om_main | Shinobi and Noriko

NOROBI LIVES! ...that's all I got, seriously.

Noriko really wasn't surprised by the kind of building Shinobi had given her the address to. Or the fact that his apartment was clearly penthouse, since the receptionist, who had been expecting her, had had to give a turn of her key to the elevator before pressing the button for the top floor and letting her be on her way. No, really, she wasn't surprised.

Or at least... she should've expected it.

By the time the elevator doors opened to a narrow corridor stretching to either side, Noriko's discomfort at being in this sort of place had abated slightly, so that she no longer looked as if she expected to be jumped any second. Probably by a security guy insisting she had no right to be there. Rich people and their freaking security...

But the corridor was empty, and she rang the bell on the large door in front of her, taking it upon herself not to fidget. She was dressed in her usual tank top and baggy, ripped jeans, so between her clothes and her blue hair, she looked way out of place here.

In no time at all, Shinobi's face popped through the door, fairly beaming. "Noriko-san! Irasshai!" His vivid red dress shirt was untucked, and the top two buttons were undone, and he wore slippers beneath soft black trousers. "Opulently relaxed" might have been the best way to describe his current state. "Usually, Mr. Gladstone will escort people up for me, but I thought that might be a little too harrowing, all things considered. But! No need to stand on ceremony. Come in, come in! The front door usually isn't locked--that's why I have a receptionist downstairs, and all sorts of security roaming about, don't you know. Just walk right in whenever."

He threw open the door to admit her, and stood against the wall to let her past. "I'm simply dying to hear how things went, and what you think of my new place. It's rather grown on me, over this last little while, I must say, thought it still doesn't quite feel like home."

The deluge of words wasn't really helping Noriko relax, especially the sort of things it contained - whoever Mr Gladstone was, and that receptionist, and leaving the door open when you could have locked it was crazy, in the world she'd come to think of as her own. She stalked inside when he moved to let her in, shoving a bare hand back through her hair and walking over to the larger space that apparently contained the kitchen, the living and the dining room. Opulent was right, and not exactly a compliment, in her mind. That was a freaking chandelier, what the hell.

"It's not exactly my style," she settled on, somewhat wryly, as she turned back to Shinobi.

His mouth twisted mirthfully. "Well, I suppose I could add a few graffiti tags. Maybe a couple of old mattresses in the corner? Anything to make you feel more at home." He stepped past her and beckoned Noriko forward. "But I understand if it's too stuffy for you in here. Would you like to have a seat on the main balcony? It's a much simpler setting ... as long as you ignore the hot tub." Shinobi's fingers slipped into the crease of the sliding glass door and pulled it aside, revealing the table and chairs--and, yes, the hot tub--beyond.

Noriko was glaring at him as soon as he made that jibe about graffiti and old mattresses, defensiveness flaring inside her. They really weren't in a good enough place that he could make that kind of joke. Not about that, which he knew freaking nothing about. "Screw you, Shinobi," she told him, flatly, remaining on the spot in the middle of his insane apartment, hands in her pockets and shoulders slightly hunched.

Instantly, his expression turned apologetic. Leaving the door open behind him, he crossed back into the room to Noriko with his hands raised defensively. "Sumimasen, sumimasen," he said quickly. "I meant nothing, of course. I just wasn't thinking. It's been a very busy few weeks, and my mind, I admit, isn't quite as focused on the here and now as I would like it to be. I'm sorry. I mean," he waved a hand around vaguely. "it's just a place where I live. I want you to feel comfortable here, all the garish trappings notwithstanding. There's no reason you shouldn't. But I shouldn't have presumed to make jokes."

By the time he'd finished speaking, Noriko had relented - she even felt bad for overreacting, which didn't happen all that often, with her. "I'm sorry," she replied, bluntly as ever, and sighed out, annoyed at herself. "I just - I don't feel comfortable here. This kinda place..." She shrugged and trailed off, not sure how to finish, not without putting into words stuff she didn't particularly want to articulate.

"Honestly, I'm not entirely in love with it myself," Shinobi admitted. "I thought perhaps Paige might help make it more livable, but ... well, you know how it is, with the best-laid plans. In any event, this is all expected, and anything less would raise all sorts of eyebrows I'd prefer remain relaxed right now. Ignore all this for the moment," he went on, encompassing the penthouse with a wave of his hand. "Join me outside. I think we'll both find it easier to breathe, neh?"

Noriko nodded and followed him out on the balcony, grabbing a chair and putting her backpack down by her feet. The gauntlets were inside, in case she needed them. She barely gave the hot tub a look and sat down, waiting for him to join her. Shit, she felt awkward, and that was way worse than being pissed off at Shinobi. Pissed off was easy.

She pushed another hand back through her hair, getting it temporarily out of the way. "It was - it was really good seeing him again, Shinobi," she told him, honestly, because he deserved that, for setting it up.

"Good. That's good," Shinobi said. He fished a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of his trousers pocket and lit up, inhaling languidly before exhaling a faint, blue-gray streamer of smoke that was soon caught up and scattered by the strong winds beyond the shelter of the balcony. He didn't often smoke, but this seemed like a special occasion. "I can't take the credit entirely, of course; Pietro suggested I should do something 'amazing' for you. This was the best I could think of." He held out the pack to Noriko in silent offer as he slid bonelessly into the seat next to her. "It went well then?" he inquired lightly. His greatest fear, of course, had been that their reunion would not go well, and only further complicate matters between him and the blue-haired speedster.

Noriko hesitated, partly because smoking with Shinobi felt so freaking different from smoking with the people she normally smoked with. Although they'd left school by now and - what the hell, now he'd offered she really wanted a cigarette. She took one with a nod of thanks, and the lighter when he offered it next, taking a long pull on the cigarette before handing him the lighter back. "Yeah," Noriko confirmed, watching the orange cherry and the smoke wafting from it as she spoke. She looked at Shinobi and gave him a small, brief smile. "We'd been talking for a while already. Sage got me his contacts a while back."

She figured Keitaro had told Shinobi as much already - well, not the bit about Sage. Little bastard had kept his trip here a secret from her, though, which... was kinda nice. Not having time to freak out, just enjoy it while it lasted.

"He's grown so much," she added, and took another drag from the cigarette. Somehow, the acrid smoke in her lungs made it easier to talk about this stuff, one of her legs still bouncing nervously. "He's got a-" Her lips twitched into another small, brief smile, "garufurendo."

That drew an appreciative cackle from Shinobi. "How precocious! I wish them both well as they venture down love's twisted and thorny path." He took another drag, and tapped his fingers against the tip of his pointed chin. "Sage, though--I'm a bit surprised you got her involved. Among my people, individuals generally fall into one of two categories: those that are too useful to have as enemies, and those that are too dangerous to have as friends. She's probably the first person I've ever met to fall into both categories simultaneously. Frankly, she unsettles me a bit." Another lazy line of smoke trailed from his mouth into the air. "Besides, you could have always asked me to do it."

Noriko shrugged. She was pretty sure she had asked Sage for help way before Shinobi and she had had their fall-out, but it still hadn't occurred to her to ask him. With Sage, she knew only she would get involved. With Shinobi, he would've had to ask other people to get the intel for him. "I wouldn't really call her a friend. Or an enemy. So, yeah, I guess I hear you." She tapped the ashes off of her cigarette, letting them fly away on the faint breeze. "But - you just go to Sage when you want someone's e-mail address. If I'd wanted to get him a crazy expensive, way over the top gift, I'd have gone to you?" It wasn't as if she had given Sage anything she couldn't have found on the internet in a handful of minutes at most.

Shinobi laughed. "Fair enough! I hope you'll keep me in mind, next time you need something over the top." His expression grew a bit more serious as he regarded Noriko over the glowing tip of his own cigarette. "Someone like her, though, isn't the type to forget a favor owed, no matter how small. Heavens know I can understand that philosophy well enough--quid pro quo, and all that--it's just the way of the world. And maybe it will never come up again! But I can't begin to fathom what Sage actually wants, is the thing. And that does worry me a bit, when it comes to dealing with her."

But he quickly shrugged that off. "In any event, I'm sure it's nothing so sinister as I imagine! I have a very suspicious mindset, you know--makes my imagination carry me off in all sorts of wild directions. Enough about the human supercomputer and whatever mysterious agenda she may or may not have! Tell me more about your brother. He misses you, I'm sure."

Noriko still didn't see cause for alarm in going to her. For one thing, Pietro trusted her. For another, Noriko would be happy to do her a favor - unless it was the sort of thing she wouldn't do, in which case she just wouldn't do it. It seemed pretty cut and dry to her, even if her approach was a simplistic one.

"I think so," she confirmed with a small twitch of her lips upwards, looking back at Shinobi. "There were hugs, once he was certain I wouldn't accidentally zap him." Her manifestation had been pretty traumatizing for him, too.

His mouth twisted into an easy grin. "Probably a prudent precaution, all things considered," he said, nodding. "I rather doubt I'd have to be zapped more than once to develop a healthy respect for it." Not that he was all that eager to try it out. Shinobi was quick enough to avoid most physical threats, but could he turn intangible quickly enough to avoid electricity? Not a bet he would have taken readily by any means. "Wait a moment, though," he went on, raising a hand as if to slow her down. "Did you say there were hugs? As in, more than one? Who are you, and what have you done with Noriko Ashida? The girl I know is most definitely not a hugger."

Noriko punched him in the shoulder - not hard enough to really hurt, just to make a point. "Shut up. I hug. Just - select people." She'd been a different person, before she manifested. Definitely a hugger. And that was the sister Keitaro remembered. The sister she wanted to be, around him. Not the bubbly young kid she'd been, but at least not someone wary of showing her affection for him.

Rubbing at his injured shoulder, Shinobi gave her a reproachful look, one that was just slightly marred by the upward curve of his mouth. "I hope you also only punch select people," he told her. "Anyone else might take it the wrong way. As it is, I cannot distinguish between positive and negative forms of physical interaction. To me, it's like a hug administered with a closed hand to particular and often sensitive parts of my body."

Noriko raised her eyebrows, on account of never having actually gone for a sensitive part of his body. "Don't tempt me."

His hands came up in a warding gesture, but he was still grinning mischievously. "Dear Noriko, I wouldn't dream of it," he said.

His grin said otherwise, but Noriko wasn't going to argue. Instead, she gave him a small smile, and looked away to take another drag off of her cigarette. "I'm grateful you did this, Shinobi."

"I know," he said, sucking down another lungful of smoke. "But it really isn't necessary--it was my pleasure, truly. I know it probably sounds a bit outlandish to say so, given all that was actually involved, but it seemed like the least I could do. It had to be something special. Really special. This was as special as I could come up with."

Noriko was silent for a few seconds, mulling over what she wanted to say, and how she wanted to say it. "I never would've agreed to it, if you'd offered." She looked back at him, holding his gaze. "And I'm grateful." All of that was the truth; lying wasn't her style. But, of course, there was a 'but'. "But - don't do anything for me without talking to me again. Alright?"

"That," Shinobi said, after mulling her proposal over for a few moments, "sounds fair enough. Though I've often thought that half the fun of knowing me is my penchant for the unexpected. But very well! No more surprises. Next time I have a brilliant idea, I will consult you first. I just hope this new arrangement doesn't cause you to get bored with me."

"There's a lot of emotions you could get out of people," Noriko assured him wryly. "Bored isn't one of them." But seriously, she meant it, though. She'd gotten her fill of Shinobi surprises, even if the latter had been a good one.

He puffed up a bit at that, obviously pleased. "Sou desu ka? Thank you; you're too kind to say so." Resting his elbow on the arm of his chair, he leaned toward her, gesturing with his cigarette for emphasis. "I'll do my best to curb my love of the unexpected. Do you think you might be able to do something for me, as well? Not that this is a transaction, or an exchange, or a negotiation," he added quickly, "I'll uphold my end, regardless. Think of it more as a small favor, one friend to another."

Noriko frowned; she wasn't in the habit of saying yes to 'do me a favor' without knowing what that favor was, and even less so with Shinobi. "What is it?" she asked evenly.

"Only this: if you need something, want something--if there's anything at all I can possibly help you with--you'll let me know. I know my absurd wealth makes you uncomfortable, and I'm perfectly happy for both of us to carry on as though it doesn't exist most of the time. But there's no point at all to being rich as Croesus if I can't occasionally use those resources to make the people I care about happy. And there aren't so terribly many of those, you know." Fewer now than when the summer had begun, in fact, and one notable absence in particular. He had to hang on to what he had left.

A small favor. Shinobi and Noriko had really different views of what those words meant. "If there's something I would accept your help with," she allowed, which was the best she could do.

"You are impossible, Noriko-san," Shinobi sighed, but he was smiling warmly. "All right. If it's something you would accept my help with. And don't be a stranger! I doubt I'll be visiting the school much in the foreseeable future, but if you're ever in the neighborhood, do feel free to stop by. The staff knows who you are, so they should wave you right up."

"Can they tell one blue-haired Asian chick from the next, or am I the only one likely to stop by," Noriko stated wryly. It was a joke, in a way. Her way. But she knew a dismissal when she heard one (or thought she did), and she reached out to put the cigarette out in the ashtray on the table. "Thanks again," she told him, meeting his gaze. "For Keitaro." It meant more to her than words could say, and she wasn't the sort to even try and express that properly.

"I've got a list," he said. "And I've made them memorize your face--I can't have just any blue-haired Asian girl wandering around my home, you know! And you're quite welcome. I wish I could have arranged for a longer visit, but you know. Too much generosity, and my directors will start foaming at the mouth." He looked a bit dejected, though, as she crushed out her cigarette. "Are you leaving already? But you haven't even seen the hot tub yet. Or the kitchen! I have food. And I can always send for more. I'll show you the plans I've had drawn up for a little cabin on the roof."

"The hot tub's right here," Noriko pointed out, jerking a thumb in its direction. She'd seen of it all she wanted to, at least right now. But clearly she'd been wrong to take his words as a dismissal, and she leaned back in her chair. "Food, though. I could do food." She could always do food, admittedly, but it had been a long damn time since she'd had food with Shinobi.

"The point is to see it from the inside," he protested, though without much real conviction; he rather doubted he'd ever get Noriko into the hot tub--not without a lot of wheedling, and possibly the liberal application of alcohol. But Shinobi's expression immediately brightened when his secondary inducement seemed to catch her interest. "Splendid!" he proclaimed, rising immediately and phasing back through the sliding glass door into the penthouse. He returned a few moments later with an armload of take-out menus, which he immediately deposited on the table between them.

"So! We have Japanese--of course!--Thai, Cantonese, generic Chinese, a nice little French place down the road, three different Italian restaurants, a couple of Indian spots, an American-style diner, and a little greasy spoon around the corner that does some of the best calzones I've ever eaten. And I'm sure I could track down some other options, if none of those grabs you."

"Let's go for greasy," Noriko immediately decided, pushing the menus about on the table until she could spot one that seemed to fit the bill.

"Greasy it is!" Shinobi proclaimed, sweeping the other menus aside and holding up the bill of fare for Nico's World Famous Pizza and Subs. Never mind that the restaurant's name was a bit grandiose--Shinobi had certainly never heard of it, before moving in to his present accommodations--the food was fantastic, in a distinctly collegiate sort of way. But he was in college now, so it was certainly appropriate. "Oooooh, garlic knots. And fried ravioli! I never would have imagined such a thing existed. Is there nothing Americans won't batter and immerse in boiling oil?"

"Probably not," Noriko agreed wryly, happy to let him go through the menu. Whatever he ordered, she'd eat. She really wasn't picky when it came to food, and she trusted him to remember how much she ate.

Shinobi wasted no time fishing his phone out of his pocket. "One seven-course meal of extraordinarily dubious nutritional value, coming up! Don't worry--it will be here in no time. I'm a fantastic tipper, and I usually treat the delivery man to a cocktail before I send him on his way." Smirking, he hit the designated number on his speed-dial.

Noriko snorted, but there was an amused hint of smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Okay, so maybe she'd missed him.