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[head_bancho]

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[head_bancho]

[What did it change? Cards on the table laid out and face-up, he was left realizing Rin had only flipped one more card on her side. His were all out in the open. It was fine. If he was an open deck and she kept hers closed then at least they were talking. It was a little better than before.

He thought about what she said in silence. Was he even weird by Rin's standards? Lining himself up, he swung and hit the last ball with a sharp crack and leaned against the fence while the machine wound down. That look on her face was familiar. Thinking and judging. Probably making a decision and then...]

No. [Not since chasing people they thought were magic landed them in debt they barely crawled out from under. He made an excuse. He was looking somewhere else, far off and out of the park.]

Don't think I'm smart enough for that.

[erbe]

Mm... do you have to keep to a curfew?

[While he had finished up hitting earlier she was able to grab some water. Carefully she slips it between the chain links of the batting cage to him — wiggling it in hopes of catching his attention.]

[head_bancho]

Wouldn't be here if I did.

[Not since he recovered. Hearing crinkling plastic, Riki reached out to take the bottle. He would have paid her back right away, too.]

Look. I got friends who ask me stuff indirectly, too.

[Getting ready to turn on the machine again, Riki shot Rin a smile. There was no point to beating around the bush when he could shred his way through it.]

So, just ask. I'll probably say 'yeah'.

[erbe]

No asking. If you don't have a curfew you'll be visiting my house tonight.

[Hah! Two can play that game. And this way she gets to come across as demanding instead of flustered.]

[head_bancho]

[He didn't break eye contact with her, blink or flinch.


Rin may not have factored in his already blossomed interest in her.]

We heading there now? Yeah, let's do it.

[erbe]

Well, I meant — like, after you were done... but I guess we can go now, yeah.

[head_bancho]

Don't sweat it. [With a smack be slapped the off switch for the pitcher and finished his water in a single gulp.

A little impulsive around his crush and determined to make the most of everything he thought he was doing right.]

All set. You good, Tohsaka?

[erbe]

[Wow, he's surprisingly quick! Too bad he'll probably be disappointed later.]

Sure. Bus or rail?

[Both stations will put them at the bottom of the hill, so they'll still have to climb.]

[head_bancho]

[He'd regret his excitement when he inevitably blew up a room thanks to overexcitement.]

Rail. Still got a month left on my bus ban.

[Before they got to the gate, Riki stopped and]

Remind me I gotta bring jam with me later. I told mom what you said and she got manic.

[erbe]

I suppose you neglected to tell her you threatened me for it.

[A threat? Hardly, but if Tohsaka is anything it's difficult.

She's familiar with thw rail stations in this part of town so she'll lead them both.]

[head_bancho]

I told her it was your first date and she grilled me for like, half an hour.

[Therein was the true threat.]

[erbe]

...Why? I didn't think it was that bad.

[head_bancho]

It wasn't at all. She got mad that I wasn't enough of a 'gentleman'.

[erbe]

[Oh... oh-ho-ho.]

And what sort of gentleman did she expect you to be?

[head_bancho]

Don't laugh. [She wasn't, but he could still hear it.]

She thought I was too focused on pictures instead of you.

[erbe]

I didn't asked to be focused on, so it's fine.

[As long as the pictures are fairly generic and not embarrassing it's fine. If she actually showed emotion in them she'd be devastated!]

[head_bancho]

[He pulled up the two pictures from then on his phone and just looked at them for a little.]

Looked like you enjoyed yourself even if you didn't ask for it.

[erbe]

You completely missed what I was trying to say.

["It's okay if you took pictures".]

[head_bancho]

I know. It's just the first thing that popped into mind.

[He shut it off and shrugged.]

She also said she's surprised you talked to me at all. That makes two of us.

[erbe]

I suppose you didn't tell her we met because I was bullying you.

[The station isn't far off. She'll be kind enough to swipe her rail pass twice for him. After all... she's probably going to make him endure a few things he might not like.]

[head_bancho]

I told her. I'm a crappy liar.

[He folded like a cheap suit.]

Well, except for the stuff about the office. Not like she'd connect the dots and expect you to be there anyway, so I just kept my mouth shut.

[He had no idea he was about to feel what it was like to have his nerves pinched with fire.]

[erbe]

[a crappy liar... maybe she should rethink this.]

If you keep hanging around me you'll have to lie or omit the truth, you know.

[head_bancho]

Like saying that you're tutoring me? Who wouldn't believe that?

[erbe]

Would you be able to keep the lie under duress?

[Their train arrives at the station. Tohsaka boards. Like usual it's busy. She finds, at least, a stabilizing pole to hold onto.]

[head_bancho]

Yeah. [Finding a bar by the roof of the cab, Riki stood beside Rin and nodded. He understood they could probably say whatever they wanted and no one there would make it out over the rest of the noise or even care to parse context. They were just about alone in that sense.

At the time, he barely remembered it but they had been trying to use that same hypnosis on him in the middle of their fight. None of it stuck. Between that and the stress of pain?]

I can handle that. It's important to you, right?