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 Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 8:12 pm
One would think, with as big as Shibusen was, that it'd be a relatively easy place to find. One guy, unfortunately, was finding things to be harder than it should have. Or at least, that's how he felt. He tried asking someone for directions earlier, but it seemed that the person who gave it was mistaken. Either that or Derek just mixed a few things up here and there. Both were fairly possible cases.
It didn't help that he wasn't so familiar with Death City as well, having just arrived that day. Cities in general, he was familiar with, but this place seemed to be on a whole different level. For one thing, it had different franchises, or at least it looked that way from the DeathBUCKS he spotted a block back. Then there were the entities in the sky...
"Man that sun creeps me out.." he murmured while looking around, shivering at the thought that a giant fireball in the sky with eyes and a large mouth could be staring down at him.
With a sigh, he shifted his bags, and set his skateboard down to ride it along the street. Hopefully he'll manage to locate Shibusen sooner or later, whether or not he finds some help.
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:08 pm
Z was perched high on some unwitting person's rooftop, a proud figure silhouetted against the bright sky with the laughing sun at his back as he scanned the area. School was a very vague thought in the back of his head - it wouldn't even have been there at all, except he was now partnered with Lucien, and that raised expectations up a little bit. Not that either of them cared... but still. It was entirely possible that the shrew that was SHIBUSEN's Missions Head would restrict their missions if he missed too much school, though. The woman was just itching for a reason to screw them over.
He'd get her back, someday. He just had to figure out how.
Movement down in the street below him caught his attention, and Z crouched down, looking on with curiosity as an average boy with mixed heritage trudged along. He noted with interest that the stranger was carrying a skateboard, and more bags than normal. Was it someone new?
Judging by the age - the boy appeared to be the same age as himself - and the bags, perhaps this was a new student at SHIBUSEN. Intrigued, Z began to move silently along the rooftops, easily keeping up with the other's pace as he considered initiating conversation.
With a light jump, Z arched over the rooftop and landed softly on the pavement, a few meters ahead of the boy. He turned as he straightened from the impact, crossing his arms and planting his feet solidly in the middle of the path. "Headed for SHIBUSEN?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 9:28 pm
While rolling down the street, Derek's mind began to wander. Even with the research he had done on Shibusen, there was still much he didn't know about it. So, he really wasn't sure what to expect when he reached it. That is, if he can find it in the first place.
As both his thoughts and his eyes drifted from here to there, everything came to a sudden halt when someone literally dropped in nearby. Startled from the appearance of the other boy, he also nearly lost balance.
"Woah!" he shouted, while gathering himself back together, "Did you just jump from the rooftops? That's pretty wild man!"
A few seconds went on before he realized that he had been asked a question. To some extent, he was surprised that the other boy was able to guess where he headed. But then again, not many other people went around the city carrying several bags. Derek looked over the guy ahead of him, noticing they were probably around the same age. Maybe this boy was enrolled in Shibusen already; in which case he probably should give better directions than the last person he asked.
"Oh, uh yeah. That's my destination alright. I'm... a bit lost though. Tried asking someone earlier but their directions aren't getting me anywhere.."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:28 am
The mild adrenaline rush coursing through is body - despite having done such jumps countless times, it was still somewhat of a thrill - added to the amusement he always felt when people were so surprised at the things he could do caused Z to laugh, almost uncontrollably. His head falling back, the black-haired boy allowed himself to enjoy the sensation for a few seconds, before almost abruptly snapping his body forwards, until he was leaning towards the stranger.
"Of course I did. It's fun." Violet eyes took in the features of this newcomer, flicking over the startled hazel eyes to the t-shirt and cargo pants before coming back to the face. "What, you mean you've never done it before?"
He wondered mildly if the boy in front of him was really that shocked, or if he was a little bit slow in the head when it took him a few seconds to respond to Z's original question. Absently, he flicked his tongue piercing against his teeth, an unconscious habit, as he stood, waiting for an answer. When it came, he found himself almost biting his tongue in an attempt to not snicker - he'd already laughed at the boy once, it would be more along the lines of Lucien-style cruelty to do it again.
"That might be because nobody usually asks for directions to SHIBUSEN, dude. All the streets are either circular, or they head directly to the school." Briefly, Z considered leaving the boy here to flounder around, but to be honest, he'd done what he'd come into the City to do, and it wouldn't be too much effort to take the stranger back with him to SHIBUSEN. "I'm going that way, though. You come with me, if you want." The offer wasn't exactly gracious, but Z didn't care. Offering at all was something he rarely ever bothered to do.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:57 am
As the other boy laughed, Derek stared, wondering if him being surprised was really that funny. Then again, for all he knew, he might have had some crazy expression on his face whenever the other guy first landed in front of him.
"No not particularly.. The most air I get is when I'm on my skateboard, but can't say I've jumped down from a roof while on it before," he said with a mild shrug, "But maybe I should try it sometime. If I can figure out how to do it without bustin' my kneecaps in the process. Always wished I could do that free-running stuff."
At the mention of the street layout in Death City, Derek let out a sigh before chuckling to himself. He really did make things harder for himself than they should have been. Shaking his head at his little mishap, he looked towards the other boy with a grin. The offer may have sounded more along the lines of an afterthought, but he didn't care. He was grateful for it, if anything. It would definitely beat wandering around the City for possibly another hour or more after all.
"That'd be cool. Oh, I'm Derek by the way. Derek Long," he threw in before shifting his bags once again.
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:33 am
Free-running stuff? Z supposed the other boy had a point, but it wasn't like he did it for the flash. Running up the side of a wall wasn't really his thing, though it was somewhat required in order to get to the roof. He shrugged. "The trick is in bending the knees. Or something. Who knows?" The topic was no longer interesting to him, especially since the jump hadn't been anything special. Z found himself eyeing the skateboard in question, though. He'd tried it a few times, but had thought it too limiting - you couldn't use it to jump between two rooftops, for example. "You any good with that thing?"
When the other boy accepted his less-than-gracious offer, Z started walking, moving towards the boy. He paused just before passing by him, giving the other a moment or two to collect himself. "Z here." Implied in the words was the fact that nobody called him anything different, and that there was no full name forthcoming.
The walk back wasn't particularly long, but it would take a bit longer since he was now stuck to using Death City's winding streets. Briefly, he regretted his impulsive generosity (if one could even call it that), but it was done now, and he wasn't the type to back out. Figuring the quicker they started, the faster they'd be finished, Z began to walk, back the way the boy had originally come from.
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:52 pm
Glancing down at his skateboard, Derek simply gave an impassive shrug.
"I guess. But I've never really been too good with judging myself."
He was able to do a number of things with it with relative ease, but he felt that he wasn't nearly as good as the guys one would see competing in the "X-Games". Derek never even really considered trying to compete, seeing how he just did it for fun and as a way to get around.
The name the other boy provided caused him to tilt his head to the side. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but it didn't sound like the guy was going to give anything further than that.
"Z, huh? Interesting name," he said before watching Z walk past, "I was headed the wrong way? Seriously?"
The latter of that was more to himself in disbelief. At the same time he was rather relieved as it was fairly apparent it would have taken him quite awhile before he would reach Shibusen on his own. Shaking his head to himself in mild amusement, he turned around and picked up his board so that he could follow Z on foot.
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:41 pm
Z grinned. "There's a skatepark in Death City, if you can find it." He wasn't adverse to making fun of the other boy for getting lost. "I could probably show you sometime, I have a board somewhere." The offer wasn't made out of generosity - Z enjoyed watching others do tricks, if only because he could see how else to improve his own repertoire and find the next way to challenge his own body. Plus, he figured Derek's casual answer probably meant that he was at least decently skilled.
"Thanks. I'm probably not the best person to say it, but welcome to Death City, Derek." The last was infused with just a touch of sarcasm. It hadn't been until recently that Z had finally stopped wanting to leave. A pair of mocking green eyes appeared in his mind - they belonged to his partner, Lucien. He wasn't exactly grateful that the younger boy had found him that day, but he was realistic enough to admit that if he hadn't, Z would be out of this city by now.
Z glanced over at Derek as he walked, a small smile quirking his lips. "Yeah, seriously. This particular street leads out of the city. We could always go back that way, if you want to leave so soon."
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:58 pm
The news that there was a skatepark somewhere in the city brought a sort of light to Derek's eyes. He would definitely need to check it out sometime... if not head there semi-regularly. So it was good to hear, as he wasn't entirely certain how much the city and its inhabitants would appreciate him grinding down rails and the like whenever he felt like it.
That aside, he was a bit curious as to Z's own skills with the board.
"Oh really? Sweet! I'd appreciate that man," he said with a rather wide grin, "And thanks."
The boy didn't notice the sarcasm the welcome had been dipped in. He wouldn't know why there was any in the first place if he did anyway, seeing how Death City seemed fairly nice to him so far. Well, nice aside from its somewhat confusing road system. To think that he was on his way OUT of the city unintentionally too.
"Haha, though.. hopefully I won't be leaving too soon. Came a long way sorta," he replied before glancing behind momentarily, "How do you like Death City and Shibusen by the way?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:10 pm
"Yeah. Look me up when you're settled in. I'm not hard to find." At least, not hard if you weren't looking in the classrooms. While he found Derek's enthusiasm a little overdone, Z could understand the need to practice. Perfection required time and effort, after all.
Z turned sharply, rounding a corner before pausing. "Up ahead, you see those spirals? That's SHIBUSEN."
Glancing over at his companion, Z asked, "A long way? Where you from, originally?" He doubted that it was somewhere as far as Japan, but it would be interesting to find out nonetheless.
Derek's question caught Z a little off-guard, as he'd just been thinking of exactly that. "It..." The violet eyed boy stopped, considering his response. "It's friendly enough, with plenty of opportunities. SHIBUSEN isn't such a bad school." Though it was harsh on unpartnered students.
"So, do you have a partner?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:58 am
((Where exactly is Death City located anyway? XD *couldn't find the info last he tried* ))
Looking ahead, Derek was able to see the spirals that Z mentioned. One thing for certain, he wasn't exactly expecting a school to appear that way, but he found it both amusing and interesting at the same time.
"Wow, well it's definitely different from any of the other schools I've been to," he uttered quietly to himself.
"I'm from Los Angeles, California. What about you?" Though Z appeared to be of Asian decent, that alone couldn't really tell him where he was from. The guy could be from one of east Asian countries, somewhere in the US, or some other place. Heck, Z could have been from the same city as him for all he knew.
When Z stopped, Derek did as well. He glanced over at the other boy as Z seemed to hesitate a bit with the reply. Though, once it came out, Derek smiled to hear that the place wasn't so bad. That soon faded with the next question, however.
"Not right now. I mean... five minutes ago I didn't know anyone here. But hopefully it won't be too long before I find someone," he answered, "I'm guessing you have a partner already?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:44 am
Though quiet, Z's sharp ears caught the words, but the statement was too obvious to merit a reply. SHIBUSEN wasn't quite like anything. C'mon, really. A school that allowed and encouraged people to kill? With people that could change into sharp, deadly objects at will? Normal, SHIBUSEN definitely was not.
"Tokyo." Z could still remember the crowded city, with its bright lights and fast paced lifestyle. Briefly, an image of his adopted 'parents' crossed his mind, and he wondered if they were still alive. He made a mental note to check, the next time he was around a computer. "L.A., huh? Must be quite a change, coming here."
No partner... Z was a little tempted to give a word of advice, but another glance at the boy told him it was probably unnecessary. Derek would blend in with the other students just fine, unlike himself. And honestly, that was all that was needed when it came to finding a partner. "For you, it shouldn't take too long." Z resumed walking, for lack of anything else to do. Now that they could see the school, it wouldn't be much longer till they got there.
"Yeah. I just partnered recently."
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:30 pm
"Oh cool. I haven't been out of the country myself... but Japan seems like it'd be an interesting place to visit sometime."
Having said that, Derek realized that he'll probably be travelling a lot more whenever he managed to find a partner. From what he heard, paired up students are sent all over the world to hunt down their current quarries. Perhaps he'll be able to see some of the places he always wanted to visit sooner than he thought, even if he goes there for purposes that weren't sightseeing.
"But yeah, it's a bit of a change from what I'm used to."
Following Z once again, he stared ahead at the school, while making some mental notes of some places of interest that they happen to pass on by. Later on, he'll have to come back out into the city to explore.
"Oh really? That's gotta be nice. Are you a WEAPON or TECHNICIAN?" he asked idly while looking around.
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 7:43 pm
"Japan is different. Very different." Z thought about it, remembering. "There's a lot more people, for one. And higher buildings." That last cryptic comment came from his memories of climbing said buildings, whether for nefarious purposes or simply for the thrill of being so high. Looking at Derek with eyes still alight from remembered excitement, Z grinned widely. "You should go, it's worth it."
As they neared the school, Z began to speed up a little bit - he was getting impatient, wanting to drop by classroom #7 before heading home. Lucien was probably there, too. "Technician. I suppose you could say it's nice." Though his relationship with Lucien went beyond "nice". And what they did together definitely wasn't "nice". "If you could call it that..." The last was muttered more for himself than for Derek.
Glancing over, Z cocked an eyebrow. "We're nearing the school. Where are you headed? Dorms or a nearby apartment?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 8:18 pm
Nodding to Z, Derek grinned in return made a note to definitely check out Tokyo sometime. He had seen some pictures, as well as some videos from the TV, and it seemed to be a bustling and interesting place for sure.
As the other boy picked up the pace, so did he, shifting his bags to make sure they wouldn't fall out of place or anything like that. He listened to Z's words as he did this. So Z was a Technician as well. At least that's what it sounded like. Maybe he could give him some tips sometime... if he didn't mind at least.
"What kind of weapon is your partner then?" he asked, not hearing the words uttered under Z's breath.
"Hm?" Oh, to one of the nearby apartments for now. Just so I can drop my stuff off."
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