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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2019 2:35:05 GMT -4
'CUZ I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME HE'D SAID HE WAS GOING TO SCHOOL, but that had been an outright lie. In fact, as soon as he'd stepped off of the school bus, he'd walked clear in the opposite direction of the school gates, and beelined straight for the train station. Kenji had managed to slip through the gates and (once inside) changed into street clothes and stashed his uniform in his briefcase. He caught the first train to downtown, got off at a rather familiar stop, and headed right to his favorite arcade. Life had been crappy, okay? And he needed to blow some steam.
And after the stupid orphanage attendants had taken his handhold console away (something about doing something other than playing games) he was starting to go out of his damn mind.
So Kenji walked into the decently-busy arcade (albeit mostly filled with college-aged individuals), and went towards the back of the arcade where the retro games were kept. His arrival was heralded by flashing lights and mechanical jingles, but otherwise he went unnonticed by most of the patrons there-- or so he thoughts.
Long, long ago when the redhead had lived with his biological family, his brother had showed him a trick that really only worked with the retro, coin-operated machines. The bags that stored the coins were accessible, if your arms were skinny enough, by laying on the ground and reaching up under the machine. You only needed to slice the bag open. Kenji sat on the ground and fished his scissors out of his briefcase. He then lay on his belly and, after sliding the scissors over his index and middle fingers, stuck his hand under.
Kenji felt with his knuckles first, feeling the familiar give of the plastic canvas bag and the clanking of coins. He turned the scissors' blade towards the bag and *snip* the incision was made.
Coins fell like spilled water the threadbare arcade carpet.
It was foolproof. He could use his spoils to kill some time, maybe get some food, and then get on the school bus at the end of the day as if he'd actually gone to school. Everyone would be happy.
| 360 words ooc notes: |
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56 Posts
0 EP
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15 Years
Male
"King Yeti"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Edward Eckles on Oct 28, 2019 17:35:39 GMT -4
Eddy was thoroughly conflicted. He barely knew how to feel about anything at the moment, aside from being frustrated by how conflicted he was. He was planning on training today, maybe hit the gym to get some work in on his Quirk or nurture his growing interest in boxing. Before he could leave though, his uncle pulled him aside, explaining to the short lad that he and Edward's mother were worried he was pushing himself too hard. He left the house with a rebellious grunt, offended that they weren't taking his training as seriously as he was. Yet, as he began his daily run it did occur to him that they were just genuinely concerned for his health, as he probably should be too. He hadn't thought about it before, but overworking his body could be dangerous even though he was a relatively healthy young man. Maybe taking a day off from all the training was a good idea. That was how he ended up in an arcade he had never been to before. There weren't many arcades back home in the US, but he had always wanted to go to one, so he figured he should be a whole lot happier about this than he actually was. He felt like he was cheating himself for not following through on his plans to train. It was an odd, overly-complicated sort of guilt that just poisoned the whole experience. Maybe he'd feel better if he just played one of those dancing games? That'd be a work-out right? No, that's stupid, he'd look like an idiot. Plus, he'd heat up way too much in his parka, and he sure as hell wasn't taking it off just to play some dumb dancing game. Eddy looked back at the front doors of the arcade, considering leaving and continuing his training, but thought of his mother's concern. With a sigh, he turned away from the doors and waded through the sea of lights, sounds, and young adults until he reached a fairly un-crowded corner of the arcade, seemingly populated only by one other boy that seemed to be his age, and also seemed to have lost something underneath the game cabinet, judging by how he was lying on the ground and reaching under it. That was the assumption, of course, until Eddy managed to make out a distinct snipping noise among all the obnoxious arcade bleeps and chimes. Clearing his throat, Eddy crossed his arms. "You sure you're supposed to be doing that?" Voice slightly muffled by the scarf over his face, Edward spoke, staring down at the other boy from behind his opaque spectacles. Kenji was clearly breaking the rules, and being a wannabe Hero, Eddy figured he couldn't just sit back and let it happen, even if it wasn't really hurting anyone.
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271 Posts
1 EP
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"Slapdash"
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Post by Kenji Murano on Dec 11, 2019 22:27:50 GMT -4
'CUZ I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME KENJI WITHDREW THE SCISSORS, and was about to reach back under when someone "ahem'ed" behind him. Seriously? If it was an employee he'd have to think fast or move fast. If it was a kid… well…
The redhead lifted his gaze ever so slowly. The boy that loomed over him just as tall as Kenji, and twice as round. Great, Kenji thought, I'm gonna get my chops busted by some righteous, dark-skinned fat kid in glasses. A smirk twisted at the teens mouth, and he scoffed at the inquiry.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he said casually. What did he expect? One line of questioning and suddenly Kenji would realize the error of his ways? Fat chance.
He struck a skinny arm under the machine and, cupping his hand, scooped out some coins. He sat up and took a fistful before getting to his feet. Any stragglers were nudged back under with the side of Kenji's ratty sneaker. The coins were deposited into the young teen's pocket with a satisfying jangle, and Kenji appraises the interloper. Kenji's expression had resigned it to something more nonchalant as he tucked the scissors into his back pocket.
"Not really stealing if I'm giving it right back, is it?" he asked in response, "Besides, I'm broke, so like… you do what you have to."
The redhead stepped away from the machine, turning his back on the other boy. Kenji didn't want to give the dweeb time to protest.
"More down there if you want."
He'd have to come back for bus money.
He'd also have to watch the counter to make sure the other kid didn't snitch.
Kenji surveyed the machine, all alight in neon and shining their mechanical melody. So many options to choose from…
| 290 words ooc notes: |
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56 Posts
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15 Years
Male
"King Yeti"
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Post by Edward Eckles on Dec 29, 2019 3:53:16 GMT -4
Eddy seemed immediately taken aback by Kenji's refusal to admit to his own wrongdoing. He could tell the other young man knew damn well what he was doing and that it was well and truly illegal, or at least against the rules of this arcade. Maybe he just didn't get out much, but Edward had never seen such flippant disregard for the law. When Kenji went down to grab some of the coins, Edward huffed again, standing as straight as he can and somehow crossing his arms harder, like an animal trying to intimidate another by making himself look bigger. Of course, it didn't work. He let out a deep sigh as Kenji just turned his back to him and walked off. Edward really contemplated just letting him go. Like he said, he was broke, even as staunch and stubborn as Eddy was, turning him in for wanting to play a few games seemed like something of an awful thing to do. He grumbled, looking down at the machine that had been stolen from and pondering. Letting him go wasn't the best idea for anyone, really just the easiest. Kenji was still putting himself at risk of being discovered by an arcade employee and being kicked out, stealing from the machines so brazenly. What this situation required wasn't retribution or apathy, it required sacrifice. The parka-clad young man quickly followed the other boy, placing a firm hand on Kenji's shoulder when he caught up with him. Before saying anything, he held up his other hand, full of coins taken from his own pocket. "Just put the ones you stole back and I'll let you use mine." The handful wasn't quite as much as what Kenji had taken from the machine, Edward could only hope that the other boy would prefer clean coins over stolen ones. "I dunno your story, but it must suck if you can't even afford a few quarters for a game. I'll listen to it if you want, or I'll leave you alone, whichever you want. Just take my coins." He jangled the coins in his hand as though to make them seem more enticing. He figured some level of compassion might sway the other boy, as clumsy as the attempt was, his heart was in the right place.
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"Slapdash"
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Post by Kenji Murano on Jan 8, 2020 21:26:46 GMT -4
'CUZ I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME THE TEEN PERUSED THE AISLE of brightly lit arcade games, his hazel eyes glimmering with the lights that danced along the tops of them. Various digital voices beckoned like sirens calls, riffs of recorded instruments trying to entice him. It would be nice to disconnect for a bit, just play some fucking games and forget about the absolute shithole his life presently was. The redhead paused at a driving game-- of the cartoonish variety, and based-on a familiar console-based franchise. Not a bad price--
It was about that time that a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.
Kenji's reaction was instantaneous. He sank free of the hold, turning to face the person addressing him, his face contorting in annoyance.
"Don't fucking touch me!" he rebuked the fellow kid, practically snarling. The words that followed did nothing to quell the young teen's annoyance-- though the animosity written across his face slackened to something a little more... uncertain. Put back the coins he stole? For the fat kids' coins?
A wrinkle formed at the bridge of Kenji's nose.
He took a step back, squinting at the other boy's extended hand. The tips of his ears flushed in indignation.
"The fuck is a quarter?" the redhead muttered. Of all the things Kenji could have glommed-on to in the other teen's offer, that's where his attention fixed. Following a brief, pregnant silence, Kenji's brain finally seemed to make sense of the rest of the other boy's offer.
It was a gracious offer, certainly, but the Kenji was not the kind to accept charity, however kindhearted it was. He took, thoughtlessly, and spurned any opportunity fo self-reflection. The redhead sighed heavily, wedging his hands into his pockets.
"... No," Kenji said simply. As an afterthought, he added, "Thank you."
The "thank you" was murmured through clenched teeth. Even his body had resigned itself to not engaging in a physical fight, the tension in his form hadn't left.
"I'm not looking for a hand-out, okay?" the redhead grumbled, "I just want to play some driving games and not think about shit for a while. Besides-"
He gestured at the arcade around them, bustling with energy, pulsating with people, full of vigor.
"-does this look like a place that's gonna miss five-hundred yen? Maybe a thousand tops? I'm just recycling coins that other people have used."
Not stealing, mind you. Recycling.
Maybe the redhead's thin annoyance, and this tone of partial defeat, would get the other boy to leave him alone.
| 413 words ooc notes: |
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56 Posts
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15 Years
Male
"King Yeti"
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Post by Edward Eckles on Jan 9, 2020 19:59:10 GMT -4
Edward's hand shot up and away from Kenji's shoulder as the latter yelled at him to not touch him. Eddy's head twitched slightly to the left and right as he tried to subtly peer around from behind his glasses, nervous that someone would get the very wrong idea from that interaction. Edward recognized that his penchant to hide his face already made him look rather shady, and he certainly did not want people thinking that he was indeed, a shady individual. He would have told Kenji to keep it down, but he was afraid that would simply make things even more suspect for any eavesdroppers. "Qua-?" Eddy grumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he realized his fumble. Quarter, quarter-dollar, they're American coins, I'm from America. He let out a frustrated sigh and gestured at the coins in his hand. "This is yen though, I just misspoke." The short lad clarified, trying to prevent further misunderstanding. Edward's blank visage stared back at Kenji as the slim boy refused his offer and tried to justify his thievery. He spilled the coinage back into his coat's pocket and shook his head, looking as though he had given up. If only Kenji were so lucky. You're right that this place probably won't even notice that they've been stolen from, at least not until someone notices the coin bag you cut open." Eddy admitted before crossing his arms and continuing. "That doesn't excuse stealing though, especially when you're being offered an alternative that doesn't involve being a thief, or an idiot." The chubby lad pointed one of his mittened thumbs up to the ceiling. "Popular place like this probably has security cameras. Someone, probably later tonight, will notice one of the machines have been cut into, check the cameras, and you'll be banned. The logical thing to do at this point would be to return the coins, apologize, and accept my offer."This guy seemed pretty stubborn, but maybe approaching things logically would help him see that what he was doing was both pointless and stupid. The way Eddy figured, if this guy was really dumb enough to think that stealing coins to spend at the same place he stole them from constituted as borrowing, then he might just need to have the risks associated with this move explained to him. Suffice to say, Edward did not think very highly of Kenji so far.
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Post by Kenji Murano on Jan 26, 2020 20:11:57 GMT -4
'CUZ I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME KENJI SIGHED SHAKILY as the boy removed his hand, straightening his shirt and looking away. It wasn't as though his shirt had been disheveled in the first place-- he just needed... a moment. A moment to slow the heart that was throwing itself against his ribs. Perhaps it was fury, perhaps it was fear-- he just didn't like people laying their hands on him. Even if this fat kid was really fucking annoying, he seemed to mean well. Sucker-punching the guy wasn't his top priority-- especially since that'd definitely get him kicked-out of the arcade.
The redhead grit his teeth, his hazel eyes latching back onto the other kid before him.
Kenji maintained his glare as the boy hastily explained quarters and his own personal history-- well, that'd explain his physique-- and continued to scrutinize Kenji's misconduct from his high horse. But... well... the boy did have a valid point. They probably would kick him out as soon as they watched the footage. Hell, someone could've been on their way right now. Places like these had security for a very valid reason, namely people like Kenji.
But he was a proud boy. And now he was also confused, and kind of scared-- what if he ended up in prison like his mom? He wasn't thinking about the consequences, he was just doing what his brothers had done so many times. He wasn't better than any of them, not his brothers or sisters, not his criminal parents. He could never go to that swanky hero school that Mosa worked at if he kept this shit up.
As all these thoughts rushed through Kenji's head, the sharp, sneering look in his eyes slackened into something more confused and perhaps frightened. He seemed to be looking at Edward's shoes now.
Wordlessly, surprisingly, the teen extended his fist, still clenched around the yen, towards Edward. One would think he was going to take the other boy's offering. But rather than scrounging for coins, he deposited his own (stolen) ones.
Kenji couldn't bring himself to face the staff. He patted his pockets emphatically, no jangling. Back to being the poor, coinless street urchin he was before.
"You win," the redhead said simply, "I give up."
He'd have to find other things to do.
The boy wedged his hands deep in his pockets, as if to say "no takebacks", and stalked towards the exit, his face set in a scowl.
He didn't slow his pace until he was outside of the arcade, squinting at the sunlight up above. Doing the right thing fucking sucked. Now how was he going to keep himself busy?
The young teen banked left and began to slowly trudge down the quiet city streets. Most people were at work or in school, so there were really no crowds to lose oneself in.
"Goddamn foreigner kid," Kenji muttered beneath his breath, "Fuckin' ruining everything."
| 481 words tl,dr: "how dare this foreigner make me think about the consequences of my actions!" |
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56 Posts
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15 Years
Male
"King Yeti"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Edward Eckles on Feb 14, 2020 21:58:33 GMT -4
It seemed that Eddy had won. Well, kind of. As he said, the smart thing to do would be to return the coins to the arcade staff and then take his offer, but instead Kenji just dumped his stolen coins into Eddy's mittens, causing the parka-clad lad to scramble a bit to actually keep them in his hands. As he recovered from the unforeseen move, he looked at the other boy as he pat his pockets, ensuring that he had absolutely no money to speak of now that he's surrendered his ill-gotten gains. He watched, from behind his opaque glasses as Kenji left. Though the dinner-plate glasses gave an air of vacancy to Edward's appearance, the boy was clearly in thought as he motionlessly watched the other boy leave. This arcade was far from any residential areas, Kenji was clearly too young to drive, and without money likely would not be able to get a ride home on a bus or in a cab. It wasn't Eddy's problem though, right? So what if some little thief had to take a long walk home? Yet, it was within his power to change that, and isn't that what a Hero would do? If he really wanted to go to and graduate from UA, perhaps it would behoove Edward to adopt that mindset. With a deep sigh, Edward began following Kenji, dropping the stolen coins, or at least the same quantity of coins that had been stolen to the ground before kicking them back underneath the machine, taking his own coins, or at least the same quantity of coins that he had walked in with, with him as he walked out of the arcade and started his way after the other young man. "Hey! Wait a minute!" Despite appearing rather out of shape and weighed down by how many layers he wore, Eddy was approaching quickly, jogging with excellent form honed over the past few months of training in preparation for going to UA. "How are you getting home?" Edward yelled up the street at Kenji. "Do you have cabfare or a bus pass? I can help!" He raised one of his hands, still carrying the yen he had offered Kenji back at the arcade. No matter how Heroic Edward may have seen his moment of continued concern for Kenji's well-being, one would be challenged to view it from any other perspective as anything but terribly creepy, clingy even. No matter how one sliced it, the optics on this one were pretty awful.
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271 Posts
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"Slapdash"
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Post by Kenji Murano on Mar 8, 2020 20:24:16 GMT -4
'CUZ I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME THE REDHEADED TEEN HAD ALREADY TRAVERSED at least a block before that same, heavily-accented voice addressed him. Goddamn nosey foreigner kid, ruining everything. Kenji hadn’t been walking too fast, to be honest, because he hadn’t expected anyone—least of all, the obnoxious foreigner kid—to be following him. But as soon as that kid’s grating voice reached Kenji’s ears, the redhead’s teeth clenched.
“Not on your life!” Kenji barked, when the boy insisted that the redhead wait.
Kenji’s responses were terse and unfriendly. He had no reason to be friendly, really. He was just going to have some fun with the ill-gotten yen, maybe get a snack, then go home. Have some fun. Forget about the absolute shithole that his life had become—no, had always been. And this goddamn foreigner kid had to ruin it.
“I’m walking,” Kenji said dryly.
How the fuck else would he get home. He had no money, no transit pass. The obvious answer was that he’d be walking home. In his peripheral vision, Kenji saw the other boy’s money once again, this time offered as a means to help Kenji get home. Something inside Kenji snapped.
He didn’t want this other boy’s money—he didn’t want his pity, or his kindness. He didn’t want anything to do with him—Kenji saw the other boy’s money, and he hated it, hated him, and hated everything. Fuck! He wanted to punch Foreigner Kid in the face!
Instead, the teen shoved the other boy’s outstretched hand, jostling at least a few yen coins to the ground. And, when he wheeled to face the other boy, there were tears pricking his eyes. (Kenji hated his own tears worst of all.)
The redhead squared up, as if he were about to try and punch the other boy’s teeth in or shout at him. But Kenji caught a glimpse of his reflection in the other boy’s glasses, and saw how weak he looked. How sad and conflicted and just, you know, like an absolute baby. And he couldn’t say anything! Couldn’t find it in him to fight the other boy at all!
“Why won’t you leave me alone, huh?” Kenji demanded. It was the first time he was actually, really looking at the guy, “Why do you care how I’m getting home, or if I’m stealing from an arcade? Huh? Why can’t you mind your own business?”
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Post by Esperia on Apr 12, 2020 11:42:44 GMT -4
Edward has 130 exp and gained 15 exp
Kenji has 117 exp and gained 16 exp
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