The text that she received... at least let her know that her intended companion was coming along as agreed, but Yuuki could not particularly say it set her mind at ease. Their situation was... complicated. He’d weaseled his way into her life despite all her intentions to keep her distance from anyone deemed “unnecessary” to graduate. The school assigned her to her senior, so it made sense that she cooperated. It was academic and he seemed to take things seriously, he even corrected her before when she let her emotions slip and begin to dictate things rather than her logic. He was valuable, knew French, and was very professional in their interactions... but Rocco? At face value, he was definitely a distraction from her studies. Digging a little deeper, he had gotten her out of a few tough spots, namely during Archery practice when one of the girls nearly struck her. He’d convinced her to visit her family... to do something normal... but it didn’t feel like she deserved to act normal when her father was getting so, so much worse.

Regardless of her father's insistence that she live her life to the fullest... Yuuki felt an obligation to save him and she couldn’t do that by going to the movies and making friends. It was a waste of her time when there was so little left of his if he didn't get better, she couldn't lose him. So...why did it brighten her spirits, even a little bit, when Rocco made these plans...? Moments before the plans were made he was determined to intimidate her, had done... some undeniably questionable things to her at the time and since... then there was the interaction between her senior and this said classmate.

Did he have a problem with everyone? First Sora then Aeon, it seemed he had some sort of altercation whether physical or verbal with everyone else she had come in considerable contact with thus far. Her hand against her chest began to tremble so she once again tightened it. The mess she had found herself in... she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She wasn’t accustomed to interpersonal relationships, especially ones as unusual as she found herself in. Yuuki always avoided involving herself with others since her father’s illness turned her life upside down, but it seemed Airdalen refused to let her get by as she always had, refused to go easy on her. It was just so much easier to not get attached to others, to get distracted. She would only disappoint them, and in turn, get hurt by them. Friendships, hell, relationships in general... they only broke your heart in the end. Everything is finite, uncertain. It can slip through your fingers without a moment's notice, when everything seems fine, great even. Life... it is cruel, and this was her sense of control. Controlling who could be close. Her friends from her hometown, from before the illness... they hurt her. A lot. I just won't mistake this for anything. No expectations, no attachment.

So when Yuuki realized Rocco was standing before her, she jumped a little, having gotten too lost in her thoughts. H-How long has he been there!? After her initial shock, Yuuki noted that his breathing was a bit labored... did she not give him enough time to arrive? Oh crap. She didn’t know where he lived... maybe she really hadn’t! Pressing her lightly glossed lips together, Yuuki did her best to suppress the guilt that was building up. Apologize or not to apologize was truly the question. She was still ticked at him for his behavior during the fire... but he seemed to have winded himself.

Actually... wait. Eyebrows raising a bit, golden eyes locked on him. Did he wear glasses? Reading glasses? She didn’t feel like they were prescription... she’d never seen him wear glasses at school, not once. Not that she was particularly looking of course! It looked— actually, never mind how it looked! Closing her eyes, Yuuki took in a small silent breath as if she could somehow reset her mind. She wasn’t actually a robot, couldn’t truly force herself not to feel things, but she never wanted the ability to do so more than in the days since she had met this headache.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu, Murray-san." Yuuki responded calm, and collected. It certainly was not the case, but she wanted to present herself as prepared for the trip. Okay, he was staring quite a bit. Feeling her shoulders tense, Yuuki turned her head to avert her gaze momentarily finding it difficult to make eye contact, but her nerves leaped as he began to completely assess her, "I-Is this necessary?!" Yuuki hissed, instantly unnerved. She didn't feel comfortable in the outfit, and being stalked by a land shark made her even less comfortable. His attire was certainly not what she imagined to find him wearing outside of school either! She wasn't entirely sure what she actually expected, but it certainly wasn't this and she couldn't help blushing a little.

"You're really cute."

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, the small girl slightly glared at him, but it didn't last as she was avoiding looking at him as much as possible... for reasons! They were in public, she liked to blend in with the crowd, didn't like being noticed, so this outfit her mother chose was just as much of a headache as Rocco was, "Not nearly as much as you think you are. Would you stop joking around?" she mumbled in the end. There were naturally pretty girls like Shiori who looked like living china dolls and popular girls like Cassiopeia that could work a runway, but she wasn't either of those.

"And I'm glad you kept the glasses."

"Wanted to match did we?" She shot back, indirectly calling out he did not normally wear them himself, and deflecting. She didn't forget the comment he'd previously made about her glasses either, but she wasn't going to justify her choice to wear them instead of contacts. It had nothing to do with him! Without saying anything he could potentially draw out of her words as incriminating, she managed to respond, at least, she hoped her words gave nothing away. She was choosing them very, very carefully.

"The train will be leaving soon. I'll get that for you."

When he grabbed her bag, Yuuki's lips parted to protest, but upon being presented with the book, she just as quickly closed them. A present? ...Why...? She was baffled by it. They weren't a couple, and their last interaction was certainly unpleasant. While she regretted how she handled it, she wasn't the only one that had a sour attitude that day. She didn't think he was going to come along anymore after what took place, let alone gift her the book that inspired the movie they planned to see. As much as she was trying to stonewall him, to bottle up any form of reaction he could amuse himself with, she did smile at this, and it wasn't the forced one she practiced to get by at school, "Arigatou."

Don't think too much into it... Don't. Yuuki scolded herself before making her way toward their train. They needed to get going. Stepping inside, Yuuki noted the ticket, then found their designated seats. The smaller blue and grey seats were not entirely what she expected. She was used to large seats that resembled pews in a church, they weren't nearly as boxed off from other passengers.

Rocco had her bag, so Yuuki sat down, the book he'd gifted her settled on her lap. Suddenly her heart was beating much faster, and she couldn't really decide what the cause was. Going home... was she worried she would run into old classmates? Scared to see the state her father was in? Or was she concerned that Rocco would do something inappropriate? Perhaps something else? She...couldn't place it, but she was quite uneasy all the same, staring down at the pink flats she wore for a second. What was she even supposed to say? Any compliment to his appearance would only lead to teasing... and she wasn't even sure if they had any common interests. She highly doubted it, but it wasn't polite to completely ignore a travel companion either.

He... wasn't straitlaced and nerdy like her, but his choice of clothes made him look approachable and above suspicion. Now she really did believe documentaries that claimed superficial appearances of serial killers fooled people. Her mother would totally fall for this. While he was no Ted Bundy, well, that she was aware of, Rocco was still far more dangerous than his current image gave off, He is a total wolf in sheep's clothing right now. He almost looks harmless, wholesome, or maybe he actually does and I just know better now... Yuuki thought to herself, giving him the briefest of glances with a sigh. She could already tell this was going to be a difficult trip. "So... do you ordinarily dress like this, or just trying to charm my mother?" Yuuki asked, unable to actually deliver a proper compliment on his appearance, even if he did deserve it. He looked nice like that, anyone with eyeballs could tell, but given their short but telling history and his mischief within it, it wasn't going to happen!

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Things were going fine, at least, it seemed so in Kei's opinion. Quiet was good, right? Kei wasn't sure anymore, but it most certainly felt better than his relationship with Kaori, whatever you could even call it. Still, it was pretty awkward as Kei and Mao didn't know each other. Well, aside from their run-in at school, but this was their first actual interaction. Trying to focus on his duty to the food line, Kei closed his eyes. This day was turning out to be a lot more complicated than he had expected. Helping out those less fortunate than himself always made him feel better, but he wasn't even sure if he felt better right now or not.

With Mao standing so close beside him, he felt nervous more than anything. Her presence was distracting, which was nothing personal, but still quite distressing. Mao seemed like a cool enough person. It was her gender that made him uneasy, and whatever way he looked at it, she was interfering with his peace. Yet wasn't that was the point of asking her to come along? The only way to work on his issues was to face them head-on. Sure, this was a baby step because there was no real risk of touch, no flirting taking place, but it was a step, and that is what mattered in the end. Did he feel a bit guilty for using her as a prop for his rehabilitation? Definitely, but there was no way he was going to therapy for this shit. He could barely explain it to Rocco, let alone some stranger paid to listen to his problems and pretend to give a shit.

Things were loud, bustling, not that Mao minded that. She spent a lot of time in places louder than this. There were a lot of homeless and low-income families coming in, something Mao had never really seen in person before. Sure, she read statistics, researched these issues, but seeing it up close, made it personal, made it heartbreakingly real. The more she thought about it, Mao unthinkingly clenched her fist tightly around the ladle in her hand as her anger grew. Mao's jaw tightened, knowing that her father was in a position to change things, to make the lives of people in that situation better, but his view was that homelessness was a sign of laziness.

Lost in their thoughts, neither of the two teenagers noticed when the other reach for the paper towel roll. Their fingers brushed simultaneously and retracted as if they had attempted to take a hot cake pan out of an oven with their bare hands. Kei's cheeks flushed as Mao cleared her throat, no one wanting to address it, moving on as if nothing had happened. Mao was first to try again, retrieving one after their little blunder, pressing on with her volunteer duties. Kei took quite a bit longer to recover, but the complaining of those in the line that he was holding up brought him back to reality.

"Do you come here and do this a lot?" Mao finally spoke up, curiosity getting the best of her. Both of them were financially well off, so there wasn't a need for either of them to get their hands dirty when they had other means of contribution, and yet Kei chose to come in person? It was unusual, not unheard of, but certainly unusual for someone of their monetary status.

Giving it some thought, unsure if he should answer honestly, Kei nodded his head. Finding words to explain why he chose to come here was difficult. Many of the people that walked through those doors had an odor, and others had mental deficits, things that would usually make people uncomfortable and want to avoid them. Kei was a little put off by those things as well, but it was more about the feeling it gave him to do something for someone that could not repay him, doing something that he knew was right with no incentive.

Until now, Kei had kept it a secret from everyone except his parents. It didn't help his reputation at all, "Yeah, I've been coming here for quite a while. Most people are disgusted... I get it if that's what you're thinking, but I see people that could use a little compassion. It just feels better than spending my weekend at home playing video games all day. It feels like I've done something, something that genuinely matters, ya know?" Kei spoke frankly, his eyes softening a bit as he thought back to his earlier days coming to the shelter. He had met a lot of amazing people here, and despite their misfortunes in life, they were somehow inhumanly positive about it. He came to admire it so much that he couldn't help coming back week after week.

His answer seemed to be enough for Mao, as it earned a smile. As awkward as it was, perhaps things truly were going well after all? brushing her fingers through her short hair, Mao gave that some thought, "Wealthier people tend to feel that way, but I get what you like about this place. What you do here, well, it's really admirable." Mao stated in a mumble. It was a compliment, it did not slip off the tongue very well, but those were her genuine thoughts however grumpily she presented them.