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When; Thursday, January 7th, evening
Rating; PG...? PG-13? It's a pair of trolls.
Characters; Mikage (

boobsorgtfo)
Summary; Experiencing a sunset together!
Log;

The day for Mikage goes goes a little like this: After waking up and forcing breakfast on Teito, he heads out to a shop in order to find something in the appropriate orange color. Ino, later, will find that it doesn't match the same orange that Naruto is so fond of wearing, but instead, it's a darker color, verging on red, but not quite. What he buys is a hoodie, and although it feels awkward to wear something like that, given its lack of placement in his own world, he decides he feels comfortable. The rest of the day is spent passing the time. Jogging in the City now that it's lost its snow, and when it's close to dinner, making meatloaf and mashed potatoes for him and Teito (though someone else in the house was probably cooking, too, Mikage always liked to ensure that Teito had something). For Mikage, it was a fairly normal day.

One of the biggest parts of his day and not already mentioned is the part where he checked when the sun would be going down. Back home, there was a certain existence of understanding that it would be happening, but he needed to be sure when it would happen today. After all, half of his activities were set up so that he would get them done by time the sun would go down. After shoveling meatloaf into his mouth, he cleans up a bit, freshens up a little—Ino's a pretty girl, after all—before jogging to her place and ending up at her door.

Before he knocks, it occurs to him just how normal this circumstance happens to be. He's alive, but not breathing, with no heartbeat, or a way of assuring Teito that he'll be okay. And yet—there is a semblance of normalcy here. Mikage's friendship with Teito limited his friendship in the academy, but it was a factor that never bothered him. All his excitable behavior aside, he never took it hard that he didn't have many friends. He likes that it's different here, though—more so for Teito than him, of course. It's not that he cares if Teito experiences romance or goes on a date; he likes that he can relax and not worry about his memories for a time. In this place, he can relax, take some time off. He knows that the moment Teito goes back home, he'll be thrown into a similar position again.

Ah, better not to make it seem like he's thinking too much about things. Mikage perks up a little and raises his hand to knock on Ino's door. It only occurs to him then that he's not sure where they should go for this excursion, but it's better to see her face and ask.

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It'd been a fairly normal day for Ino as well: waking up, harassing Shikamaru, her typical breakfast of fruit and granola, training, harassing Sakura, then passing the time until Shikamaru gets home and she can harass him some more. But near the end of the day, she finds herself getting a little anxious, excited, looking forward to spending the sunset a little bit differently than how she normally would.

And spending time with him, of course. Even though she doesn't know Mikage too well yet, he's interesting and she likes his attitude, not to mention the feeling she has that they're kindred spirits of a sort. At the very least, he's pretty cute.

She gives herself plenty of time to get ready, mostly because she isn't really sure when he'll show up, but also partly because she feels like taking her time tonight. She thinks about Yuri as she quietly does up her hair, winding her ponytail around the crown of her head in a loose chignon. She thinks that switching up her routine tonight will be good for her, probably, as she inspects her wardrobe, picking out a deliberately deep blue dress to match the ocean and her black tights and boots.

When she finally hears the knock on the door, she smiles, flipping open her compact mirror to quickly make sure her eyeliner hasn't smudged in the fifteen minutes it's been since she applied it. Then she swings open the door, her smile only widening. Orange. Ugly, ugly orange.

"Hey, Mikage," she says, obviously on the verge of laughter. "Nice jacket."

Easily enough, he straightens up in response to that, but he has a feeling that she doesn't like the color still. Maybe he'll find a way to make her appreciate it. For him, there's a lot to be found in the colors that no one else likes; they're the ones that are basic and part of some of the most beautiful things in the world. He was the first in his family to become obsessed with the sunsets that he would watch outside his windows of their dismal homes, but his sister joined him from time to time, making it a family activity. It's something he did with Teito, too, but he never embellished about it as much; being with Teito was often enough, and he didn't think his friend was the sort who needed to learn to look at a sunset to appreciate how beautiful it happened to be.

Ino, apparently, proved to be different.

Mikage smiles like he always does, as if he has laughter bubbling at the bottom of his throat, and he pulls a little at his jacket. "It's the type of thing that looks good on me," he tells her. "But you don't have to like it yet!" Part of looking at the sunset is supposed to make her appreciate it. After a small chuckle he adds, "Where would you like to see this sunset?"

She can't help but giggle a little at the yet, lifting a hand to hide it behind her fingers. He's turned out to be unexpectedly stubborn about this, for someone who appears so laid-back, but she finds it a little endearing, his mission to convert her to the ways of the color orange.

He'd been right about it looking good on him, though, her mind points out, even if it kind of makes him look like a pumpkin. But she refuses to relent just yet. Or ever, really.

"I don't know," she replies, then considers it as she grabs her things: coat and purse. She's always in motion, doing two, three, four things at once, never slowing down. Shikamaru's idea of fun, lying down in a field and watching clouds for hours on end, never had much appeal to her, and maybe that's why this whole experience is something exciting and fresh. Nobody's ever really told her to stop and look.

Unless it was to smell the roses, of course.

"I thought you knew what you were doing," she teases as she hustles him out of the way so she can shut the door and lock it behind her.

"That's something I've got a few ideas about, but I wanted to see what you had to say first," he replies, allowing himself to be moved. "Let's head to the water. There's a horizon there—seeing the sunset over something like that will give the best kind of appreciation." Mikage is fully aware that it's a little cold outside, and regrets not planning this a little more carefully. It's a lesson he'll learn to improve upon in the future.

After a moment, he slides his hands into the pockets of his jacket, but thinks better of it. It's obvious that Ino prepared a little for this. Instead, he steps toward her, extending a hand toward her. His smile is easy enough, hiding the fact that he's trying to map this out a little better in his head. While he waits to see how she responds to that, he says, "I saved enough money to buy you a matching jacket. That way, you'll see that you can look good in orange, too. Aren't you looking forward to that?"

As if she's already going to give in. He tilts his head to the side a little in a mixture of mischief and amusement.

"Sounds good to me."

The extended hand makes her pause for a moment, bemused and blinking at him. But Ino was never really one to shy away from physical contact just for the sake of it (on the contrary), so she decides to trust him, reaching up and slipping her hand into his.

His fingers are unnaturally cold, as if she were touching one of the corpses the medics used for practical training instead of a living, breathing human being. Which she's pretty sure he isn't, now. She almost recoils from the shock, since she'd never heard a thing about this, from him or anyone else, but decides to squeeze his hand instead, as if in sympathy.

"Mikage..." she begins, ready to ask what had happened, how he'd died, but his smile stops her, and she somehow manages a matching one. "You really, really don't have to. As good as it would look on me, I already have a jacket."

And then she shrugs her coat over her shoulders, as if to make just that point.

It's not like he doesn't catch the pause or the squeeze of her hand soon after. Sympathy, feeling bad. It twists his stomach a little, reminds him that though Teito is kind and doesn't flinch at the feeling of him, that others will be likely to notice it. There's nothing to be done for it, but he doesn't want to make it a big deal. Mikage isn't a person who wallows; though he doesn't volunteer the information, it's for the sake of avoiding this sympathy. Truthfully, he'd rather be there for everyone else than have them worrying for him.

He acts as if it's nothing, not showing any change in his expression, and merely listens to her go on. "But that's hardly the same thing," he points out, eyeing her jacket. It looks good on her. That's not a fact he's going to deny, but it's still not orange. "Would you really turn down a present from me, Ino?"

All easy smiles in place, it's obvious that he's trying to trick her into agreeing to it.

If anything, his non-communication says more to her than anything he could've told her about dropping the subject or not talking about it. He wants to move on, so Ino tucks away her curiosity for later, or maybe even never. Losing Asuma-sensei taught her that everyone deals with grief in their own way, and just because she wants to give him her sympathy doesn't mean he wants to accept it.

And that's that.

She doesn't let go of his hand, shooting him an inquisitive look, eyebrows raised, as if to say Well? Because he really doesn't except her to stand around in the hallway holding his hand all night, does he?

"I would never turn down a present," she replies, deliberately leaving off the from you. Because it's true; she never would, just like she'd never turn down a compliment or the chance to give someone a makeover. "But maybe we can redirect it to something else," she adds coyly, winking at him. "Like flowers or, I don't know, a diamond bracelet."

"But aren't those rather normal?" Mikage asks. It's not that a girl doesn't deserve nice things like that, but he doesn't want to consider the idea. They're boring enough, at least in contrast to an article of clothing in a color that she hasn't come around to liking just yet. Or maybe that's what he's thinking in the moment, in the situation. If she wants someone to buy her pretty things, she can ask someone else. As much of a nice guy he is, Mikage likes to make things interesting.

And aren't those things all too predictable?

He tilts his head in the direction that they'll need to start walking and begins to move. "If you won't accept this," he begins, pointedly bringing his arm up to show off his jacket-hoodie, "I'll have to come up with something else you wouldn't expect." Mikage gives her a grin, ensuring that he'll come up with something. Perhaps not immediately, but the future can change things.

Normal? Maybe. Romantic? Yes. Expensive? Definitely yes. He obviously didn't understand that the more expensive the gift, the more thoughtful it was. Or something.

Nevermind that some of her most precious presents were little things, insignificant things to anybody else: the stud earrings Asuma-sensei gave Team 10, the purple boots Sakura got her for her birthday, the bracelet Yuri made.

She quietly lets him lead the way, more than happy to hold his hand and be swept up in his adventure. Ino is a girl of adventure, of romantic ideals and princesses locked in towers waiting to be saved, and princesses who did their own saving. And handsome princes too. Those certainly don't hurt.

"You like thinking outside the box, huh?" As is her habit, she hooks an arm in his as they fall into step together. She tilts her head inquisitively, regarding him, then finally relents. "Alright, fine, if you insist. But I'm expecting something awesome now, and you'll have to work hard."

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