Strike 2 [video]

[acebrotective]

[Who's glad that the curse is over with? This guy right here. It's much easier to do damage control on something intangible like fear after the fact than to try and defend people from it and, honestly, it made him feel totally useless.]

Yo, Vatheon's been pullin' some nasty tricks. First yours truly here slept through a friend's birthday, then this whole...shit [that's about all he can say to describe it] with the...fairies? Had to happen too. Now I'm just noticin' a good chunk of pals from my world are gone! I'm sick of this, man, who wants to go hit up the arcade? Or get some comics? Maybe hit a few balls in the park, seriously, somethin' needs to happen besides all this doom and gloom over here.

[There's a pause as he looks for a way to filter the broadcast before becoming too impatient to do so and sighs.]

Hey, Yukari, happy birthday. Left you somethin' in your room, didn't wrap it though, sorry.

[And it's kind of weird, too. Hey, giving girls bunnies is Akihiko's thing in another universe.

Either way he switches off the feed.]

Comments

video;

[acebrotective]

Maka?

[That's a weird name. Is it Japanese or what? He just doesn't know.]

Maaaakaaaaaaa.

[He's testing it out a little. Yep. Still sounds silly.]

Spelled M-A-K-A? Dude. Anyone ever tell him that his name sounds like "kama" switched around?

Weird.

[Blunt as always.]

Where you wanna meet up, bro?

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[keepsthefire]

[Stare. Twitch.]

Maka is my girlfriend, dude. And yeah I know it does I ain't ever said anythin' to her 'bout it...

Plaza is as good a place as any, yeah?

video;

[acebrotective]

Huh. Who knew, even being half demon ain't a turnoff for some chicks.

Anyways, that sounds good. I can be there in about five if there's no objections.

video;

[keepsthefire]

... y-yeah well... she's... not like other girls.

[And he means that in the best way possible.

And in the "she's kind of an exorcist in her own right" way.]

Nope. I'll see you there.

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[acebrotective]

[Oddly, he does not have a snappy response for that. It's not cool to make fun of a bro's girl (and he was already pushing it with thinking she's a guy) and...well, "not like other girls."

Neither was she.

Yep, it still hurts.

Junpei recovers from this stretch of silence fast, though, with a clearing of his throat.]

Yeah, I'll see you in a bit, dude.

[Click!]

video; -> action?

[keepsthefire]

Yup.

[Rin hangs up, and after getting a change of clothes on, he lets Maka know that he's going out for a while and will be back later.

And then it's out the door to the plaza.]

action!!!!

[acebrotective]

[Okay it actually look less than five minutes to get there, living in the dorms and all rather than proper housing. But he will still wait, contemplating how it is that arcades that don't take money can even be a thing that exists and the sundry other things he's forced to think of when he's alone.

Like how rusty his kanji's going to get from not practicing yet not caring enough to study and practice. Euuuugh.]

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[keepsthefire]

[At least he can write kanji...

Rin comes strolling up about ten minutes later, lifting a hand to wave to Junpei when he sees him.]

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[acebrotective]

[Being not as dumb as a dumbass isn't...very...reassuring.

Whatever, yay, he waves back.]

'Sup dude! Feels like I haven't seen you in...'bout a few minutes! How time flies.

[Hahaha it was a joke again.]

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[keepsthefire]

[They're both dumbasses in their own way.]

Ha. Funny.

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[acebrotective]

Wow dude, no need to go all tsundere on me.

[He's been talking about tsundere a lot lately. Oh well.]

I know my sense of humor is hard to take, but it's here to stay for sure.

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[keepsthefire]

Tch. I ain't tsundere, man. That shit's for girls anyway.

[Rin. Really?]

Well it ain't your humor that makes you cool.

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[acebrotective]

You're right, you ain't as cute as tsundere girls anyways. You're pretty cool, though.

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[keepsthefire]

Damn straight I'm cool!

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[acebrotective]

[Aww, he's just as deluded as he is, isn't that cute.]

At least you have more to do 'round here than me. All I've got is studying at the dorms, blech.

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[keepsthefire]

No job yet?

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[acebrotective]

A job?

[WHAT IS THIS STRANGE CONCEPT?]

Never had a job back at home. I ran errands for my old man before joining SEES and even after that we'd be training at night or studying.

[Or in his case, half-heartedly studying.]

I'm not really good at many stuff either, so I wouldn't even know where to start.

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[keepsthefire]

I couldn't hold down a job back home, and now I've been at one here for almost a year. It actually ain't that bad, if you can find somethin' you like.

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[acebrotective]

...Dude, you can actually cook. I'm dead serious when I tell ya, I'm not good at anything.

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[keepsthefire]

... come on, you gotta be good at somethin'. Maybe you just haven't found it yet?

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[acebrotective]

I can...play baseball, swing a sword, use a Persona...talk to cats, I guess. I'm not that bad at talking to people, though I end up pissing them off a lot so I think that's a lie.

...Yeah I think using a Persona's all I got, and I ain't even good at that.

[Except that's a lie, he's a total tank when using his Persona, but whoever heard of actually realizing your own talents??]

Whoa, man, this is getting way too serious for my tastes, let's talk about somethin' else, 'k?

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[keepsthefire]

... geez okay, just tryin' to help man...

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[acebrotective]

...Hahaha, whoa, dude, no need to pout! I'll be fine, I always figure myself out of a problem eventually. [And he gets a light punch on the arm just because.]

'Sides I'm sure Yuka-tan would have many suggestions if I asked her Lil Miss Perfectionist self.

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[keepsthefire]

Heh. Alright. Sorry. I just like to try and help my friends out, y'know?

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[acebrotective]

Yeah, I gotcha, but sometimes you just gotta take a step back and let your friends deal with it on their own, y'know?

[Eerie moment of wisdom aside...]

So where exactly do you work, anyway?