pokebox | LOCKED TO preybeforemeals

LOCKED TO preybeforemeals

[Ryuunosuke kind of hates work. He doesn't mind the stealing or the Pokémon training, but he does mind having to wait tables in the game corner. It isn't a difficult job and most of the time he's as cheery as usual despite his distaste for the job. What he really hates is the downtime. When he's not working with customers, he's at a loss for what to do. Sometimes he thinks about which customers would make for the most fascinating sculptures, but the majority of the time he's stuck sweeping areas of the floor and hating literally everything his life has become.

Who would have imagined he'd be here, dressed in one of those snazzy uniforms all the game corner employees wear (with leopard-print shoes; he's been scolded numerous times for them not meeting regulation, but it's not like he cares), looking bored out of his mind? He certainly wouldn't have, but then again he's never really held a real job for any length of time. One might even say that he's grown up during his time here in Johto, but that would be a horrible mistake. He's only here for the money, after all. It's not like he's really matured any.

Once he's sure his manager isn't looking, Ryuunosuke fishes his 'Gear out of his pocket and begins to flip through the recent network posts. That's also not allowed, but it's not like he cares about that. Worst case scenario, he'll get fired and he'll get a job at the Pokémon Center or something.]

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[The game corner was one of those places that Tsukiyama tended to frequent, if for no better reason than it was incredibly easy to remain relatively unnoticed here; it was amazing, always, what people would do if they thought no one was looking. Stealing, lying, having affairs, counting cards at blackjack - it was fascinating, the vices humans would allow themselves as long as they thought they could get away with it. To say nothing of the way most of them ran their mouths... And the funny thing was, not all of them were normally cheats and liars, he was fairly sure - why, most of these people would probably consider themselves at least decent rather than simply owning their decadence and moving on with their lives.

It was amusing, really.

But he's not here for the liars today, nor is he here for information gathering for once (of course, if he manages to get something useful for nothing at all in exchange, then all the better); oh, perhaps he'll allow himself to get drawn into a game of cards tonight, but that's best reserved for the later hours, when there are beautiful women who've had a bit too much alcohol and are receptive to charming words in languages they obviously don't understand, and aren't in much of a state to question exactly why he's remaining so close to their elbow and don't think anything of leaning into him a bit and letting him pick up the light scent of their skin, offset by the artificial fragrances coating their hair and dabbed lightly over their necks and wrists.

There's nothing he can do about it here, of course, but it's calming in some way that he can't really articulate. (At least, until he finds someone particularly nice, at which point that's just disappointing, but c'est la vie.)

But today it's still bright outside, entirely too much so for someone to be stuck indoors working, and this place is still horrendously dim and dreary in comparison no matter how many lights and sounds are firing off - it's all fake and industrial, horribly so, and as such Tsukiyama is here to see someone in particular.

He's got rudbeckias with him today, an armful of them, bright yellow in color; Hinami had liked those, he remembers vaguely. It's been a while since he's seen her; he's sure she's awaiting his return along with the rest of them - and why wouldn't she be, even if she weren't frozen in time back home? Really.

He finds what he's looking for off to the side; he arches an eyebrow a bit, amusement playing lightly across his features.]

Taking a break, amore?

[The Italian leaves his mouth easily enough; it had taken a while to get it to come out naturally for some reason here, but apparently he's just that dedicated to his grasp on culture back home.

(Either that or he's just that stubborn. Who knows...)]

[Ryuunosuke glances up at the familiar voice, the bored expression (more of a pout, really) vanishing instantly.]

Tsukiyama!

[Tsukiyama is one of those people Ryuunosuke is never sure whether to call by name or the usual "sir". He's pretty sure Tsukiyama is younger than he is, so logically he should be calling the other man by name, but Tsukiyama seems more mature and put-together than Ryuunosuke, which is always what he's used as a guide to whether or not to call someone "sir" or "ma'am".

As such, he flips back and forth between the two awkwardly, but he's trying.]

What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be spending time doing something fun?

[He's obviously very pleased that Tsukiyama has showed up though; this will make things more interesting for a little while at least.]

[Ah, that just gets a lightly dismissive noise out of him; he leans up against the wall idly, shifting a bit such as to not crush the flowers, and lightly runs the fingertips of his free hand through the front of his hair, purple locks carding easily over his nails before they slip neatly back into place.]

As though I shouldn't find talking to you to be fun enough...?

You flatter me, sir!

[Ryuunosuke looks very pleased with that, a light blush crossing his cheekbones.]

But surely you're here for some reason that isn't just me, right? What can I help you with?

I enjoy spending time with interesting people.

[Oh, he's noted that blush, though he doesn't seem bothered by it; when he averts his gaze, it's to place his attention on those flowers, selecting one of them from the bunch and toying with it between his fingertips.]

And besides, you seem a bit disenchanted with work; do you fault me for noticing?

No, not at all. Work is really slow today for some reason. I haven't done anything in almost an hour.

[He sounds almost distressed by this. Boredom is no fun when you can't alleviate it in creative ways!]

It's nice of you to come visit me though! I really appreciate it!

[Well, that's interesting, isn't it.]

What would you rather be doing, Uryuu-san?

You don't have to call me that, you know!

[He leans on the broom he's supposed to be sweeping with and stares upwards at the ceiling as he thinks.]

Anything else? I'd much rather be outside, even if it's just to train or window shop or something.

[And by "window shop" he means "steal shit" but you know.]

There are plenty of things I'd rather do, but unfortunately I'm stuck in here for the time being. It's such a pain.

Perhaps I can bring a bit of the outdoors to you, non?

[And with that he reaches out, still holding that flower he's been toying with, and with zero hesitation whatsoever just threads it gently through Ryuunosuke's hair, tucking it behind his ear.

...Well, okay, then.]

[Ryuunosuke allows it, ducking his head a bit before laughing as Tsukiyama draws away.]

You didn't have to--!

[He reaches up to touch the flower though, smiling widely. The expression doesn't quite reach his eyes, but then again, his expressions rarely do.]

[dear god, you are a creepy little thing, aren't you.]

Ah, but I wanted to!

[...you are a creepy little thing and WHO CARES, apparently]

[You understand!!]

Well, I appreciate it! It's so nice to have someone come to visit me at work!

[...god this flower probably looks hideous with his hair oh well.]

[...You're probably going to have like five more joining it by the end of the visit if you don't stop him, but for now he's content to just pull another one out of the bunch and play with it like he was the other one.]

Is your shift terribly long? I can't imagine being made to stay inside all day.

[Tsukiyama.]

It's awful. I mean, normally I have customers to wait on and all, so it makes the time fly by faster, but today...

I'm here for another three hours. I'm really tempted to just leave and see if the boss even notices I'm gone.

[...Hmmmm.]

Well, if you've been here longer than five days, they can't legally do anything about it, can they?

That's a good question! I never bothered to figure out how employment works here, but it really wouldn't be the end of the world if I was fired. I can always work in a Pokémon Center or something!

[Do we really want this man handling others' Pokémon.]

[Honestly? No. Whether Tsukiyama cares, however, is a different matter; as it stands, the entire situation just gets another laugh out of him, and another flower threaded into Ryuunosuke's hair.]

Dolce, Uryuu-san! Exactly the sort of optimism you should be showing right now.

There's probably no reason to worry anyway, since I've been working here since the first time I was in Johto and I just sort of vanished before, so I'm sure they won't mind!

[That's not the same at all and you know it, Ryuunosuke, stop that.]

So c'mon, let's get out of here before my boss shows up!

[He's just going to drop the broom right there and head toward the exit, checking to make sure those flowers are still in his hair.]

[...

honey

he's pretty sure that

that isn't

how you

anything...

...

AGAIN, WHO CARES]

Excellent, excellent - let's, then!

[My god, he's just going to follow you wherever the hell you want to go, you realize.]

[THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T TALK TO RYUUNOSUKE

...EVER, TBH

Anyway, he's just going to head in the direction of the closest park!]

You wouldn't believe how dull it can get there! It's the Game Corner, you think there's be interesting people addicted to gambling in there all day, every day but no, we normally get a lot of normal people and it's kind of sad. I'd rather see the odd ones, you know?

[Are you talking about yourself?]

[Parks are perfectly fine; decent for watching people, for one thing.

That said, he sort of smiles a bit at that statement, though the expression is a little vague.]

And what do you consider odd, Uryuu-san?

Well... like... I guess maybe that's not the best way to word it. I guess I mean people who do or say interesting things? As opposed to the usual polite customers with really stereotypical drink orders and things like that.

[He frowns. He's not doing a very good job explaining it, is he?]

I guess I'm just looking for things that are different.

[Come sit on this bench, Ryuunosuke, we may be here for a while.]

People like you, then?

[Not that he thinks that's a bad thing, mind.]

[Sure thing, he'll sprawl out on his side of the bench, reaching up to mess with the flowers again, though he's not pulling them out.]

Yeah! As they're interesting people, I'm perfectly fine with them! It's the normal, boring people who annoy me.

[Though people who do agree with what he does would be nice too, but that's kind of ridiculous to hope for here.]

[Ridiculous indeed.

Tsukiyama doesn't seem to mind the topic, however; he just settles those flowers in his lap and sets to weaving them together, his fingers deft against the stems.]

Even the mundane people have their charms, I think - they're just a bit harder to find. But then, my own life back home tended to be very busy; once in a while it's nice to see people just going about their daily lives without a care in the world. It makes me wonder what they do with themselves all day - what sort of things they think about at night, what images float through their heads on a daily basis.

After all, those thoughts and images must be satisfying if people like that are content to be so boring in the first place, don't you think?

LOCKED TO preybeforemeals

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