as well. And so cute!” She pointed at the little ladder. Noticing the figurine in the older girls hand again she tilted her head a bit. “And I see, our brothers seem to like the same tv shows!” She grinned at Auskura. Probably almost every boy in their brothers’ age loved this show – and probably every girl their age did, too, since the main actor was really cute! Even though Hinako was always denying that whenever her older brother was trying to mock her about watching the show.

"Oh Hinako look!" Asukura was moving towards a shelf quite close to them. Hinako did as she was told and saw that the shelf Asukura had meant was displaying all kinds of hats shaped like animals.
How cool!
She was following Asukura who had put down her bag and the toys on the floor to get her hands free to grab one of the hats. Hinako couldn’t clearly see what kind of animal she had picked, but then she was turning towards Hinako, the most serious look ever on her face. "How do I look?"
Hinako was blankly staring at her for a moment, glancing back and forth from the frog-hat and her face – before she was starting to laugh at the funny sight before she could stop herself. She knew that it wasn’t very polite to laugh at someone, but she guessed that Asukura had very well known that this would be her reaction to this. Still, she was trying to gain control again.
Still giggling she was checking out the shelf herself before grabbing a shark-hat and putting it on. “Those are awesome!,” she said, again starting to laugh at Asukura’s appearance and because she guessed that she looked just as hilarious. She remembered that there had been a mirror at the corner of this shelf, so she turned around quickly to check out her reflection – just to bump into someone.
Stumbling back a bit, she looked up and noticed it had been another girl she had hit. She was a bit taller than her and looked older. She had long, black hair and looked really beautiful. Hinako had always wanted hair like that – but she knew that she wouldn’t have the patience to deal with them and they would probably look odd on her as well.

“Ah, I am so sorry! Are you okay?,” she stammered, feeling a blush creep over her face. Hopefully this girl wasn’t hurt or absolutely mad being bumped into by a middle school girl… with a fish-hat…

---

OOC: I TAG... Mari-chan!

[Satonaka Mari]

Mari sighed and stretched her arms over her head as she walked into the mall, a broad smile appearing on her lips. Her schedule had been relatively busy lately, what with schoolwork, practice, and her job at the local sports centre. Any of her free time had been spent relaxing for a short while before being busy again, running, or sleeping. Her little brother and sister were a bit of a hassle sometimes, but she still loved them regardless and never once complained.

Today was the first time in a few weeks that she had enough free time to go anywhere, so she had decided to spend the day out. At first she hadn’t been entirely sure where to go, and had been considering the arcade to see if Nanako was working (she wasn’t answering her messages), or just going for a peaceful walk along the beach. But, after walking around for a while, she had found herself at the mall.

Why not go browse some of the stores and see if she can come across anything really nice or interesting? She had a bit of extra money thanks to her job, so she could afford to buy a thing or two if she spotted anything she liked.

So far, she had been a couple of clothes stores, but the first place she had visited was the game store. If there was one thing she would call herself “obsessed” with, it would be video games, or, more specifically, Final Fantasy. However, in one of the clothes stores she had went into she had bought a nice top that she couldn’t wait to get a chance to wear.

She was walking around now, looking around to see what other stores caught her attention, when she walked by the toy store. She smiled slightly, before turning and walking inside. Her little brother always loved coming in here, she knew, and her little sister would be reluctant to admit to it, but she did as well. Admittedly, Mari was a big kid at heart, and also loved going around toy stores. She still watched children’s movies, and even any children’s TV shows if her little brother was watching them on the TV in the living room.

A cute display of animal hats caught her attention on the opposite side of the store. She bit her lip to try and hide her smile this time. Animal hats were things that she owned a few of. At home, she had two with cat ears and one with bear ears and a cute face on it. Just as she was walking around the corner of the shelf, however, a slightly smaller girl was also doing the same thing, but coming from the opposite direction.

“Ah, I am so sorry! Are you okay?” the younger girl asked, a blush covering her face in her embarrassment.

Mari waved her hands in a dismissing manner, and smiled at the girl. “I’m okay, don’t worry about it,” she said, her smile bright, and speaking in her usual happy tone. She was about to open her mouth and speak again, when she spotted who was standing just behind the girl at the same shelf. “Aoi-chan! I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said brightly, but she was glad nonetheless to see her friend.




((ooc - hee, thank you for letting me hop in this thread with you, guys~ This post sucks. I hope this post is okay…and sorry it took so long! ><;; Oh, and her outfit is here~!))

[Nippori Hinako]

ooc: This took like forever... I am so sorry CJ! I hope I gave you enough to work with! If I didn't, please nudge me and I write more!
I also hope writing Asukura out didn't turn out too awkward.... >___<

Also I am insecure about my grammar D:

----

Hinako felt instantly relived when the other girl only waved her hands dismissively. Apparently she hadn’t got hurt in the process and wasn’t one of those people who hardly forgave other peoples mistakes. Actually she wore a really pretty and open smile, sounding very cheerful when she assured Hinako that she was quite alright. Hinako couldn’t help but smile at the other girl for she seemed so nice and friendly. The girl was about to say something when she suddenly focused on Asukura-san who was standing behind Hinako. From the smile and glow suddenly forming on the other girls face, Hinako guessed that they were quite familiar with each other.

“Aoi-chan! I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said brightly, but she was glad nonetheless to see her friend.
Aoi seemed to be just as surprised but greeted her friend happily.

“Mari-chan, I didn’t expect to see you here! Oh, I see you’ve been shopping quite a bit yourself!” Asukura was pointing at the bag Mari-chan was carrying. In this very moment though her mobile phone decided to go off and Asukura put away the items she was currently carrying to get the thing out of her bag. The hat was in her way and she took it off to answer the phone.

Hinako was intently staring at the shelf since she didn’t want them to feel like she was eavesdropping or something, especially now that Asukura was on the phone. She couldn’t help hearing some of the conversation though, after all they were in a shop and although there was the obligatory background music and occasional shouting of very excited children checking out the displayes, there was no way to not hear what Asukura was saying.
It sounded like she had to head home, at least she was telling the caller that she’d be home in a few minutes. Hinako really hoped that nothing horrible had happened.
Unsure of what to do she took of the funny hat she still had been wearing until now, fiddling around at its rim. She was glancing over to the other girl Asukura had greeted as Mari-chan. She somehow knew that name but she couldn’t exactly put a finger on it.
Sure, Mari was a quite common name and she knew that in elementary school she had known a Mari-chan but this girl was older than her and Hinako just couldn’t imagine that this was supposed to be little, pigtailed Mari-chan from Kindergarten.
Maybe the boys had been talking about her? Ryosuke tended to mention lots of girls names when he was over. This Mari-chan was sure pretty and Hinako guessed that Ryosuke would find her very cute. On the other hand, he seemed to find a lot of girls very cute.
She shook her head slightly, looking over at Asukura who had just hung up and grimaced at them.

”Hey, I am really sorry guys, but I fear I have to go home since my father forgot a really important appointment which is already in almost half an hour. I need to take care of my brothers.” She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “At least I’ve got something to occupy them with!” She raised the toys after picking them back up, smiling. “I see you at school, Mari-chan!” She gave the other girl a hug. “It was nice to meet you, Hinako-chan. Maybe we can hang out another time. Good bye!” She was waving at them while heading quickly towards the checkout.

Hinako waved her goodbye. Hanging back the hat, she picked up the car and looked at the other girl. Now this was…. slightly awkward. Hinako really didn’t know how to approach this situation. After all she didn’t know the other girl, she didn’t even exactly know Asukura, even though they had had a blast. She wasn’t any good at this but just going away would just be rude. She maybe didn’t come from a rich background or anything but her father had always wanted them to be well mannered.

“Uhm…,” she started an attempt. She really didn’t know what to say, on the other hand the girl had seemed really nice before. “Hi, I am Nippori Hinako! Sorry again for bumping into you…” She smiled at the other girl. This was a really weird situation. What was she supposed to say if the girl wanted to know where she knew Asukura from? Oh, we just met in the CD store when she was playing Guitar Hero and I thought she was really good at it.

She was looking around nervously, the funny hats once again caught her attention. “Those are great, ne?”
Oh please, kamisama, give me the power to pull off a good conversation, just for once!, she thought while smiling at the other girl, hoping she didn’t think of her as brain damaged or anything.

[Satonaka Mari]

“Mari-chan, I didn’t expect to see you here! Oh, I see you’ve been shopping quite a bit yourself!” Aoi said happily, and Mari continued to smile at her friend and nodded. “I decided to spend my free time here since I’m not working today and I don’t have homework to do,” she explained. She knew that if Aoi was here, then that meant that she must have gotten some time to get away from her house for a while, and didn’t have to look after her brothers, which was good. Aoi was family-orientated, as was Mari herself, but it was always nice to get a break once in a while.

Then Aoi’s phone started to ring, and by the sound of the conversation, or rather what Aoi was saying, it looked like Aoi would have to go. Mari’s smile faded slightly. So much for Aoi getting a day off then, huh…and she had been looking forward to spending a bit of time with her friend as well. But, oh well, sometimes things didn’t work out like you hoped, and besides, family was more important, right?

“Hey, I am really sorry guys, but I fear I have to go home since my father forgot a really important appointment which is already in almost half an hour. I need to take care of my brothers.” Aoi sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “At least I’ve got something to occupy them with! I’ll see you at school, Mari-chan! It was nice to meet you, Hinako-chan. Maybe we can hang out another time. Good bye!” Mari returned the hug that Aoi gave her and said goodbye to her, waving briefly.

“Uhm... Hi, I am Nippori Hinako! Sorry again for bumping into you...” the younger girl said and Mari turned her attention to her once again. She smiled just as brightly as before and shook her head. “I’m Satonaka Mari. And it’s okay, really,” she said honestly. She paused for a second, the girl’s surname finally registering completely. Come to think of it, there was something familiar about her. “Nippori? By any chance, would you have a brother at Kara High?” The younger girl in front of her did kind of look like him, but of course she was just making an assumption when she said ‘brother’.

The easy smile had settled itself back on her lips as she gave the girl a friendly look. Even if Mari didn’t know Hinako well, it would be rude to just leave her here by herself. Besides, making new friends was nice, and something Mari done often. She was friendly and sweet by nature, so of course she wasn’t about to abandon the girl, just because she didn’t know her. She could always get to know her, right? And Aoi had seemed to like her, so Mari knew she must be nice.

“Those are great, ne?” Hinako asked a little nervously, pointing at the hats that she and Aoi had been trying on before. Mari continued to smile, and laughed a little, nodding slightly. “Yes, they’re cute,” she agreed, picking up a monkey hat and putting it on. Trying not to laugh, she puffed out her cheeks and crossed her eyes. It only lasted a few seconds however before she started giggling and ruined it. Still laughing slightly, she turned her gaze back to Hinako. “Ne, would you like to hang out with me? No use both of us being alone, right?” she said, smiling brightly.



((ooc – why do I imagine Hinako being like “O.o how does a girl like THIS know my brother!?” XD lmao, I’m bashing my own character… *smacks self* I feel bad now D: *huggles Nippori*))