Just Don't Get Caught (Open)

[Kagumi Michiyo]

The lack of sympathy in his voice made Kagumi give him a smile. she had told this story before, and the last thing she needed was to explain it again to anyone no matter who they were. Kagumi's smile to him was more apprecitive than anything, and she began skimming her eyes over the individual pictures that were given in the book, she looked over the chart a thousand times but gave up. He seemed to be surprised that she didnt turn it into a sob story like other kids would, but like she said, she didnt really need sympathy, she just wanted someone to talk to.

though the thought of loosing a friend seemed to make him look a little surprised, his own sad story ended with a surprisingly shrug, and all she could do was shrug back, " To each his own I suppose." she ended that peice of the conversation with. She really didnt now have to comment on that, and other than that, he didnt really seem to care about swapping sob stories, it was 123123 and it was done there and gone. He seemed more focused on adding on to a more pleasing subject to him, which was to talk about girls and their flaws, especially hers.

" I guess," she closed the book and placed it on her lap, " but most boys seem to like that kind of thing, barbie dolls and all. youre a one of a kind species of man, because I think i know plenty of men that would probably disagree with you." she laughed at the face he made, she had to figure he made his point, " As for me, i dont feel it worth the effort to wear makeup or get plastic surgury. too much effort and too much money. If someone plans to like me than they have to like this," she showed her scraggled hair, down to the baggy house clothes, " not what they think i need to change."

[Matt]

Matt could remain in his relaxed position now that he was sure Kage was about as interested in swapping stories as he was. There was one bullet that they managed to dodge. A good quality in his eyes was to avoid a nasty conversation if it was possible, and the girl did just that. Thankfully for him, he managed to take interest in only people who were like that, which is not surprisingly a few. The less people who told him their problems, the less Matt felt forced to give a damn, and that sounded good to him. Hell, he didn't even push to find out what happened to Mello, and they've been friends for God knows how long.

Matt offered a small grin as she picked up the subject of girls. Now the only thing he had to worry about was coming across as a sleezeball. "Well, okay, I admit. I like some real eye candy here and there. Who doesn't?" He added a bit of a chuckle there. As much as he had his ideas, a sexy movie star did manage to capture his interest and he'd rather date a model before any girl to show up at Wammy's. Those hot, rich girls however, he knew were way out of his league. He'd rather daydream about someone imperfect than someone impossible. "But I can have my little preferences, can't I?"

He frowned a little bit when she mentioned no makeup. "I thought most women liked to preen themselves with stuff like that, not the surgery but the makeup," He put his elbow on the armrest and rested his head in his hand while he changed his position on the chair. Matt looked at Kage's face and attempted to imagine her with some lipstick or mascara. "Some girl told me once it had something to do with making themselves feel good or some crap." After a pause, he produced another smirk. "Maybe I'm not the only oddball in this room,"

[Kagumi Michiyo]

As he talked, Kagumi slowly ran a long hand on the velvety cover of the Alkemy Book. it wasnt that she wanted to read, this was way too interesting to go back to reading, but she needed something to do with her hands, she always fiddled with something when she talked to someone. " Once again i say, to each his own." Kage thought about what kind of man she liked, did she even have a taste in men? She wasnt one for the storybook prince charming, but on the other hand if some guy decided she was worth saving she'd of course be grateful. She had no issue with those dangerous men, but if they only want her as a punching bag she wouldnt take that laying down. Kagumi was a big girl, she could take care of herself.

He seemed a little surprised that she didnt wear makeup, but then again he might have seen enough of those to believe that. " Yeah, i get that a lot," she said chuckling, " Some women do use makeup to make themselves feel good, i tried it once, put it on like someone straight out of Mary Kay, but i guess i just didnt get that good feeling like i thougt i would." she leaned back onto the wall with the book on her lap, " I just dont see painting my face worth the effort." she thought for a minute , she didnt even use it when she put on disguises, " I am a girl who would rather show the real me than cover it up."

[Matt]

Matt completed the successful catching of his newest Pokeman while Kage spoke to him, leading to about only half of what she said to be registered in his head. The act of picking out a nickname took up his devoted attention for a second, but he once again was able to catch enough words to respond to. Talking was enjoyable and all, but his habits were a bit like Kage's own. The fingers and the brain were too restless to go without some other sort of stimulation. Sometimes however, it did tend to result in distraction. It wasn't a problem this particular time.

The "take me as I am" route was another common string of statements the boy was familiar with when dealing with girls. He could imagine that Kage's reasoning had to do with either confidence, or simply the ability to care less. "To each her own," he echoed with friendly mockery. "I'm having a hard time picturing you with any makeup on anyway," he said bluntly with a brief shrug and even more lack of eye contact. His game must've been getting pretty good at that point.

(OOC: Ugh. I've learned from this that I should only ever post after a decent night's sleep. XP)

[Kagumi Michiyo]

( its allright! and nice blues brothers quote!)

Kagumi couldnt help but laugh at how cliche she sounded when talking about her looks to someone, but it didnt seem to make a difference to him. She pulled up the oversized velvety book and cracked it open, trying to make out the pictures that were in the book. there was a large circular chart, riddled to the brim with the alchemic symbols and swirling with intense color. with this sudden pull towards her book, she hardly heard what he said, but with a few seconds of contemplation behind her book, she was able to peice it together reasonably without so much as a flinch. but maybe if she had listened better there would have been no issue with her and listening skills and her lack of focus. they were all big problems to her higher ups, but she was a decent person, she knew how to put 2 and 2 together.

" Thats good, cause there might be something odd going on if i am," she said from behind the large book, " I have better things to do than that." she leaned back on the wall.

[amex]

(May I join you?^^)

Usually the only thing a bird can see when flying above a cherry tree are the colors of it’s blossoms shifting from red to pink to white and again, much like a beautiful naked circle, undisturbed by anything but the passing bees, but that wasn’t the case here. A couple of blond shades were breaking the perfect line, scattering its pieces left and right. Those were merely Amex’s messy hairs being highlighted by the morning sun. Fortunately for her, she could only be spotted and reviled by a bird now and was completely devoted to her thoughts.

She was sitting in a tree near the orphanage's entrance with her bright amber gaze still on it. She had been watching then talk for what seemed to be hours and had taken in every little word they had said, carefully analyzing it and trying to guess what they would do next as if it was a game. She had always thought of herself as an excellent judge of character but now felt helpless, she hadn’t guessed right a single time!

The young girl had only felt this way while watching the falling rain drops; you never know which one would turn when and where. She had never seen such kids before, for her, all the others were the same – easy to read and trick if necessary. But was now looking at two individuals with fine developed characters who, in order to be read as easy as the rest, she needed to know better.

She was convincing herself to go in and perhaps start a chat, not only because she wanted to learn more about them, but also because she need friends who wouldn’t stab her in the back at the first given opportunity…And most of all she needed to share the pain of loosing her mother with someone, and hearing Kage‘s story made her think that she would understand what it’s like to lose someone you love.

Finally, the amber-eyed girl convinced herself to go over and jumped off the tree, landing on the wet morning grass and approached the house's door slowly. She walked in, feeling the other children's eyes examining her, it made her feel nervous yet important, in her own way. When she finally caught up to them, though, the only word that slipped out of her lips was a simple and innocent “H-hi…”

[Matt]

(OOC: To Amex- I'm cool with! The more the merrier! That is, unless Kagumi minds.
To Kagumi- Thanks! I can't help but giggle every time that line comes up. ^^.)

"Better things to do?" Matt questioned with a slight smirk, his eyes still locked on the game all the while. "Didn't you tell me before that you had nothing to do?" Once he finished speaking and found a Pokecenter, he freed himself long enough to glance up at Kage briefly once more. Her eyes were set on a rather fancy book just as his eyes were earlier set on a scratched up screen. It wasn't surprising at all that she could do the same thing he and at least a hundred other students could do; multitasking and such. It wasn't cause for offense either. It'd make a hypocrite out of him if he did.

Matt probably wasn't the only one who didn't take interest in the door opening and closing. After all, the thing did slam countless times a day, too many for anyone to be overly worried about who crossed the threshold. The resident knew for sure he wasn't the only one who thought this way. How else could he slip out so often without raising any concern? He had planned on simply returning to his game and the conversation, but a female voice, a foreign voice, interrupted.

At first, the nervous greeting didn't appear directed to either of them. It was easy to write it off as another conversation beginning at another part of the room.However, Matt's curiosity got the best of him when he heard no response. A gloved finger slapped the Pause button instinctively as Matt lifted and turned his head. Everyone in his line of sight already seemed to be paired off or busy with their own things, all but a young blond standing within an arm's length. The smile he offered to Kage was dismissed at the arrival of the stranger as he looked her up and down. At this point, he knew that it was he and Kage she had directed her attention towards. Of course, Matt's girl loving ways kicked in, but again was left disappointed. As cute as her face was, the seeming lack of care she put into her hair and awkward size of her clothes served as a turn off. But who knows? Maybe she was liked Kage and just needed to be evaluated and stared at for a while.

Then Matt remembered about Team Aqua and returned to his normal position quite casually. It seemed for a moment that he was shrugging her off, but he did speak once the buttons were being pressed again. "Hey," he responded in his classic, laid-back manner. The rest he left to the ladies for now.

[Kagumi Michiyo]

( no problem guys! I'd rather the more the merrier anyway)

" I do have nothing to do, i just dont want to spend hard earned nothing time fixing my face." she flipped the page now to the appearence of an old looking man, the caption claiming him to be over 200 years old. He sported to confirm that a long mane of silvery white hair and matching beard trailing to the old hardwood floor. under those, the dark face was wrinkled and weathered with blackened soot. though his mouth was hidden, his eyes gazed at her. One was pale with bindness, the other was a bright flasy green that stood out under the bloodsht of his eyes. Most kids found that creepy, but something about it fascinated her.

Her ears had perked up suddenly to the sound of the door opening, but she paid it little to no mind, but from the corner of her eyes she couldnt help but notice the odd looks coming from the other kids in the room, is it a new kid? she forced herself to read a paragraph in her book, continuing on with her reading, but her suddenly cautious tuned ears picked up the sound of a soft greeting, most likely directed at the two casual looking children themselves. When she heard a reaction from Matt, her curiosity got the better of her, she lowered the book to an angle where her face could be seen and her bright amber eyes met matching ones. She seemed like her, unkempt hair and large relaxed clothing, but she was younger than her ( by probably a year or 2) and she was blonde and pale.

Matt seemed to just say hi and returned to his game as usual, meaning that when he found the girl probably unsuitable and like some kind of husband was thinking you deal with her, im a bit busy. she sighed and rolled her eyes, she might as well, " Why hello there dear," she acknowledged the girl, " I'm assuming you are not a new student, nor are you from here, is there anything i could do you for?"

[amex]

She felt her voice slipping away ever since the students laid eyes on her but didn’t expect to lose it half way through a sentence…Being shy to begin with, she was now feeling even more nervous, so she started pulling on her earring, thinking about something to say that wouldn’t make her seem like a stalker and get her out of this uncomfortable situation. Her gaze moved from Matt to Kagumi and back until it finally landed on her feet, with the blond shrugging nervously in the process.

However, when she heard their response to the rather awkward greeting, not being what she’d expected, she quickly lifted her head and set her gaze back on the two while a fade shade of pink crawled on her cheeks, even the simplest 'hello' meant something to that overemotional head of hers.

She smiled noticing that Kage was acknowledging her, if even a little, and decided to simply answer the kind girl’s question, even if her answer made her look a bit strange. ’Yes, I’m not from here…’ she said in a now more confident voice, ‘I was looking for a place to stay while I’m here…’ she added, her grip on the overused sketch book getting tighter, ‘I overheard you talking outside and…’ she paused noticing that her cheeks had now turned a deep red and shook her head to get rid of the crimson blush, ‘… and I thought I could stay here for a bit…’. By ‘a bit’ she didn’t mean more than a week or two even though she was determined to get to know them better. Determined was a word that had always provoked Amex and thinking of it for a brief moment made the color of her cheeks return to normal and her eyes sparkled with optimism, highlighting their slightly Asian form. She pulled her hand up and said, a playful grin spreading across her face ‘I’m Amex by the way!’.

[Kagumi Michiyo]

As she continued to listen to the girl, Kagumi looked at the girl become flustered and timid, something that wasnt new to her, but she listend closely to her with the book still at the akward angle. Kagumi crossed her legs and rested her book on her lap, still open to the overly frightening picture of the anchient 200 year old alchemist and she rested her hands on its pages.

Her face remained emotionless and at a minimum, her amber eyes giving all of the emotion she needed, " you need a place to stay?" she echoed, " When we say that are we speaking of you just staying in the room or do we mean go out and interact, because I am not so sure how roger would take stowaways." She only could look at her to wonder her intentions. She had hardly met this girl, she wants to stay here out of all places and she asked the two of them for it? Why? " im figuring you plan on being a stowaway since you are asking two kids instead of the adults," she gave a nod of introduction, " I go by Kage, and his name is Matt, I guess its a pleasure Amex." she would reach over to shake her hand or something, but with the large book in between them she wasnt sure she had the room. but if this girl walked in to whammy's house just to ask the two of them for a place to leave, she had to be a bit cautious.

[Matt]

Matt attempted to take good care the business he held in his hands while Kage did the somewhat tiring job of getting past introductions, but words that came out of the stranger's mouth were laced with interesting statements. Much to the gamer's dismay, he found his focus drug away and set on the speakers. He couldn't help himself but look up at the two as they spoke, remaining stationary for all but a wave when he was introduced. It didn't take much for Matt to come to the same conclusions that Kage did once the two girls were done for a moment.

Amex, or so the girl called herself, caught the boy's focus the most. Her question was very brief, with very little explanation at all. Sure, Wammy's tried to keep itself in secrecy as much as it could, but it sure as hell didn't look like a hotel or something. Maybe she did expect an ounce of kindness from an orphanage, but Kage's point was right on the dot. Why ask a pair of kids? As far as they knew, Amex could have a reputation they don't know about. At a place like this, anyone would be forced to assume her intentions as not-so-friendly. But before making anymore analysis, Matt figured that he'd wait for her response.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Matt added, just so he didn't feel left out. He kept his tone at the same level as Kage's, and didn't bother to extend a hand to shake either. Consider rude if you will, but Amex wasn't exactly the first person he'd trust here. However, part of him was tempted to take this risk and get involved with her. Matt's little reckless streak was given just enough reason to come to mind. As it was said before, the monotony of this place drove him insane. He never could ignore the impulsion to find out just what would piss off Roger, or what would be the most amusing way to break the mold. It got him into trouble, which is an understatement really, but those almost stupid moments of his were often the highlights of his life.

But still, even though he thought he could get a kick out of unraveling and dealing with Amex, Matt kept a good head above his shoulders. He'd let himself be a bit reckless perhaps, but not idiotic.

[amex]

Amex had gained back her confident, optimistic attitude, but hearing Kagumi’s remark about her stay made her feel out of place again. She didn’t want to ask the adults mainly because most of them didn’t understand her, despite her intelligence. She was more like an insane genius than a ‘smart kid’ like the ones adults proffered to have a conversation with. Furthermore, most of the older people she had spent time with back in the US were like money making machines, they didn’t care about anything else, they had n interests and, the thing that shocked the young girl the most, they didn’t understand art, elders just thought of it as something to sell in order to make more money. That wasn’t true for everyone, but the amber-eyed girl was still convinced that most adults were this way so she avoided socializing with them. ‘Oh, I don’t want to be a stowaway, that would cause too much trouble for you. I was planning on asking the staff but I need some moral support before that.’ She said letting out a slight chuckle at the end of the sentence ‘And in any case I’m sure they wouldn’t mind, this is an orphanage after all.’ Amex looked at her feet for a second. It was true that she missed her mother more than anything, but if she wasn’t an orphan would the staff sympathize enough to let her stay? Maybe…on the other hand, this wouldn’t be necessary if Malissa Koyashita was still alive…

The girl looked up and smiled at the two not showing that she was mentally punishing herself for not getting back home earlier on that unfaithful day. ‘And what’s more I didn’t ask an adult first because I don’t enjoy having conversations with most of them, I need to have some kind of idea what person I’m about to ask before doing so, just to be safe.’ She smiled again and pulled on her jacket’s sleeve, pointlessly trying to hide it’s rather small length.

The blond saw they didn’t trust her much and for a moment felt offended by this, but quickly realized that if she was in their position, she wouldn’t trust a stranger that came out of nowhere either. She was sure that once they got to know her better, they would also trust her more. With that thought in mind, she smiled and nodded as Kage introduced herself and Matt and pulled back her hand, continuing to pull her earring with it. ’Pleased to meet you too.’ The amber-eyed girl said happily.

[Kagumi Michiyo]

Kage's gaze switched from the girl to Matt, Who seemed to have taken a lot of thought to do everything in his power to try not to go on and mess with Roger, though she considered it herself, the two of them she realized came to the conclusion that even though they needed something to make the day interesting, they certainly werent insane. they both knew nothing about this girl. Kage had to get what she could from what she would say, something that she hated having to do and did it when it was only necessary, the only people who did this usually had something bigger to hide.

With this, she figured she had an issue with adults, but what kid didnt? Kage herself wasnt fond of the adults that hovered around here, but that was merely because she was used to them, and so was every orphan here except for those who were pampered by them. Kage already worked with them and found them unsavory, only because in retrospect listening to adults talk was like listening to babies. Whining about how theyre to good for the company to listen to some insane girl that had no business in business. and to make it worst, she had to learn to slap them on the hand. She was so used to this that it was almost calming to be in here where it was quiet.

And it didnt take a genius to figure that she was an orphan, or else the grimace the girl tried to force away wouldnt be there. but when she continued on Kage couldnt help but exhale sharply at her remark, " yeah that trust is a funny thing huh?" her cynical side had become a bit obvious and the book slipped from her lap, the eyes of the elder alchemist glaring accusingly at the girl as Kage's expression remained unchanged. Usually if someone asked, she would be more than happy too, but like she had to said to a co-worker, she had an issue with people holding things back from her.

[Matt]

The level of caution taught to students at Wammy's House was on the fine line of paranoia. Self-preservation tied in closely to constant suspicion. Matt had thought every lesson on this to be total crap until he found himself faced with someone outside of their little refuge. Amex seemed like a classic thirteen year old girl; socially awkward, yet considerably friendly. Still, distrust was a trait drilled into the heads of the majority of the heads if L's heirs. There was the question of whether he should put the effort into evaluating her or just leave it to Roger when, or if she does speak to him.

Now this was getting a bit too interesting to go back to his game. The music from it drolled continuously, but was left ignored. What didn't go ignored was Kage's cynical remark. He hardly knew the girl for more than ten minutes and already he had a feeling a comment like that was coming. It wasn't like he found it distasteful though. In fact, he was glad that she remarked that way before he did. The new girl seemed too casual, maybe even too friendly even, for Matt to be comfortable. He probably didn't need to think it, knowing that Kage already probably had, but he thought it anyway. As much as a bother as it was, the pair was going to have to dig deeper.

"Moral support from complete strangers, huh?" Matt asked with a raised brow. It was hard to tell whether he was being humorous or putting her on the spot. "Considering it's Roger though," he mumbled more so to himself and Kage than Amex when he trailed off. "The guy can be a major pain in the ass," Obviously, Matt wasn't the type to get along with the old man with all of the stunts he pulled. Then he snapped back to the situation at hand and readjusted his attitude.

[amex]

Amex felt her cheeks turning a deep crimson once again as she heard Kagumi’s cynical remark and Matt’s reply. They were right to be suspicious toward her, as said before, even she would have been a bit paranoid if she was in their place. The arm in which she was holding the sketch book tightened once more and shook a bit as her years caught the remark of the other girl. She was just being nice, that’s all, though in this case it made the situation even worse. As for wanting moral support…that was also true, yet the way she said it, it sounded rather unreal. The girl had a bad habit of always saying the truth before thinking and having the chance to explain herself afterwards, which made most people stray from her.

She turned her earring in circles rapidly not knowing what to say now, so that she would, at the least, lower their suspicions. She gulped and her face got redder then ever. The optimistic smile she had before had twisted into an emotionless line and her eyes looked somehow colder than before. Turning away to face one of the windows for a moment and think, she saw a girl, one of the students perhaps, looking at her and giggling, probably making unpleasant remarks on her hair and clothing. Amex is eyes stopped at her and shot a death glare that could freeze a desert, after which the student silently moved away.

The blond was now thinking whether she should be just as cynical as Kagumi was before or just continue explaining herself with her usual joyful attitude. She decided to take a third option and looked back at the two with her face still red. ‘First of all, please don’t be so rude when someone is polite to you.’ She said glaring at Kage with a what should have been an emotionless expression if not for the deep shade of red covering her cheeks, ‘Secondly, you’re completely right to hold suspicions against me, but your taking it to an extreme level of paranoia.’ She looked back at Matt and added with a gulp ‘And…like I said before, I overheard your conversation earlier and thought that I could rely on both of you seeing as you were a bit different from the other kids I’ve met, even though they’re not much. Correct me if I’m wrong and I’ll go ask someone by myself as if nothing happened.’ She stopped there wanting to add something else but decided that it wasn’t appropriate and waited calmly to hear what they had to say to her. This was an interesting game, but on the other hand, a part of her was deeply offended.