Shibuya

[Bloodedge]

"Mhm..." was all Seiji had to say. Kimiko was hardly even in the same space as him, mentally; she was essentially inside the puzzle... just like that boy. What she had to say about the lad was interesting indeed, and well beyond what he would have expected for one who sought Aiba Yugi. Perhaps this wasn't a simple matter of her wanting him as one of the many connections she likely had. The next thing Kimiko said was unquestionable proof that she'd essentially deleted the outside world when diving into the puzzle, and in response, Seiji shrugged. It wasn't at all the first time his presence had been forgotten, and it wouldn't be the last. If only the other club members could forget he existed now and then. . .

The box was open. Whatever it held inside, Seiji had no right to view it, so he respectfully looked away. In fact, he took the time to lean his chair back again, and work toward finishing his lunch before the bell rang. Though this had been an entertaining experience in a way, it had successfully kept him from a complete meal for most of lunch period. Oh well; he could probably finish before this final five minutes or so ran out. 'Somebody finally finished that damn thing, and it wasn't me... or even anybody from the club. Well, it might be about time for me to quit again. There's nothing left in this room without that guy as a goal, and the key to bringing him in is gone now. Maybe I'll give sports a shot. Culture clubs are kinda shit. . .'

[Apollymi]

Miura Seiji was looking away as she opened the puzzle. He truly was a respectable individual. He didn't try and steal her prize and seemed to be in deep thought as he finished his lunch. If this puzzle was the only reason he came back to this club what would he be doing now? The girl was excited and happy but she wasn't without perspective. "Miura-kun, you've been pretty helpful today. I appreciate you letting me take up your time... and I'm sorry for stealing your goal," she said with a small smirk on her face. She pocketed her phone and the piece of paper and picked up the 6 pieces of the puzzle. "If you find yourself in need of something or a new goal, and you think I can help... let me know~" she said offering the lad a casual wave as she stood to exit with her prize in hand. School was done for the day. Rather she could have gone through with the rest of her day's classes but she had no other intention but her goals. There was a boy who was waiting on her, and nothing else mattered.

A few moments later she was exiting the school building as the bell rang ending lunch. She had no intentions of hanging around there for the rest of the day. Instead she found herself in an open air park making a phone call, to the house of the former Prime Minister. If the number still worked there was no problem she called it. She was strangely nervous now back on the other end of waiting.

[Bloodedge]

An equally casual wave of Seiji's hand was to follow, dismissing the girl who'd spent virtually all of lunch period in the clubroom. He wasn't bothered by his goal being 'stolen' by her; he simply had a second one now. As for any new goal she could potentially help with, well... maybe he had something in mind. "If I need you, I'll find you. Don't sweat the other stuff. Ja," he said. With that, he went about working toward the completion of his lunch. Sadly, he'd be left with quite a few bites by the time classes started anew. His teachers would simply have to deal with a bit of in-class snacking.

Yugi was still at home, still considering the new developments to this world. He had actually managed to make a bit of headway, and there were a few broken puzzle pieces in the area surrounding him on his 'bedroom' floor. Interestingly enough, these pieces weren't the same ones he'd broken. Each time he broke a piece, he managed to do so in a way that had no positive effect on other broken pieces. As a test, however, he had been tapping pieces with what felt like the other world's application of mana to repair them... and did so without causing 'Wrath' to shatter other pieces. This small usage of power may not have been all he could muster, but he wouldn't be testing anything bigger just yet. In fact, he would soon be rendered incapable of testing anything.

Aiba Yugi lived in a storage box that had been repurposed into a tiny home of sorts. However, there remained a proper, even large home just outside his door. The phone in that very house... it rang. Yugi was alerted via the security system he had routed into his computer, which showed the visuals of a camera focusing on the phone itself. The number calling the landline was unfamiliar, but he knew what it meant for someone to call that number. He would rise from the floor, stepping outside and approaching the house of the former Prime Minister. There were only two options. Either Kimiko had already found the answers she needed, or someone at the Puzzle Club actually managed to crack the puzzle he'd given them. Which one would it be? He'd fine out soon, but first, he had to enter the house he hadn't been in since the passing of his sister. A single turn of a key, and he was able to push the door open and hear the ringing phone for himself. It had been ringing for quite some time, but soon, he reached out to answer it.

"Across the street from Hitachiomiya Palace." This sentence was all he said before hanging up the phone. Whoever it was on the other end, they had all the information they needed. He could wait now, in the dim lighting of his old living room... for whichever person managed to solve his puzzle.

[Apollymi]

Kimiko heard the parting words of Miura Seiji. She wondered if he'd actually end up taking her up on her offer. He probably should, such offers were rather rare from her... Ah but that didn't really matter in the long run. The lad had mentioned playing AoE, and there was at least the possibility she might end up running into him again at some point in the future. Beyond this point, Kimiko found herself sitting on a park bench, waiting on a ringing phone. It took a long time to be answered. She thought about hanging up immediately after she dialed. After all, her social anxiety was quite high and she hadn't given herself enough opportunity to talk herself out of her more impulsive actions. There was still always the possibility he didn't want to be found. The possibility the old number had been repurposed. The reigning fear that it'd all been for nothing because this lad wouldn't actually want to meet with her at all. But just before she could bring herself to pull the phone away from her ear, a voice picked up on the other end. The message delivered was brief and then suddenly the phone on the other end was hung up. Her eyes widened with surprise, she hadn't even had time to properly react. 'Was that his voice? His actual voice!?' There was so much to unpack here. She would have started pacing and thinking and talking to herself... but she was outside already.

'Across the street from the Hitachiomiya Palace, huh? No time like the present I guess.' The girl stood up and began walking. All the while she was a ball of endless nerves. She pulled her hood up over her head, having her face disappear underneath a large pair of sunglasses. She also zipped it hiding her school uniform. She was still a very recognizable person, but no need to have any one stop and question her before she did what she was looking for. After a while, she'd find herself, walking upon a reasonably large house across the street from the previously mentioned location. Immediately after she had a bit of a neurotic moment, 'Oh god. This is it! What do I do?!' she thought as she approached the door.

[Bloodedge]

Minutes after hanging up the phone, there was a knock on Yugi's door. He could feel the beat of his own heart as slow, agonizing steps took him closer and closer until... he opened it. There, standing right before him, was an overweight male not much older than Yugi himself. The pudge of the other young man's face shook as he breathed heavily, and that simple movement only served the purpose of accentuating his acne. He was dressed normally as well; was this some new member of the Puzzle Club? No. Nearly an hour beforehand, Yugi had ordered a pizza to be delivered for tonight's extensive gaming session. It just so happened to be the case that this pizza place didn't have a uniform policy, and the pizza was initially out of Yugi's field of vision. "Pizza delivery, dude," spoke the young man who seemed to have walked down the street with Yugi's order. "Sorry for the wait. My car's busted, so I had to walk the rest of the way here," he explained.

"... Right. No bother dude, here," said Yugi, who offered this man a few additional yen for the trouble and dedication. The two exchanged nods before Yugi shut himself inside once more, and the delivery person turned away to walk back to his job. Of course, just as the door closed, this person saw a feminine figure walking toward the house he was leaving. There wasn't a known identity behind those layers, but the shape and general features were there for the world to see regardless. A lecherous grin passed the male's face─ he simply couldn't hide it as his path inadvertently took him closer to where Kimiko stood. He could get away with being a little devious off the clock, right? "Oi, oi~"

[Apollymi]

As Kimiko approached the house, there was someone in her path and it wasn't at all who she was expecting. 'Worker? House person... no... no one would let someone be in their house like that,' she frowned deeply. 'Oh god no!' She was horrified, mortified and absolutely frightened. 'Don't tell me I jinxed myself. Maybe if I don't move too much he won't see me... and I can turn around and disappear into the daylight like a flash of light?' she thought quickly. 'No that's stupid. Stupid, Kimi... Now would be a great time to have invisibility.' Her thoughts raced. She was covered from head to toe. Maybe this guy would pass her by and she wouldn't have to deal with it. Her face was covered maybe just once she could get away with not having to deal with some grossly disgusting dude.

Of course not. This man spoke directly to her. It had to be to her too, because she was the only person standing here. She couldn't keep the disgust from her voice as she replied and aimed to keep walking, 'EWWWWW...' she wanted to scream, but her voice came off as her more usual disconnected one. "Sorry, I don't know you," she said as she aimed to keep moving forward eyes hidden behind those large sunglasses. At times like these she missed her bodyguard. Actually she hadn't seen him at all since she arrived back. She'd seen the lecherous grin, how did people even let themselves look that gross and delude themselves into thinking they would get anywhere. Worst case scenario, this was the man she was looking for and she'd go home and collapse in on herself like a black hole. Her saying she didn't know him would hurt his feelings and he'd never talk to her again. He'd call her a stuck up bitch and she could simply move on with her life. Go back to stealing other rich people's money. No fun, no enthusiasm... none of their adventures. Best case scenario, this strange man was completely unrelated to what she was going to do, she'd get to walk past him and pretend like this never happened and try her best not to inhale too close to him.

[Bloodedge]

She didn't know him? Of course she didn't, but that was not an important fact in this scenario. She could get to know him, as he intended to know her. From the looks of things, the obviously wealthy male he'd so recently delivered pizza to was expecting this girl. Her face was hidden as if she wanted to avoid all recognition, which told him one crucial thing. She was hiding... from her boyfriend! Yes, of course! The mythical 'booty call' was happening here and now, and this whore of a woman would certainly be up for another man to cheat on her boyfriend with. Oh, he was so, so clever!

"No need to be like that! I know why you're here," said the repulsive male as he turned on his heel, following closely behind the girl who passed him so casually. His hand even reached out to get a nice feel, a very thorough rubbing even, of her rather scrumptious-looking posterior. This man was salivating, and it was strangely audible to anyone nearby as he slurped his own saliva. "C'mon, princess. Let's see something, at least. I'll make it worth your while before you even go in that old house!"

[Apollymi]

Gross. Everything about the man she passed was absolutely gross. When he continued talking she knew for certain he wasn't the lad she was looking for, which gave her an extreme amount of comfort. No one could be hiding anything so grotesque for that long. As relieved as that thought made her, this man's speech also disgusted her, she could hear him slurping in his mouth. "Eww!" was the only reaction she could give. "There is nothing you can give me and nothing I want from you. Get the hell away from me." That was about as polite as Kimiko could be as she made her way towards the door. Everything she'd learned about her own defense said running triggered these types of people so she remained calm. 'This is what bodyguards are actually for, huh? I've never actually encountered someone stupid enough to approach me in public before. I feel like I owe Hoshimi an apology, maybe if he ever shows up again. I'll do that and stop ditching him to shop,' the girl thought as she reached towards the doorbell.

Strangely though if this man got too close to her, he'd find himself unable to interact with her directly and then blown back violently by the shockwave which would happen when that time was restored. The back of Kimiko was aligned with a strange power one which she didn't yet completely understand but one which could protect her from such ill-advised advances. Whatever the case her finger met the doorbell and she listened for the coming sounds.

[Bloodedge]

Sadly, the doorbell of this building had long since been disabled. Kimiko's finger pressed into it, but nothing came of the action. There was one saving grace, though, but all positives came with negatives. Try as she might, Kimiko could not properly shun the portly male who desired her attention in a less-than savory manner. He could see himself committing all sorts of vile acts that would make one's mother blush, and he intended to see them to fruition. Since she hadn't acted violently against his touch, he'd hazard another. What a shame it was when suddenly, some unexplained pulse of a foreign energy sent him careening into one of two fountains beside the walkway.

And then, there was the positive side of that repulsive approach. The doorbell didn't work, but the sudden tremble and following splash in the fountain were hard to miss. One could only assume the delivery guy had a bit of a mishap on his way out. How annoying. In a matter of moments, the front door swung open. Inside was Yugi, sporting his grey cargo pants and red vest, albeit this time with a black A-top shirt underneath. "Dude, what the─" he called out, only to cease everything the moment he saw the girl standing on the other side of the door. That wasn't the pizza guy at all, though he was still very much on the property. This face, though, was quite unmistakable; it belonged to Ashikaga Kimiko. So then, it was her who solve the puzzle after all. He figured she would have the easiest time doing such a thing, but he hadn't been around to discover whether she'd even made it to the puzzle club thus far. Apparently... she had. "... Oh," he said, his eyes wide with shock. To say the least, this wasn't at all how he expected this meeting to happen.

[Apollymi]

"In my defense, I did tell him to get the hell away from me," Kimiko said after looking up at this lad. He really was quite familiar and she realized in this moment why his face was strangely one she knew. "You're in my home room," she said with a small smirk. "Let me in, Yugi~" the raven haired lass said. She'd really lucked out here, him not being a fat ugly bastard and not being an exceedingly good looking snobby type. He did have the general dress appeal of a hoodlum but that was hardly worth worrying about, he had a reasonable face, a bit like his Avatars though it was like those were made to make him... pretty. That wasn't at base how she'd describe him, but pretty men were a bit strange outside of anime so, this was also fine. There was visible relief in her soul in this moment and she was happy her instincts hadn't let her down, and glad her life in the new world hadn't let her fall for someone completely fake. Beyond all of that though, she had no real desire to explain that she'd almost been the victim of a strange hentai plot, nor that she well and truly missed her bodyguard right about now. Strangely enough, she was quite pleased with that random use of power... and felt more relaxed with that guy slammed into a fountain. Now if she could get out of the watchful eyes of the public she could have a good day reuniting with this young man.