tampered | Log; Completed

Current Mood: distressed
Current Location: outside building 10

Log; Completed

When; Just past midnight on Friday, after the curse has worn off
Rating; Probably nothing past PG, since the curse is over
Characters; Hermione, Hikaru, whoever else might be with Hikaru (Kaoru would be welcome)
Summary; Hermione's traumatized after her behavior from the previous day, but she has a promise to keep: to meet up with Hikaru. She has a few questions that she'd like to ask him anyhow...
Log;

The night chill had long since settled in, but the numbing sensation that had spread throughout Hermione's body had been caused by something else altogether. Her bare shoulder was exposed, the collar of her shirt having long since slipped down the side of her arm, a continuing reminder of her hasty actions earlier in the day.

All too late, Hermione frowned as she vaguely remembered asking to meet with a particular person she had met earlier in the day. Sighing and unable to recall how she had acted during the interchange, Hermione shuffled around in the middle of the City, belatedly realizing that neither of them had agreed upon a meeting place. Running her hands through her bushy hair and sighing dejectedly, Hermione sat on the bench outside of one of the apartment complexes, hoping that she would run into him somehow.

There were many things that she didn't understand about the place. But somehow, she felt that he might be able to answer some of the burning questions in her mind.

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After cleaning up and apologizing profusely to Kaoru for going out again that day, Hikaru took off into the night, ATs whirring quietly as he scoured the City for Hermione. Admittedly, they probably should've set up a meeting spot, but it was a bit too late for that now.

"Hermione?" he called out, squinting his eyes as he peered around in the night. Hikaru zipped around for a few minutes more before coming to a sudden stop when he found someone sitting on a bench nearby. Upon closer inspection, it would appear to be that Hikaru was lucky enough to have run into her.

Grinning, he rode over, giving the girl a wave as he came to a stop. Hikaru gave her a small bow and produced a flower seemingly out of thin air. He was a host club member after all, and for him to mistreat a lady was simply unacceptable, regardless of the situation.

"Good evening, Hermione," he said. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

Her eyes had just been about to close, lids heavy with fatigue, when Hermione was shaken out of her reverie by the approaching redhead. Smiling warmly, albeit still with a hint of anxiety over her behavior earlier in the day, she gave a tired wave, sincerely glad that they had been so fortunate to run into each other.

The sudden appearance of a flower before her eyes rendered her speechless for a short while; it had been a few years since anyone had treated her so kindly. Accepting it with a bashful murmur and slight tinge on her cheeks, Hermione couldn't restrain a light laugh as she raised the petals delicately to her nose. "My, Hikaru... I guess you know what you're doing..."

After letting the light scent tickle her nose for a couple of seconds, Hermione raised her gaze again, biting her lip slightly before she spoke. "Don't worry about it... I'm just glad that we were fortunate enough to run into each other."

She scooted over a bit on the bench, gesturing for him to sit down. "I'm sorry about my appearance... I'm sure I look simply frightful." Suddenly self-conscious, Hermione pulled her collar back into place and tried in vain to calm her bushy hair. "How did your training go?"

"Frightful?" he asked, as he took a seat next to her. Hikaru laughed lightly and shook his head. "You look fine, Hermione. Besides, it's been a curse day and most people seem to come out worse for wear then.

"As for training..." He paused briefly, head tilting back and forth for a moment as he thought about how to word it. "It's... tough. My teacher is one of the best Stormriders in his world, and he's not exactly the nicest of guys. Still, I'm glad that he's bothered to take me under his wing."

There was a lot more that could be said about Yoshitsune, but well, it probably wouldn't do to say it. Plus, if word got out that he was feeling more exhausted and worn - physically, emotionally, and mentally - than he ever had in his life, more than a few people would be upset. Of course, there would also be a few who would... laugh.

Clearing thoughts of AT out of his mind, Hikaru gave Hermione a warm smile. His duty here was to keep her company and to make sure that she felt happy with the situation at hand. There was, of course, no room for whining on his part. "I know it's late, but... did you still want to take a stroll around the City, or would you prefer that we just have a little chat here on the..."

His voice trailed off as he found himself simply staring at Hermione's hair, which the girl seemed to keep fussing at. Hikaru raised a hand and touched it for a second before tapping his chin. "Hermione, does your hair... bother you?"

Hermione had been listening intently as Hikaru carefully strung his words together, providing her with a rather vague description of his activities earlier that day. Her first instinct was to pry further in the matter, as it seemed that he was hiding something rather important, but she held her tongue, chiding and reminding herself that she had only just met Hikaru, and his personal life was none of her business. Despite her curiosity, Hermione found that Hikaru's company was rather pleasant, and that the young man was much more composed and mannered than most of the men she had met in her lifetime. Well, aside from a certain blond-haired--

--no. She was not going to think about that right now.

At Hikaru's offer to take her around the City, as originally promised, Hermione's brow furrowed slightly. It was true that touring the City was something that she would probably have to do sooner or later, since she was still searching for any possible way to leave, but journeying so late at night was not particularly appealing to her. After all, she had encountered a vampire mere hours ago, and to add to it all, her body felt extremely tired and sore from the day's events. Events that she desperately wanted to forget.

Her lips were just poised give a response when the bright-haired boy inquired about Hermione's hair. Immediately blushing and extracting a hand that had unknowingly continued to run through her hair, Hermione sheepishly looked down at her lap. "Er... yes, actually. I can never seem to get it to do what I want, and it ends up just flying all over the place..."

It was one of her greatest embarrassments, and probably one of the few things Hermione continued to fuss over the appearance of. After all, despite her strange demeanor, she was still a girl, and the way she looked mattered quite a bit to her.

Hikaru nodded almost absent-mindedly in response to the girl's response. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in what she had said, but he simply couldn't help but try and think up solutions to her little problem. Working with Kaoru on the hair of the host club made a guy think about stuff like this, and Hikaru was already thinking of what to try on Hermione.

The tour of the City could wait, it seemed. The hour was late already, and the girl did look a bit tired. It wouldn't do to drag the poor thing around in that state. Hikaru made a mental note to schedule another date later on to walk around if she wanted to.

"I'm not sure what you've already tried, but..." He paused for a moment, giving Hermione's hair a critical look. "...I could try to do something with your hair. If you want, of course."

The twin gave her a bright smile. It would be interesting trying to find time to work, but it seemed almost natural to give it a shot. If nothing else, working on Hermione's hair would give him an excuse to spend some time with Kaoru. The two of them always did come up with the best ideas.

"My brother and I are the designers - costume and hair, you could say - of a club we're in. I'm sure we could figure out something for you," he said. Hikaru gave her another grin before shrugging his shoulders lightly. "I think you've got a lot of potential if you put what you have to work..."

Hermione's face continued to flush at the subtle praise and her eyes lit up at the offer. The last time that she had been able to tame her hair was years ago, at the Yule Ball, and Hermione didn't want to have to go through bottles and bottles of hairspray once more just to get that effect. If there was any way that Hikaru and his brother would be able to do something to her hair, it would be worth the time. Not to mention she found Hikaru to be rather pleasant company.

"I would simply love that," she replied with a wide smile, "I can pay you for your trouble, of course... I'm delighted that you made such an offer to me."

"It's no trouble at all, and you certainly don't need to pay us," Hikaru replied. As he sat there, he quietly mused over how much a random person would have to cough up for such a service; probably more than most people cared to spend on their hair. He smiled inwardly before turning a grin on Hermione. "Consider the treatment a gift from a friend."

He leaned back against the bench then, stretching his arms toward the sky before folding them behind his head. Hikaru sighed quietly before glancing over at the girl again. "It feels like it's been a long time since I've just gotten to do something like this.

"I feel like I've spent most of my time recently just trying to feel... useful around here. This City wears you down after a while. It makes you wonder if you're worth anything," he finished, voice growing quiet. Hikaru settled his hands in his lap and stared at them for a moment. "It'll be a nice change from worrying about the countdown all the time. I think I'll enjoy the break."

Hermione watched Hikaru's expression change slowly, losing its enthusiasm and sparkle as his gaze darkened while he spoke about the City. She scooted a bit closer, tilting her head to get a better view of his face as she replied.

"I haven't been here very long... nor do I know much about the City overall. I've heard that the clocks are counting down until the ends of all of our worlds, and no one's been able to find a way to stop it, but... that doesn't mean that you're useless." Tentatively, Hermione reached out for Hikaru's hand, merely placing hers on top in a gentle reassurance.

"Don't forget to let yourself relax now and then. We'll work hard to find a way out, to prevent all this from happening... but so long as we're here, we might as well make the best out of it. Right?" Her lips curled up into a small smile. "Although, I'm sure that dealing with my hair won't exactly be the most fun thing you've ever done. It drives me mad, at the least."

So she knew about the Clock and everything already? Hikaru nodded slowly in acknowledement at her words, but didn't go into what he really thought on the matter. He was, in the end, a rich boy with too much time on his hands, but upon arriving in the City, that turned him into a rich boy without any helpful skills. It wasn't like he could fork over money to make the clock stop, and hairstyling and costume making wasn't going to do anything either.

Berating himself mentally, Hikaru put on a bright smile and turned to look at Hermione. He'd over been over this matter more than once with himself and with Kaoru. This was the reason why he had put up with Yoshitsune all this time. Hikaru was doing something, even if it wasn't much, and that gave him a tiny sense of pride.

"Yeah. Carpe diem or something like that," he said, laughter slipping past his lips. Hikaru placed his hand on top of hers, gently squeezing it. He released it then to let his fingers take a strand of her hair and study it. "As for your hair, it'll be a bit of work, but we're good at this sort of stuff.

"We may not tame it the way you've been trying to, but we'll work with what you've got and bring the best out of it." Hikaru winked. And don't you worry. The Hitachiin brothers can make anything fun."

Hermione allowed herself a soft laugh at the last comment, the redhead distinctively reminding her of a particular pair of twins back in her home world. From the way he was acting, Hermione assumed that Hikaru didn't have any sort of special powers, and perhaps was only being thrust for the first time into the experience of trying to save the world. And while it might have been a humbling experience for him, Hermione knew that there were probably also many people who appreciated what he did manage to do, at least for those like her. For, depsite the fact that she had merely been in the City for a couple of days, happier times had already seemed like years away... but Hikaru had brought a glimpse of them back.

She smiled as the warmth of his hand on hers, a comforting gesture that was able to calm her frayed nerves. "For some reason," she remarked with a smile, "I don't doubt you in the slightest."

"Great," he said in response. Hikaru checked his watch quickly before giving Hermione an apologetic smile. It was getting late, and while he normally didn't mind staying up late, Yoshitsune would be expecting him in a few hours. If he didn't get going soon, he'd be falling asleep on his feet during training.

"I don't mean to cut our conversation short, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to get going soon." Hikaru rose to his feet, ATs humming softly as they came back to life. "Of course, I'll walk you home first. It wouldn't be right to let a lovely lady walk home all on her own at this hour."

Hikaru extended a hand to Hermione, a charming smile appearing on his features. It wasn't like this would be the last time he saw the girl, so there would be no need for dreadfully long goodbyes or anything of that nature. "I'll let you know when we figure out a good time for working on your hair, alright?"

Oops. That hadn't been something Hermione was expecting.

Truth be told, Hermione actually hadn't found a place to settle yet. She'd toured the apartments, and several people had offered to take her in, but Hermione hadn't felt comfortable about moving in with random strangers. Or, well, the alternative being younger versions of adults she had known and idolized in her time. Neither was very appealing to her, and so Hermione had been merely wandering around the past couple of days, finding shelter in random buildings.

But she couldn't bring herself to tell Hikaru that. With a gracious smile, she took his hand and stood on her feet, taking care to brush any dirt or dust that had accumulated on her clothes during their short talk. "Alright, but there's really no need to walk me home," she replied with a small smile, "In my world, I learned how to immediately transport myself to wherever I like... and I can do that here as well. It would save both of us time."

Quickly leaning in to hug him briefly, Hermione stepped a few feet back, readying herself to Apparate. "If you'll just tell me where you live, I can give you my address or whatnot when I get back to my place. I haven't exactly settled in yet." There was some truth to her words; Hermione knew she needed to settle down soon, she just didn't know where...

Hikaru returned Hermione's hug with a smile. Even if it was brief, it was a nice little experience that he, admittedly, missed from his more active host club days. Really, the only person who still embraced him on a regular basis now was Kaoru. It really was a pity that he didn't have enough time and energy to be a part of both activities.

"Kaoru and I are living in building ten, apartment eight. You'll have to drop by at some point - after you get yourself settled in, of course," he answered, nodding his head. Hikaru watched her prepare to do her little transporting trick. If this had been in the first week of his stay in the City or something, he probably would've been amazed and confused by something like this, but he'd seen a lot by this point.

"Take care, Hermione. We'll be in touch." Hikaru raised a hand to wave her off, and just like that, Hermione disappeared with a pop. He stayed in place for a moment longer before riding off into the night.

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Log; Completed

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