A Little Theft [Kenichi/Natsumi]

Natsumi ate like she was proud of her thievery. Nothing he said could make that change. She aggressively slid the dango off their stick, chewing as if to challenge his claim to them. However, his calmer reaction to her was unexpected. She was being a jackass; she knew that. Why was he still all smiley? She watched the money slide toward her and stared at it for a moment. Her eyes shifted upward to Kenichi's face, narrowed suspiciously. She didn't remember seeing him in line. She wasn't paying much attention to those people, but she knew what this likely meant. "Kenichi Murata" was likely one of them: a hired mercenary for the Duvalier Group.

"Why would I take that? I'm not taking that," Natsumi said, paranoid, and forcing down a barely chewed bite. There was a moment of difficulty when she coughed, but she quickly opened the juice in one of the bags and watered it down before she could choke. "You aren't gonna trick me inta' goin' back, ya know? Last one they sent ended up losin' me in a crowd. Don't think I won't break this whole building."

A bead of sweat slid down the side of her face. Her whole demeanor changed. Her back stiffened, her eyes darkened, and she stared directly at Kenichi. She looked like an animal being backed into a corner, ready to strike the moment a wrong move is made. The building around them began to shake. Her reiryoku could be felt moving over the surface of the building and down all sides of it. A window shattered, and a scream could be heard from the floor below. She was serious.

"Last one what? Trick you back into going where? We're far away from the food vendor I placed my order at. Thinking about it now, I'd probably have go somewhere in this part of the city---wait, hey!"

There was no intimidation in his expression, but the sound of a terrified scream had forced him to expand his own reservoir of spirit power to erect a barrier of reishi around the building, waving his hands around frantically to ease the woman's mood. From his perspective, he really couldn't understood what she was going through, much less confirm her reason for robbing him blind. He was particularly annoyed about the loss of food, sure, but why wouldn't he be?

His stomach was grumbling loudly even in the midst of what may have been shaping up to be a dire situation. One scream was enough to alert him that there were civilians in the building they stood on. Whenever the lives of others were concerned, especially those of the innocent and unassuming, his desires would always prove secondary.

"Listen...Whether you take it or not, its wrong to jeopardize the lives of innocent people. Moments ago, you were having fun avoiding me and running away. I know it sounds crazy to say this, but I had fun, too. It felt just like something out of a movie! Sure, I'm still hungry, and my stomach is killing me but I'm not looking to cause you any harm. Just calm down, alright? If you want me to leave, I'll leave."

Natsumi's eyes narrowed at him, the suspicion ever present in her expression. His words seemed genuine, and unlike most people, he wasn't getting mad. It was more like he was getting scared, possibly of what she might do? Natsumi wasn't sure of his intentions, but at least he didn't seem like another hired gun... yet. The shaking stopped as she brought her energy back in. As if nothing had even occurred, Natsumi's smile popped back into place and she stuffed more food in her mouth.

"Well, alright then!" Natsumi said, using her sleeve to wipe some sauce away. "As long as you ain't lookin' to do anything stupid, you and anyone else around ain't gotta worry about me doin' the same." Natsumi spoke, pointing one of the now empty skewers his way. "You do seem a bit hungry though." Natsumi sighed and looked down to a couple of skewers she had left, having heard his stomach. "I guess I can share some of me food with ya, since... you know.... the fun an' all that."

Natsumi pursed her lips and held out the bag. "You can have the rest, I guess. Only three outta the eight, but there's tw-... one dango left in this one." Natsumi pulled out one of the dango and then handed the back to him. He was lucky she was sharin' anything. When he went to reach for it though, the barrier was still up. Natsumi would laugh as if it was some practically joke, and then lower the barrier.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips, his expression showing no restraint in displaying his satisfaction with her answer. He wasn't particularly happy to hear her next words, as though he and the people beneath them were hostages dancing to the whim of a young woman, but this was progress all the same. At the very least, she wasn't displaying that paranoid and temperamental aspect that left him feeling uneased.

There was also the fact she spoke the food as if she were the one who bought it, but he paid little mind to it. Once again, it was all a sequence of progress. Baby steps, right? Of course. Sighing softly, he dropped the barrier to receive what remained, or rather, what she desired to give him. It was difficult to hide the salt in his expression as he observed the remaining skewers and one piece of dango, but food was food. Even if it was formerly his own, he had to be careful around her.

"Thank you for sharing some of your food with me. I don't know what I did between chasing you until now, but I don't have any intention of turning you in, let alone making you pay for anything. I'm not going to risk the lives of innocents in my quest for a meal, or... what's left of a meal at least," he grumbled quietly, chewing on the piece of dango as he observed her with quiet curiosity.

Natsumi watched him, her head tilted curiously. He held the demeanor of a young hero in the books she was allowed to read. She wondered if he was as overly helpful and unbearably naïve like they were too. A far as she was concerned, he was lucky she was willing to share. The chase could have kept on until she collapsed wall or tore up a street... destroyed a bridge... but she decided against it.

Since they were observing each other for the moment, it was like a staring competition for a moment. For Natsumi though, she withdrew, her cheeks flushed. She scooted back away and reestablished the barrier around her to prevent him from getting too close. "What are you starin' at?" Natsumi said. "I heard when people stare at ya, it's cause they got somethin' to say. If ya do, speak it up."

"I'm curious about something. When we were locked in our chase, it seemed you were having fun. You were even displaying a bit of flare as you avoided me. When I had you cornered, though, you talked as if I had some ulterior motive. No, more than that... as if somebody had chased you before that was sent out with the sole purpose of capturing you."

Kenichi quietly nibbled away at the dango, observing her with hazel eyes as she grew self-conscious and reasserted a barrier around her. He had no intention of approaching her at the moment, if by no other reason than the fact she could turn this building into a pile of rubble. His desire, more or less, amounted to getting to the bottom of her fear, of aiming to assist her in a way that didn't feel so precarious at the moment.

"Are you in danger?"

Natsumi scoffed and laid down, putting her arms behind her head and letting her cap fall over her eyes. "Ain't no reason to go chasin' a girl across a city for a bit of food you obviously can buy more of." Up until now, Kenichi might not have noticed, but she wasn't exactly the cleanest of people. Her hat was dirty and old, her shirt was dirty and oversized, and her pants were likely men's pants.

Natsumi opened one eye to look at him when he asked about her being in danger. She closed it again and turned away from him, laying on her side and curling her knees up some. "Ain't nothing in danger. I fought off enough muggers and jerks on the street. I can handle my self just fine. Just hungry, is all. Nothing else."

"True. I apologize for chasing you. Any woman would be frightened by that. You have every right to be upset."

Kenichi expected that answer, his expression unperturbed by her response. He had his fair share of retorts he could have approached this with, but since he viewed that as counterintuitive to his progress, costly words that could compromise the entire building here, he maintained his silence. Listening, observing, acknowledging... that would be his approach here. Her disheveled appearance did not go unnoticed, either. Kenichi truly intended to help her if he was allowed to do so.

"I can't imagine fighting anyone off for a meal is pleasant. I can't imagine running away being chased is the best feeling, either. When this whole thing started, I found myself more entertained than angry about the food. If anything, I genuinely wanted to catch up and make a new friend. You were pretty cool tipping your hat like a cowboy back there. Like one of those westerns in the past. My first thought was playfully teasing you and then seeing if we could go back for a meal, you know? Sorry if I started on the wrong foot."

"Tst. I ain't needing your apology, ya know? I wasn't frightened of nothing. Just don't be chasin' me unless you wantin' to battle. You never know where someone's mind is. I coulda been crazy... murderous." Natsumi said and then rolled over to face him when he stopped talking. She stared, arms still behind her head. She then rapidly sat up and put her hands on her knees. "Wait, so you're tellin' me that a girl you don't know steals from ya', and y'er only response is 'oh a new friend maybe'?" Natsumi said, looking at him like he was crazy. "What kind of world you livin' in here? There ain't no way you just wanna make a friend. You seein' sunshine an' rainbows behind those brown eyes of yours? How are you so damn cheery? It's weird as hell."

"If you turned murderous and compromised the lives of everyone below me, I would have responded in kind. I would have acted on their behalf. I understand that there is undoubtedly something that bothers you, something that makes it difficult to trust someone, but jeopardizing the lives of others should never be the type of weight you'd want on your soul."

Kenichi sighed softly, rubbing his temples as he allowed himself to speak freely and honestly. There really wasn't any sort of way he could have worded that outside of being absolutely honest. Innocent lives was not something to play with in his eyes, to say nothing of those who didn't even ask for their lives to be altered in the first place. To him, it was a shameful act. Hurting those who couldn't defend themselves. Naturally, if he was always present, he would be there to act in their place. No matter what, he would protect them.

"To answer your questions, perhaps I am living in a world full of sunshine and rainbows, but I do understand there are those who sincerely wish to be helped. You complain about my attitude, but what if I came at you with something other than kindness... like anger for example. You can pull theft on the average human, but I'm not one of them. You call me weird, but who would purposely endanger themselves for a meal? I simply enjoy creating an outcome that is beneficial for everyone around me. Anyway... What's wrong with wanting to be your friend, huh? You can be as mean as you want. I'm use to it. My best friend, who I view like a brother, thinks I'm pretty naïve too. What's wrong with being kind-hearted? Seriously..."