[AQ] Part of Your World [Junko/Ai]

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

SPOILER: Click to show

{quest details}Under the Sea
+ Description: Otonoki Aquarium's beloved beluga mascot Kokei just gave birth to a baby! Everyone is dying to go see the cutie and you've managed to snag some tickets to their first showing.
+ Arrive early to the event and score front row seats for maximum splashing: +1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, -1 Roost
+ Arrive to the event on time and watch the spectacle from afar; You don't want to get too wet after all: +1 Guardians, -1 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Arrive late and miss the showing! At least there's still other exhibits, right?: -1 Guardians, +1 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Miss the event entirely and head straight to the gift shop; who needs belugas when you can buy souvenirs!: -1 Guardians, +2 Roost
+ Requirements: None
+ Submitted by Cherimsy

Her luck hadn't been so great lately, what with all the despair and what not lately, she couldn't believe her luck when she'd managed to grab a few tickets to the first view of the amazingly adorable Kokei!! Not only that, but she'd get to see Kokei-chan's new mini me. As if a beluga wasn't cute enough, but add a baby beluga into the mixture and it was a recipe for just the right pick me up right now. 

She was admittedly a smidge too excited, rushing out of the house as soon as it even got remotely close to the show time. She wanted to get right up and personal with Kokei-chan, or well as close and personal as she possibly could. She was ready to be splashed, dressed in a large loose shirt and shorts over her swimsuit. She wasn't dumb, she knew what wearing a large loose white t-shirt would mean. She'd learned her lesson at the beach ! 

It didn't take her long before she reached the Aquarium, naturally it wouldn't take long if you ran all the way there. Again, maybe just a bit too excited but could you blame her? She entered the building, eyeing the gift shop as she passed by. She'd have to try and grab a plush or keychain....oh a keychain would look so cute on her phone!! 

She smiled to herself as she continued further into the aquarium, slipping in between the rows of seats. She looked around, noticing quite the lack of people. Aside from an older couple in the far back anyway. She shrugged slightly, making her way through the rows before she picked just the right seat to get decent splash and maximum Kokei-chan!

She rummaged through her small bag slung over her shoulder, pulling her guardian chara out and onto her shoulder. "No lap today Tama, I don't think you could handle that much water if we get splashed heheh.." 

Ai

[Ai]

High school life should be easy, right? Wrong. Nothing but misfortunes had befallen Ai ever since he enrolled in Seiyo Academy. He had been looking forward to a normal, high school life, with a bunch of friends and having fun. What did he get? Misunderstandings, Danger and violence, none of which were things he particularly enjoyed. Sure, one could say that he was making at least some progress on the making friends part, but not enough to satisfy his overly social self.

In hopes of meeting more people, Ai even made a club: a band club, but that too was so hard to get off the ground, he barely managed to recruit one person. Albeit, he thought she was amazing. They could probably work as a duo anyway.

Though, what struck Ai the hardest since being at this school was the existence of guardian characters. They seemed like funny little beings, but they were so powerful. There were some who were easy going and friendly- and what an irony because they belonged to the people he had the hardest time communicating with. And then, there were the scary ones, such as his own. The few times Ai got to character change with Nagamasa, he always landed himself in the middle of gang fights. He could be so cruel during that change, which was scary… it was scary to think that if nobody stopped him, he’d even be capable of killing someone. Had his wish been that strong?

He couldn’t bring himself to hate Nagamasa for it, though. It was ultimately his fault that he came into being like that. For now he just tried his best to deal with it… and compromise, when it was the case.

The thing that managed to keep his mind off the trouble at school was working with his band. He’d buried himself deep in concerts, events, practice sessions, everything. It was tiring, but at least he enjoyed it. His dad, however, found it quite obvious that he was overworking himself and urged him to take a break for today. He’d handed him a pair of tickets to go and see the beluga at the aquarium… and her newborn baby.

That was exciting and all, Ai was sure it would be fun. And besides, babies were always cute, no matter the species. He’d need someone to go with, though… but nope, nobody seemed to be free. Tomoyo was in the countryside and Yuuma wasn’t picking up his phone. And he just realized he’d never exchanged numbers with his acquaintances at Seiyo. Damn, he’d have to go alone. Well, alone with Nagamasa, because the guardian never left his side. At least he was /someone/, right?

Dressed in a casual outfit, Ai finally arrived at the Aquarium. He remembered having gone there in the past, but not so much since his mom got ill. They used to go there as a family, so it felt a bit weird now, being there by himself. But Ai just shrugged off the feeling, since he decided to have fun. He couldn’t let the tickets his dad had given him with so much consideration go to waste.

Ai got there early, but still, the place was strangely empty. He made his way through the seats. Since his tickets were for the first row. That was good, at least he’d get to see the beluga up close. ‘Seat nr. 10, seat nr. 10…” He mumbled as he looked at the numbers on the chairs. Finally he’d found it but… it was next to a girl. Wow, he’ll actually have company! “Hey, here to see the show?” Of course he spoke up, he couldn’t help it.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

Tama eyed the aquarium's surroundings curiously, something completely new to the small sprite who'd probably never even really been near this much water. It was oddly fascinating to her...did people really come out to watch the water? She had to admit it had some sort of sereneness to it but it was oddly boring. Which she found surprisingly because Junko could barely tolerate sitting still for very long sometimes but the second year sat there managing to entertain herself until the show started. Junko had raved about it to Tama the moment she'd returned home with the tickets, going on and on about babies and belugas. Not that she had any clue what a beluga really was. But none the less, if Junko was this eager to see it, it must be worth it.

She fiddled with the end of her shirt, watching the water in front of her as she waited for the show to start. It wouldn't be too long before the big reveal, though it would feel like forever. Her patience wasn't exactly the best, her father would agree to that. Even as a child she could barely sit still for a doctor's appointment, fidgeting and hopping in her seat. Her father had a field day attempting to get her to sit still, she was admittedly much better at this age. Hopefully.

Her train of thought was derailed when a voice appeared next to her. Her head perked, looking over to the person who'd suddenly appeared before her with a bit smile. "Ah! Yes! I suppose you are too huh?" She laughed softly, of course he was Junko. Why else would he be here? Tama rolled her eyes as she gave Junko's shoulder a pat. Poor girl.

"You better grab a seat! Or else it'll start and before you know it all the seats are gone!" She chirped, 'casually' grabbing his hand as she insisted he sit. There was no one else in that seat anyway, it wasn't like it was going to matter if he took it. As much as she disliked it, people seemed to just do as they pleased a lot. Taking seats they liked whether it be their assigned seat or not....guess she was a stickler for rules after all.

[Ai]

“ Ah, yeah, actually…” Ai wasn’t able to finish his sentence because the girl grabbed his hand and forced him in the seat next to hers. Well… that had been his seat in the first place anyway. Although he didn’t look like it, Ai was pretty fair even about things that were insignificant. Even if the aquarium was empty, he’s still go to his assigned seat… which kind of was the case here. Anyway, the event was about to start, why weren’t more people showing up? He thought this would be a big thing… he got so excited about sitting in the front too, since everyone would probably be jealous.

“ Yeah um that is my seat actually!” He flashed Junko his ticket. What a strange coincidence, right? At least there was someone he could share the fun with. And Junko seemed like she could be a nice company. He didn’t mind when she urged him to sit next to her, he liked friendly people… since he didn’t have to force himself to be cautious around them. He’d had too many unfortunate encounters where him trying to be nice and friendly turned others against him.

It took Ai a bit but he noticed the little guardian character that the girl had with her. “ Oh, my, is that a guardian character? She’s so cute!” He looked at Tama, flashing her a smile. She was this tough looking knight maiden… really cute but also really cool. Kind of similar to his Nagamasa… though he really couldn’t imagine a guardian as cold as his was. “ What’s your name?” He asked the girl’s guardian. But oh he… kind of forgot to introduce himself. He probably should.

“Sorry I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Okazaki Ai, and you are?” He spoke to Junko. She looked like a student, which school did she go to? “Are you in Seiyo, perhaps?” That was the only school he knew of that had people with guardian characters. Admittedly, he didn’t have his egg while he was a student at West Oto so… he could easily have missed potential egg-bearers. But if Junko was in Seiyo, they would probably see each other often from now on.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

She eyed his ticket for a moment before smiling. "Oh! That's some luck then haha. It all works out just fine then!" Tama stared at the young man for a moment before rather sheepishly hiding behind Junko's shoulder, still staring him down as he flashed her a smile. She had to be on guard, anything could happy especially coming from a young man with such unruly hair....

Junko's almost sparkled when he mentioned her guardian chara, her smile widening as she perked up in her seat. "You can see her? Does that mean you have your own too?" She always loved meeting others with guardian charas!! She got so jazzed when she bumped into someone, she didn't exactly have many she could call close. Though Tama refused to answer him a first she eventually peaked out long enough to introduce herself. She was wary but she wasn't a heathen. "Tama...Sir." Once she'd given her name she returned to residing beside Junko, keeping an eye on him.

"Oh! Nice to meet you Ai-chan!" Direct as ever. "I'm Kinjo, Junko but you can call me Jojo! Everyone does." She shrugged a bit, quite happy with her own self proclaimed nickname. "Yes! I'm a second year at Seiyo, I guess you go there too huh?" She chuckled.

[Ai]

The girl's guardian was so cute and so guarded. Her personality did resemble Nagamasa's, after all, but she seemed actually sweet, unlike him. "Nice to meet you, Tama-chan!" He waved a little at her and just let her be. She seemed more comfortable with her owner and Ai could understand that. Nagamasa himself wasn't exactly fond of strangers, but stuck to Ai like glue. He did fight to defend others but when it came to actual socializing, he preferred to retreat inside his egg.

" Ah yeah, I do have my own guardian, actually!" He flashed her a grin before rummaging in his bag a little. Eventually, he pulled out his egg, silently tapping on it to call Nagamasa out. Suddenly, the egg split in half and out came a very dark-looking samurai fairy. He looked with ice cold eyes towards Junko and tama, but bowed respectfully before floating over to Ai's right shoulder. "This is my guardian, Nagamasa! Don't be intimidated by him, he's actually pretty nice!" He pointed briefly towards the guardian, with a small smile on his face.

"Also, Jojo-chan, right? I'll call you that then!" Well, if everyone did call her that then he might as well. "Yup, I'm a second year too, actually! I'm in class 2-B, but I don't really remember seeing you around? I'm usually good with people's faces. What class are you in?" As the two were chatting away, more people started coming to the show. Why they left everything for the last minute, nobody knows. But the thing was about to start soon and they didn't want to miss the baby beluga making its first ever appearance.

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

Tama continued to keep her distance, it didn't matter what pleasantry he tried, she wasn't going to give him her attention. Not at the first meeting anyway. That was the trial period. Make it pass that and maybe, maybe he'd be graced with more than a few glances from the rather reticent guardian character.

Junko quickly straightened up in her seat, suddenly excited to see the other student's guardian character. It was always so exhilarating to see someone else's guardian character! It was a small peek at the person's potential, a peek at something important to that person even if they didn't know it yet. It was one of the good things about everything that came with eggs. She hunched over a bit, taking a real good look at Nagamasa with awe. "Uwa...hello sir!!" She gave the small guardian an equally small wave as she greeted him. It's nice to meet you Naga-chan."

She'd then sit back up, looking back at Ai with a smile. "Oh !! I'm in the class next to 2-B!! I'm in 2-C!" So it wasn't surprising the two hadn't bumped into each other before, but with their luck after this meeting, they most likely would more often than they'd expect. It was always how things seemed to work at this school. It was like some sort of odd magic, it wasn't far fetched. Surely not as far fetched as eggs that hatch into teeny sprites.

Her attention was quickly drawn to the center of the show as things slowly began to start gearing up. "O-oh oh! It's starting its starting! The baby beluga!!" One of the employees began to talk in the middle of the stage, waving to the audience as they began to introduce the show and its multiple appearances planned throughout the show. Thankfully the star of the show would be showing up soon, their waiting would be worth it in the end!

[Ai]

Tama didn't seem to want to say more and while Ai wasn't too terribly disappointed, being used to his guardian and all, he did wish to get to know Tama better. Guardians were interesting...they were a way of telling what kind of person others wanted to be, albeit not a very accurate one. Ai didn't entirely want to be like Nagamasa. Strong? yes. Violent? not so much.

Ai smiled at seeing Junko's enthusiastic expression. She seemed just as enthusiastic about guardians as he was. However, Nagamasa, much like Tama, did not seem so impressed. Being called 'sir' was okay, but Naga-chan...ewww. Encore used to call him that, if he remembered correctly, it was awful In response to the second year's greeting, the long-haired guardian just narrowed his eyes. He'd already bowed to her so that should be enough. The presence of the other guardian didn't seem to bother him either, he just ignored her.

"Oh, really! I have a friend in 2-C!" He grinned enthusiastically. "His name is Mitsuo, maybe you know him." Either way, it should be safe to say that the two will be meeting again soon. Now that they knew each other, it would be easier to spot each other and talk. What a day... even though he'd come to the aquarium alone, Ai managed to make a friend... in his own school and year, above all else!

As the show started, the small crowd went quiet, listening to the employee who introduced a few acts that were going to happen that day. The first one would be two dolphins that were surprisingly, the aquarium's most popular act to date. The two were very intelligent creatures and always managed to amaze the crowd. The baby beluga would come after that. " Well, this should be exciting." Ai flashed a grin to the other girl, getting ready for the show. As the dolphins came in, everyone's enthusiasm seemed to go through the roof as cheers started erupting from the crowd. If they were that excited for these two, then what will happen when the beluga's turn comes?

[junko ୧( ॑ധ ॑)୨]

She bat her eyes at Nagamasa, definitely not seeming to get the distaste he expressed from her sudden nickname. Nicknames were a habit of hers that she hadn't even attempted to shake off, it came naturally and she'd yet to be corrected on it so it was unlikely it was going to stop. She simply smiled at him before looking back to Ai with the same smile.

"Oh! I think I've heard of him!" At least from attendance roll call anyway, she'd never fully gotten acquainted with him. But after hearing the teachers call your and others' names you picked up on a few here and there and his certainly did ring a bell. "Hopefully we run into each other more! These days its never bad to know lots of people." With everything going on lately, it was better to have too many friends rather than too few. Though she wondered about that sometimes. While it was safer in groups, it also meant close ones would be lost...But she didn't dwell on it. Not today.

"I hope so!" She beamed, hands in her lap as she fidgeted in her seat, her excitement fairly obvious. It was never hard to tell when she was in a good mood, she practically sparkled, her bright eyes big and wide as she ogled the stage as the two dolphins moved around in the water. They moved so swiftly and smoothly, moving together as a pair. It was nothing new for the two and they performed as lovely as usual, their trainer stood on a platform with a soft smile on her face. You could tell how proud she was of the two. She bowed her head, the dolphins doing their own variation of the curtsy before eventually leaving the stage.

"This is it!!"

[Ai]

Nagamasa was too 'proper' to agree with silly nicknames. In contrast to him, however, Ai didn't mind them. He usually liked to get friendly with people at a fast pace, and nicknames were a fast way of doing so. Several of his friends weren't exactly comfortable with being called nicknames, so he just called them by their first name. That was good too.

"Oh great! You should talk to him, he's a super nice guy! He just transferred so I'm a bit worried he'll find it hard to make friends at first..." Inevitably, Ai related this to his own situation, though Mitsuo didn't look half as threatening as Ai did, so he was bound to have an easier time. Even so, he wanted to help as much as he could. " I think you two would get along!" Junko and Mitsuo seemed pretty similar personality-wise, both friendly and kind. And just like she said, it's always good to know lots of people. That was what Ai always thought.

Ai hadn't been in the best mood when he was forced to come to the aquarium alone, but meeting Junko sure brightened him up. Making new friends always improved his mood considerably. The two were even in the same school and same year, so surely they'll see each other a lot.

Ai watched the two dolphins' show wide eyed, radiating enthusiasm. It was awesome, he forgot how much fun aquarium shows were. But that wasn't even the most exciting part of the day. After the dolphins were done, it was the baby beluga's turn. Ai just realized he'd never actually seen a beluga in real life before. "Omg! It's coming!" Ai seemed both nervous and excited as he waited for the animal to come to the surface.