A Bit of Shopping (Sakuya)

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya listened intently to Setsuna's response, and she could really feel that she could somehow relate to the girl she was speaking to. Setsuna's answer definitely revealed that she had some dark past as well. Sakuya, too, had her own dark past. A chime could be heard as another patron of the cafe entered; it was a reasonably dapper man, he was alone though, it appeared he was just dropping by most likely to have a cup of coffee or something of the sort. Completely innocent, yet Sakuya could not help but seethe at the presence of Men and their chauvinistic tendencies, silently and quietly glaring at the man who had walked in... Said man was a complete stranger to Sakuya, yet the latter could not restrain her evident animosity. Men had done terrible things to Sakuya when she was young, brutally beaten and sexually abused, all solicited by her terrible mother, it was truly traumatizing, and Sakuya could feel that Setsuna had most likely gone through a similar experience if it wasn't the same thing. But, eventually, Sakuya had snapped out of it and rapped against the table softly, her smile wavering uncontrollably. "ah, well, would you like to order now?" Sakuya tilted her head. "because i'm sure the both of us must be quite hungry!"

[Setsuna Hanamori]

She watched with a combination of curiosity and worry when Sakuya showed such disdain for the seemingly random man who entered the cafe. She couldn't help but wonder if she somehow knew the man, and perhaps he didn't notice her. Or was she like this with all men? Either way, she chose not to pry...at least, not this time. The last thing she wanted to do was to make things even more awkward than they already were. She was enjoying herself, and she was afraid of ruining the mood by prying into something that might be a personal issue. So, for now, she decided to hold off.

When she heard Sakuya bring up getting some food, she blinked "Oh yeah..." She had forgotten about coming here to get some food, and quickly began glancing through the menu before finally deciding on something. "Yeah...I am rather hungry...ooh, a grilled chicken sandwich sounds pretty good. I think I might go with that." She nodded, smiling lightly. In spite of the somewhat awkward atmosphere, she was enjoying herself a lot...that didn't happen very often.

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya nodded firmly, maintaining a sort of smile, and casually called for someone to take the orders. A waiter was approaching but Sakuya had suddenly a piercing murderous glare, which caused a waitress to come over instead, which instantly sedated Sakuya. The waitress was in uniform, a seemingly baroque but fashionably old outfit, a modest dress skirt accompanied with blouse and vest, in shades of white and brown which seemed to add to the atmosphere of the cafe all that much more. The waitress herself held a small pad with a pen, and patiently awaited the order. Sakuya eyed the thing that Setsuna wanted, and smiled, ready to place the order. "ah, excuse me, i'd like to order one... of this grilled chicken sandwich and... one of this... angelhair pasta, yes, yes..." Sakuya nodded as the waitress quickly wrote down the order.

"Would you like some drinks with that?" she asked. Sakuya looked at Setsuna for a moment and shrugged. "um, water for now, but we might order later." Sakuya smiled. The waitress smiled back and nodded. "Okay miss." she said before pitter-pattering off to bring the order to get it prepared and everything.

"so... um, Setsuna-san... this is on me, okay?"

[Setsuna Hanamori]

And there it was again. Sakuya gave a random male a glare that could send chills down the spine of Satan himself. At this point, Setsuna was fairly certain that Sakuya, for whatever reason, seemed to have something against men as a whole. Not that she had any clue what it could possibly be, but it was rather obvious that something was bothering her. Once again, she chose not to pry, in fear of saying something that might end up ruining the mood. Instead, she chose to pretend she didn't notice and wait for a better opportunity to bring it up.

As Sakuya called the waitress over and ordered their food, she smiled lightly. The more she sat there, the more she found herself looking forward to seeing how good the food was. There was a brief silence, before Sakuya had spoken up about taking the bill for herself. It took Setsuna a moment for it to sink in "...eh?" Finally, however, it hit her, and her eyes widened "W-wait! Seriously? I mean...are...are you sure you're okay with that?" It caught her completely off guard. After all, she was perfectly ready and willing to pay for her own food, and it wasn't often that anyone was willing to go out of their way for her like this. As such, she wasn't quite sure what to think. "...er...I-I guess...if you insist. Th-thank you..." Once again, her face was beet red.

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya tilted her head and listened intently. Indeed, there was a sudden influx of silence; and though they say silence was golden, it was kind of uncalled for and quite abrupt. Fortunately, Setsuna had decided to ask another question. It was quite the sensitive topic to bring up so brazenly, but fortunately the place was empty enough that no one would really be able to hear if Setsuna maintained her relatively soft voice and Sakuya also spoke softly in response. "fighting shadows... demons..." she mused aloud, though her voice matched Setsuna's volume. "it's not easy... it can be taxing at times, and if you make a mistake, it could cost you... but, we try not to fight alone. well, mostly us. i've been working alone for the most part... i don't work well with the rest of the group... i mean, you can probably tell, but i don't like guys very much."

That was a huge understatement. She hated their guts. She would never forgive them for what they did to her, all those years ago. She was still just a mere child, yet forced to experience all that... Sakuya was broken by it, it caused her to shift her resolve... Sakuya laughed softly, but it seemed quite forced.

"ah, yes, i'm sure! i'll pay for it all!" Sakuya smiled upon that remark.


Eventually, the food arrived sometime during their conversation. Sakuya's angelhair pasta was served in a rather deep bowl, the sauce was quite the helping of carbonara sauce, accompanied with bacon bits and herbs. It looked quite delicious for something so simple. Setsuna's sandwich had arrived too, it appeared to have been toasted to quite a heavenly standard, the meat itself looked scrumptious too, accompanied by some fresh vegetables as well.

"Enjoy!" the waitress said as she walked off to attend to other needs after delivering the food.

[Setsuna Hanamori]

Setsuna nodded quietly as Sakuya responded to her question "...I see. Sorry to bring it up like that...it's just...the thought of fighting them scares me a little..." She let out a sigh, and spoke up in her more natural voice. But enough about that. We can talk that later, right?" So she was right. Sakuya really didn't like men as a while. Setsuna couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her to make her feel this way, but it was already fairly obvious that the subject made Sakuya uncomfortable, so she chose not to say anything else for the time being.

As their food finally arrived, she smiled brightly. Taking a look at both hers and Sakuya's food, she gave a slight nod of approval. At the very least, it looked really good. Then came the moment of truth. Lifting her sandwich from the plate, she took a bite...and the look on her face said it all. It was a look of complete and utter bliss. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and seemed to have been marinated in some sort of liquid before it was grilled. It gave it a subtle, yet very effective flavor that went well with the meat. Toasting the bread was also a nice touch. "Okay...this is really good. Yours looks pretty good, too."

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

"...I see. Sorry to bring it up like that...it's just...the thought of fighting them scares me a little..." Setsuna let out a sigh, and spoke up in her more natural voice. "But enough about that. We can talk that later, right?" Sakuya nodded and her smile wavered slightly. "yes... we can talk about that later." Sakuya fidgeted about and took her fork and twirled some of the pasta around it. She saw the expression on Setsuna's face as she took a bite of her sandwich, and Sakuya softly giggled to see that she was enjoying the food. Perhaps this place wasn't so bad after all. Sakuya took a taste of her own food now, and smiled. It tasted quite wonderful; she hadn't had cream-based pasta of this calibre in a long time. It's a surprise that this place wasn't more packed in the morning hours. "this is really good!" Sakuya exclaimed as she smiled, an expression that was genuinely warm and sweet. Sakuya's cylindrical case had been laid by the window, and she kept it from falling as it was just about to fall then. "whoops, sorry about that." Sakuya mentioned, but she wondered if Setsuna wanted a drink. "hey, you want anything to drink?"

[Setsuna Hanamori]

Setsuna continued to eat her sandwich, occasionally taking a bite out of the pile of fresh veggies. They weren't her favorite, but at least they didn't seem to be cooked. That was good enough for her. Overall, she was greatly enjoying her meal. She glanced over to a waitress as she passed by, who had a sandwich similar to hers on a plate she was carrying. There was one major difference, though, and once Setsuna caught a whiff of an unmistakeable smell, her heart practically sank. "...no way, they have a fish sandwich too? I didn't even notice it on the menu...now I really have to come back here some day."

Still, in spite of missing out on her favorite food, she was greatly enjoying the meal she had right now. As Sakuya asked her whether or not she wanted something to drink, she shook her head "Not this time...I have plenty of soda at home, so I'll just wait until I head back. Thanks, though." She still felt a little awkward about Sakuya paying for her food, especially when they had only just met, but she was at a point where she couldn't really complain about it. Especially since it left her with that much more money to spend on any last minute stops she'd make before going home. Either way, she was having quite a bit more fun than she had expected.

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya tilted her head. "ah, you like fish? i will keep that in mind." she stated quite firmly, nodding to herself as she continued to hack away at her pasta slowly, wanting to savor the flavor, and noted that Setsuna did not really want any drinks in particular. Fortunately, in this frame of time, glasses of ice water had been served for the two as they had not ordered drinks in any recent time. Sakuya had thanked the waitress who served the water softly, and realized that she had almost finished her pasta despite thinking she was eating it quite slowly. Perhaps she was a bit too excited, that might have been a possibility. Even so, Sakuya was very happy to see Setsuna enjoying the meal, it was a very good choice to have come here. She was glad to have chosen this place in the end. "by the way... um... Setsuna-san..." Sakuya fidgeted about slightly before taking a deep breath. "how do you feel about joining SEES?" she asked. She was genuinely curious about the latter's reason for getting herself involved; simply acquiring such a power or being borne with it did not necessarily mean they would be joining this group gathered for vanquishing creatures of evil.

That and Sakuya wanted to get to know Setsuna better.

[Setsuna Hanamori]

Setsuna nodded, smiling lightly "Actually, I mostly just love meat in general...especially when its grilled. But fish is my favorite." She took another bite of her sandwich and looked down to see that it was almost gone already...she hadn't really been paying attention. It made her a little sad, though, to almost be finished with such a delicious food. If it weren't for the fact that someone else was paying, she'd almost be tempted to get another...or, at the very least, order one with fish instead of chicken. At this point, either way would have worked for her.

When Sakuya asked her about joining SEES, she let out a quiet sigh. She never really thought about it all that much. "...well...like I said a moment ago...I'm a little nervous and scared. The idea of having to face those things again is kind of scary. But...at the same time, I'm excited. I think a large part of it is simply because it allows me to be of use to someone. Among other things, I can't stand feeling useless...or unneeded. Which is why I want to help out as much as I possibly can. Of course, at the time, I basically signed on without thinking about it...but I'm starting to think that I might not regret it...at least, I'm hoping I don't."

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya admired the seeming honesty at which Setsuna answered the question. All Sakuya could see Setsuna as was a potential companion, someone she could be a good friend to, and she wanted to make sure that Setsuna did not regret at all her joining of SEES; considering that she had not really THOUGHT about her reasons for joining. The fact that she admitted it, though, made it all the more endearing for Sakuya to hear, and she smiled warmly in response, nodding as she took a sip of ice cold water. "i see, Setsuna-san. yes... i know how it feels like to want to be useful, to want to be needed too. so, i do hope that you feel at home working with us and... i hope that..." Sakuya sort of trailed off, blushing profusely at this realization that she wanted to get to know Setsuna even more, she wanted to be good friends, close friends... She could not help but have such these thoughts.

By this time, Sakuya had all but finished her pasta. She wiped her mouth carefully with the convenient napkin and sighed, though it wasn't one of sadness, it was more one of... longing. "Yes... I hope that... you really will not regret joining us" Sakuya nodded, though she lied off the skin of her teeth when she reaffirmed that; she wanted to say something entirely different, though it was not something malicious, indeed, she wanted to express more positive feelings.

[Setsuna Hanamori]

As Setsuna took the last couple bites of her sandwich she let out a content sigh and took a few drink of her water to wash it down. That was easily one of the better meals she'd had in quite a while, which was a pleasant surprise, to say the least. She was definitely telling her parents about this place. They were, understandably, a little awkward when it came to Akihabara, but, hopefully, she'd be able to convince them to give this cafe a try. Hopefully.

As Sakuya spoke, she nodded quietly, also blushing quite a bit. As much as she would end up regretting it, she was already finding herself feeling attached to the slightly older woman...and that was the last thing she wanted right now. It wasn't that she didn't like Sakuya, but, given her past experiences when it came to relationships, it would be hard to blame her for being even slightly afraid of the thought of falling for another person...let alone another girl. And she was more than just 'slightly' afraid. She was terrified. And yet, she couldn't stand being alone. The internal conflict was quite frustrating. But, for now, she could at least try to hide it. When Sakuya was finally able to get her thoughts out, she nodded quietly "...y-yeah...me too..." And then came a somewhat awkward silence.

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

The awkward silence between the two girls appeared to resonate, though it was just exactly between the two of them, and nobody else. It lingered uncomfortably, as Sakuya's mind ran about furiously to grasp for words, to look for things to say, to think of SOMETHING worthwhile to talk about. At last, Sakuya had noticed that Setsuna had finished her meal, and expressed some good deal of content upon consuming the scrumptious sandwich. Soon, Sakuya cleared her throat and called for the bill, so that she could pay for the meal and all that business-related stuff. She looked towards Setsuna and tilted her head.

"ah... Setsuna-san, what do you plan to do after this?" Sakuya asked as politely as she could. "like, i don't mind accompanying you if you have to go somewhere, or if you're going home already, i could go with you too..." she continued, smiling warmly and most genuinely. Sakuya, for some reason, felt something in her heart go off... She couldn't tell if it was some form of attraction or if it was her knightly instinct going off like crazy, but... all Sakuya knew was that she had to watch over this fellow girl and protect her.

She knew that much.

[Setsuna Hanamori]

When Sakuya finally broke the silence, Setsuna blinked. Having somewhat lost track of the time, she took a look at her watch to see how late it had gotten...about ten minutes 'til 2:30. "Actually...I was planning to hit one more game store then heading home...but...if you don't mind tagging along, then...yeah. I don't mind if come with me." It wasn't as though she didn't hang out with female friends...so this should be fine. Right? Honestly, Setsuna was getting a little worried that she might be falling for Sakuya. But at this point, there was little she could do, and she didn't want to be rude and refuse her.

At the very least, she was able to hide it for the most part. It wouldn't be until her feelings became really serious that she'd start having trouble. Either way, she managed to push all of this into the back of her mind for now, and focus one what was to be dome. Taking a few more drinks of her ice water, she nodded. Sufficiently sated, she looked to Sakuya "Anyways, I'm ready when you are."

[Kyoudou Sakuya]

Sakuya tilted her head, but let out a soft chuckle and stood up slowly, moving her chair and then making her way to Setsuna, and then extending her hand out towards her. Setsuna had mentioned that she was going to go to a game store. Sakuya personally did not really like playing video games and the like all that much - she did have a computer back at home which she took from the Aoyama Kyoudou residence. However, she really didn't mind it all - it was an opportunity to socialize, and it was an opportunity to perhaps get a little closer to Setsuna. After all, she seemed like a genuinely warm and good person to be around, and Sakuya had, as part of SEES, wanted to give a good impression. Or was this all just a lazy rationale for an attraction, for something more than just friendship? Amidst all this deep thought, Sakuya had been absent-mindedly stretching her hand out towards Setsuna politely, much like a knight would to his princess liege. Or something of the sort. She was not sure if Setsuna would even accept it, but it was good to be polite.