Reverse Tarot - central

Christmas was always a bittersweet time for her. The holiday itself was actually quite calming, and she could appreciate the peace and serenity of watching the world moving around her. Still, with a lack of people to spend it with, the loneliness that permeated her being was only amplified when faced with a time embodying togetherness. She tried not to let it get to her, but it was difficult at times. No partner, no close friends, she couldn't even visit her parents anymore. As much as she pretended she was happy, it was hard to keep up the facade with no one around to see it. The woman sat on the second floor of the quaint little diner in Shibuya's Central Street, nursing a hot tea and listlessly gazing out of the window. It was nice to watch everyone flit too and fro in the gentle snowfall. Couples dotted the street, treating each other to sweets or last minute gifts. 'Twas the season after all. She sighed, resting her chin in one hand. She knew the dangers of seeking company in strangers of course, even more so on such short notice, and especially in her current predicament. Still, what she wouldn't give for someone to talk to right now.

Hey, that woman had been alone for a while, wasn’t she…? Not that Yuuki had been staring, or anything! Though, it was pretty hard to ignore the dramatically sighing hottie in the corner, acting like she was in some chick flick, or something. Was she waiting on a date? If she had, they must’ve either been laughably late or standing her up. Either way, she was looking for some sort of Prince Charming, right? Then he’d absolutely be able to play the part! That meant getting the confidence to actually approach her, though… It’d been so long since he’d seriously talked to a girl outside of work, but, hey, couldn’t hurt to try, right? Really, it could hurt a hell of a lot, but he tried not to let that anxious part of his mind win out. Shutting his laptop and slipping it into his bag, he’d taken a couple moments to mentally hype himself up. He could do this! He just needed to get up and talk to her! That was easy! He’d killed Gods (in MMOs and RPGs) before! He could totally talk to a girl! That sort of motivation was what led him to finally stand up and approach the pretty girl at the nearby seat, trying to not think of a single thing as he stopped his stride and let the first thing that his mind came up with fumble out of his mouth.

11:24 PM

“Hey, mind if I join you?” Simple enough, right? Wait… No, that totally wasn’t simple! Approaching a girl like that was asking for trouble if she did have a boyfriend! “Uh, not that I’m— Implying anything! You just look sorta lonely, so I thought… You know, you could use some company, or… Something…” His cheeks flushed in embarrassment, eyes flickering away from the woman. Dammit, Yuuki, now you’re just making yourself look like a freak…! Ugh, and it’d totally get worse if he just stood there, being all flustered like that. There really was no winning, was there…? All he could do was fumble the first thing out of his mouth to break the awkward silence before she instantly turned him down. “I’m Mishima Yuuki.” Eye contact and a smile—That’d be good, yeah? He wasn’t exactly used to talking to girls like this, but it was a start, right? …Right? Why was he getting so worked up over this? She was just a girl. Come on, Yuuki, you can totally do better than this! He just had to work to show her that he was a complete gentleman! Impress her like the company bigwigs! That’d work! Hopefully! “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.” Calm and collected, of course, ignoring the persevering redness in his cheeks and the nervous way he fiddled with the zipper of his laptop bag. Yeah, that sounded about right. They always said that in manga and anime, at least! It was the first step to having a girl falling all over you! Not that he knew what to do in terms of getting said girl, but he sure had the stupid confidence to hype himself up about it.

She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, initially not thinking much of it. Probably just someone on their way out. The voice caused her to pause in her thoughts a moment though, as she initially felt certain it couldn't possibly be directed at her. But then, why else would it be right beside her? She turned to face the voice, gazing upon the boy in question. My, he was quite bold wasn't he? He seemed a tad bit younger than she would have normally expected to approach, but there was no accounting for taste, now was there? "I don't tend to stop by frequently, but I enjoy the tea here. It's great on a day such as this." She spoke with a soft voice and a softer smile. She gestured to the seat across from her before she continued. "I don't mind at all. I'm not waiting on anyone." It was a public enough place, she wasn't worried about anything happening. "Hasegawa Saori. It's nice to meet you Mishima-kun." Pleasantries were the name of her game. At the same time though, she didn't want to come off too casually, lest he get the wrong impression. She had merely agreed to the arrangement to make conversation for a while. Hopefully he wouldn't try to push his luck, but at the very least he seemed pleasant enough off the bat, if not perhaps a little clumsy with his words. It was cute in a way. Perhaps if she wasn't squarely batting for the other team, she may not mind a few advances.

Woah, she really said yeah…? Well, of course she did! Who could resist his charm? “It’s nice to meet you too, Hasegawa.” Proper introduction, good response. Everything seemed to be going just as planned! Hell, she even offered him to sit down. Extra epic win! “So, you came here alone? It sure sucks you don't have a partner.” …Didn't take him long to figure out the mistake in that statement. “N-Not that I'm trying to flirt, or anything!” Nice save, Yuuki… Right when his face had begun to cool, the red had rushed back in a monumental wave, nearing the shade of cherry. “It just seems like a shame to be stuck here all alone on Christmas Eve, you know? Well, actually, I guess I'm not one to talk…” The nervous laugh that escaped him was entirely impulsive, hand darting to the back of his neck as his eyes sheepishly darted away. Dammit, he was already fumbling the bag, wasn't he? Prime opportunity he was going to end up screwing up if he didn't get his act in check! “You seem like the scholarly type.” Maybe a librarian, from the way she dressed. It wasn't really flattering, but, hey, she still seemed like she had a great body under it all. Though, he wouldn't say that he thought she was a librarian to her face—That was an old lady's job! She was way too hot for that. “Let me guess… You're a professor, aren't you?” Small talk wasn't his strong suit, not by a long shot, but if he got this woman's attention, might as well as try to keep her as long as he could, right? Maybe if he was lucky enough and she was desperate enough on the most romantic day of the year, maybe he'd even get to bring her home!

She did let slip a small chuckle at the display. Wow, he certainly was making it a point to assert that he wasn't flirting, huh? She supposed that was for the best, better that he didn't try to get his hopes up. Though knowing how men often were, the statement may have just been intended to not come off too strongly. Intent was always a difficult thing to gauge, but Saori felt confident she could guess his. Well, if he asked, then she would simply be honest with him. Hopefully that would be enough. "It isn't all bad. It's quite relaxing to look out the window and watch everyone hurry around beneath the falling snow. At least to me." Maybe it would strike others as strange, but people-watching could be a very calming pastime, like bird-watching. Which was another thing she had admittedly taken up over the years. "My, you have quite the intuition! I'm not quite a professor, but you're close. I teach elementary school. What gave it away?" This was in part a joke, she could surmise it was something about the way she dressed, or in the general air she exuded.

People watching…? Guess he wasn’t too into that, at least not in real life. Easy things to track, like polls and internet traffic keywords were pretty simple, but actual human behavior was way harder… Though, maybe that was just him. But, hey, he at least was observant enough to… Generally get her job! Not that he really expected an elementary school teacher… Guess she did have some motherly energy to her, now that he thought about it, but it still felt pretty odd. He was just glad he didn’t go with his librarian guess outloud.. “I guess it’s just your vibe.” That was pretty vague, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t he have tried to go into a little more detail…? “It just kind of reminded me of one of my high school Japanese teachers.” Uh… Was that offensive…? She seemed older, but maybe being compared to a high school teacher wasn’t the best reference to make… Oh, God, he was already screwing this up, wasn’t he…? “Not in a bad way, just… I don’t know, kind of familiar, is all.” Nice save…! Well, at least he hoped it was. The last thing he wanted to do was offend or upset her, especially when he was the one to approach her. At least she didn’t seem like the type to take things to heart, but he still had to be careful with his words. Not that socializing in-person was exactly one of his greatest skills, especially lately, where it felt like more often than not he’d been stuck at a computer screen writing, testing, and revising endless code… Still, he might as well try, yeah? Moving away from the talk of teachers and the like might have been best, really… Not that he even knew how to start much of a conversation with her. He hadn’t been near an elementary school since he attended as a student, and could already tell she wouldn’t be interested in all of his technology talk without even bringing it up… But, maybe there was something else they could talk on?

8:30 PM

“You got a lot on your mind, don’t you?” That’s at least what he got from the way she’d been staring out the window. Looked pretty listless, like some drama protagonist. Really, it looked like it’d been a shot taken straight out of a movie… Maybe he should have asked to film her, but, no, that sounded way too creepy as he actually thought on it. Oh, well. Wasn’t like he was getting his film dreams achieved anytime soon... “Do you want to talk about it? I’m not exactly the best at giving advice, but I can at least listen pretty well.” It was the least he could do to provide her help. Sure, they just met, but it wasn’t like either of them had much to do on Christmas Eve, and she looked like she could use someone to talk to! It was a win-win!

"Oh really? I suppose us teachers all share the same charm." She allowed herself a small chuckle, her face settling into a warm smile once it was done. "Teaching high school is actually my ideal position, but we all have to start somewhere." And heaven knew that there was a need for passionate teachers. It was part of the reason it was so difficult to move from her current job. They needed her there as much as any other school. She sipped at her tea a bit, feeling the liquid warm up her core a bit. It wasn't particularly drafty in here, but the cold still wormed it's way in through the windows. It was nice to stay on top of it. It was also a good opportunity to give herself a chance to think about how to respond to his next question. There certainly was a lot on her mind, but it wasn't anything she could share easily. Even if she could, he wouldn't be able to help her. No, only a miracle could save her now. "I appreciate the concern, really, but I'm afraid it's nothing more than the season. I'm sure my being here has made it pretty obvious that I don't really have anyone to spend the holiday with. Not much to be done about that. I promise I'll be alright." A meek smile now. Saori was pretty good at pretending she was fine, but that didn't stop her face from betraying her at times. Even so, perhaps it wouldn't be out of the ordinary considering what she'd just said. Honestly, who would smile genuinely after that admission?

A cringe escaped onto his face at the other’s comment. Man, saying she looked like a teacher right away probably was pretty rude, wasn’t it? It was probably best to distract from that as soon as he possibly could… And, she did it herself! That was great! He’d definitely take it, although it still had made him a little confused… “Highschool, huh…?” Who would want to work at one of those places? I mean, sure, maybe he didn’t have the best experience to compare most high schools to, but still, teaching little kids sounded a lot better than teens stuck on their cellphones… Like him. But, hey, if that’s really what she wanted to do, then… “I hope you make it.” With those words, he’d given a brief smile, before the tone had shifted to the talk of all of the stuff that seemed to be on her mind. Talking about the season… Well, he guessed it was the day of love and passion, or whatever, but she seemed a lot more bothered about it than most. “Oh, uh…” His eyes caught on her face, as if having to do a second take to really believe what she was saying… Not that he really had to. It was written all across her face. “Are you sure? Because you don’t look alright…”

5:38 PM

…There were many ways that those words could be taken, and some ways that he hadn’t even realized until after those words had exited his mouth. Very bad ways that those could be taken, that made his face flush red in embarrassment once again. “U-Uh, I mean…!” Another fumble, and another correction he quickly had to try and land to not make a complete ass of himself. “It’s just—! Your, um, smile doesn’t really reach your eyes, is all. That kind of not alright.” …Man, maybe he shouldn't have ever been allowed to speak to a woman again. If Kurusu or anyone else heard him, they’d totally be making fun of him right now. Not that he could help it! There weren’t exactly a lot of girls in his major or at work… And he wasn’t exactly great at putting himself out there. Sure, he thought about a dating app a couple times, but he wasn’t that desperate…! At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself. Maybe he couldn’t really claim that anymore, now that he had been out working in a coffee shop on Christmas Eve, trying to chat up some girl… And, who knew if she was even into him? It probably would have been better for his poor little maidenless heart if he didn’t even bother asking, but, hey, it would have least saved him the trouble of embarrassing himself even more in front of this lady… “Is there anyone you wanna be with?” He couldn’t help the way he’d begun to fiddle with the strap of his computer bag, mentally berating himself for being so upfront. That wouldn’t show on the surface, though, leaning in a little bit with a childish curiosity written across his face. “You know, a certain person, or at least sort of a type? You seem like you could get just about anyone you wanted. N-Not in a weird way. Just, y’know… You seem nice.” If she said him, or someone like him, then score! If she didn’t… Well, at least he wasn’t getting his hopes up?

Yes, she knew she didn't seem okay. Not that she was particularly interested in discussing why. No sense burdening a stranger with all of that. It would probably just make her seem crazy if she told him the whole story honestly. Even removing that from the equation, there was no easy way to talk about what was on her mind. So long had passed, and it seemed like only recently had all of her emotions surrounding it resurfaced. There was a good reason for that, but not something she was liable to disclose. How to go about answering his question though? She could feel his intention pretty clearly at this point, or if not his primary intention, it was at least something he hoped for. There was a delicate way to handle things without saying too much, she just had to find the right words. "Thank you, that's awfully kind, though I feel like I'm simply past that point in my life by now. It's been so long since I've put myself out there that I fear I wouldn't know how to approach it. I never did have much luck in that field anyway." A half-hearted chuckle slipped out of her lips. Not much luck was perhaps a gross understatement, so much so that it somehow struck her as funny. "You seem nice as well though. I take it we're in a similar situation. Married to your work, right?" Perhaps trying to deflect away from herself would help. As it stood, she was struggling to keep the conversation pleasant. Her expression and tone were failing, and that's not what she wanted.

[ Thread End! ]