[AQ] Food, food, fo--Wait, fairies? [Ai/Mitsuo]

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

SPOILER: Click to show

Food For Thought
+ Description: There’s a cute new cafe open in town that everyone’s getting breakfast at--but the owner keeps looking at you (and maybe also your friends) funny. Can he see Guardian Characters?!
+ Don’t let it bother you--you’re proud of your Guardian Character!: +1 Faberge, -1 Roost
+ Find yourself self-conscious; try to hide your Guardian Character: +1 Guardians, -2 Faberge
+ Become frustrated with your Guardian Character; tell them to leave until you’re done: -1 Guardians, -1 Faberge, +1 Roost
+ Flaunt your Guardian Character instead: -1 Guardians, +2 Faberge
+ Requirements: Minimum Level 1
+ Submitted by Pai

---

Mitsuo hummed to himself as he half-skipped excitedly down the sidewalk. He had just heard from his classmates about the whole new cafe that had just opened up! And - after several mouthwatering descriptions from his friends - he had decided almost immediately that he was going to find it and try some of its food directly after school!

And the moment the school bell rang, he had done exactly that, running straight out after he dumped all of his books and stationary into it.

As he turned the corner, looking left and right, he had finally spotted it; a building that was decorated with a wooden theme, two glass windows on each side, flanking a middle door that was currently wide open. The wooden theme had followed on the inside of the cafe, with wooden tables and chairs of minimalist design, yet the walls were punctuated by brick wallpaper. On top of the tables was a small glass half filled with water, and a single flower in it. There was a moderate line of people - which was expected to some degree, for it was new after all - to which he immediately joined it at the end, for he didn't want to be too late to grab something to eat!

He rocked on the balls of his feet as he waited, humming a little to himself again in a happy way. What should he order he wondered?


Ai

[Ai]

Ai wasn't the type to frequent cafes or eat out an awful lot. It was no secret (or probably it was) that the silver-haired didn't come from a well-off family. Ever since he was young, his parents had struggled with money and now even more so, since his mother was hospitalized and in dire need of expensive cancer treatment. So, as much as it was possible, Ai tried not to spend too much and save every penny he had. That included eating cooked food at home instead of eating out and making bentos instead of buying things from the cafeteria.

Today, however, was one of the rare occurrences when Ai decided to take Demi out at this new cafe in town. He heard it was a nice place and, since he just got paid for his band gigs, he thought he might treat his girlfriend to something nice. All was good, they were supposed to meet there after school and as always, Ai was on time. After classes were over for the day, the second year hurried at their meeting place, taking a short-cut he discovered just the other day. And he waited. And waited.

After a while, his cellphone beeped, signaling that he'd received a message. It was from Demi/ Apparently, something urgent came up and she won't be able to make it anymore. Well that was... just a bit disappointing. He was looking forward to spending some time with his girlfriend, since they hardly seemed to have time to meet up lately. Maybe she'd be free some other day?

Anyhow, since his reason for being at this cafe was suddenly gone, Ai wouldn't linger around any more and just head home... or at least that was what he was going to do until he saw a familiar face waiting in line at the cafe. "Hey Mitsuo!" Ai called out to his friend. Somehow, it wasn't surprising at all to see the boy here. As far as he remembered, he loved food and wouldn't miss any opportunity to grab something good to eat. "How have you been, man?" It had been a while since the two last met.

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo had been humming to himself as he waited, peering over the heads of everyone else as he tried to get a good look at the menu from where he was. There was all kinds of food! Japanese dishes, Westernised dishes, and even desserts of both the Asian and Western variety! There was too much to choose from! But as he caught sight of a sliced egg, he stared for just a moment. Ever since the talk with Kirishigi-sensei, he had felt something...magical surrounding his own sun-patterened egg. The way the teacher just gave him silent mysterious smiles...and that sense of wonder that he instilled in the other...had only made him wonder more and more about the strangely designed egg that laid on his table.

In the end, he had started to bring the egg with him, almost like a charm of sorts. He didn't really know why, or have any great reason to pack it into his bag every morning, but he did it anyway. And everyday he would stare at it, wondering what would hatch from it...

Though whatever that was inside of it, it had stayed stupidly stubborn.

"Hey Mitsuo!"

The freckled boy startled a little and whirled around - only to come face-to-face with a familiar silver-haired boy. His face lit up. "Heyyyyy!!" he said, waving a hand enthusiastically - and almost knocking into an old lady right behind him. After quickly saying a sheepish Sorry!, he turned his head so that he was looking back at the tall student again. "I've been good!" was his reply, flashing Ai a bright grin. "Did you fancy a meal at this new place too? I just heard about it, so I sped alllllll the way here to grab something to try!" He mimed running before he laughed at himself. "What about you, man? How has life been treating you?"

[Ai]

As he seemed to have easily gotten Mitsuo's attention, Ai cracked a smile. The festival had long since passed and the boy couldn't help but wonder what his friend had been up to. They weren't in the same class and it was hard to meet up. Ai had been quite busy too with setting up the counseling club with Takeo, so although he might have seen Mitsuo around, he didn't get to actually go and catch up with the boy. He felt bad for that, but maybe today was an opportunity to hear what the other's been up to.

"Hm, yeah I suppose. I was going to, at least." As he briefly looked into the distance, a mildly disappointed look crossed his face. However, it didn't last for long as he flashed another smile at Mitsuo. " I've been mostly okay... busy, if anything." He nodded a little at the question. "Honestly, I don't know too much about this place. Is this your first time here too?" Having a look at the queue, it seemed like a pretty popular cafe. Were there even any seats left?

Curious as o what his master was up to, Luciel popped out of his egg, staring a bit confused at Mitsuo. Oh... it was somebody he'd never seen before, but Ai seemed to be friends with him. Could he see guardians? Did he have one too? The angel-like fairy could sense the presence of a heart's egg around the boy, so he assumed that must be the case. "Ai-kun's friend?" Luciel glanced at Ai questioningly.

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at the mild disappointed look on the other's face. Why did the Ai look that way? But it soon passed and the silver-haired was back to his usual self. He decided not to ask at that moment, flashing him a grin to look as if he hadn't noticed it at all. "Do you want to join me then?!" he immediately asked, his eyes shining bright at the idea. "Yeah, it's my first time here too!" he said with a laugh, grinning widely. "That's why I'm here! My classmates said that the spaghetti and the parfaits tasted reallllllll good! So I wanted to try!!" His eyes sparkled with excitement at the idea. He was totally going to try and get everything on the menu! ...Well kind of, there was no way he could get everything, no matter how hungry he was.

"Awww man, busy huh?" he said, sighing whenever he thought about school. He wasn't one of the smartest people in class, and he really wasn't interested in studies either, so his grades was average at best. But he brightened up again, looking back at Ai. "You always seem so busy, do you even have free time?" he joked, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "What kind of things were you up to anyway?"

But at the sound of a voice - and the fact that said voice actually said the silver-haired's name - he couldn't help the flicker of his eyes towards the source. Was it a....fairy? He had seen one before, that was hovering about Minji, but he had managed to act as if he didn't see it. He had simply assumed it was simply another hallucination, and this time he had thought this other...angel...fairy was probably just another hallucination too. Despite his medications working tremendously well, he sadly still heard voices from time to time - but they were often distant and soft, so it was easy to ignore them. His hallucinations however, were usually more of the auditory variety rather than visual, and very rarely did any of his visual hallucinations actually talked too.

But now that he had a seen yet another hallucination (that was not only visual but could talk too), he immediately wondered if his schizophrenia was now getting worse. Oh man, Mitsuo don't look worried now, just act like it wasn't there. He quickly flashed Ai a grin, as if he hadn't noticed the little sprite. "So what you gonna do, have food with me or go back to whatever busy things you have to do?" he joked with a laugh.

[Ai]

It seemed like both of them were new to this place. Alas, it'd just opened recently, so not many people had the chance to visit it. However, judging by the queue, it seemed like it was already becoming quite popular. Ai figured it must be a pretty damn amazing place if its popularity was picking up so fast. The interior design looked warm and cozy with all the wooden furniture, the menu (from what Ai could judge after a quick look) had varied and delicious sounding items, the prices were reasonable... well, it had no reason not to be popular, with both younger and older folks.

"Oh, sure, why not!" Ai responded to the bright grin with one of his own. Since his date was down, he might as well spend some time catching up with a good friend he hadn't seen in a while. And besides, he was hungry too and didn't really want to starve all the way home (it was quite a long way too). "Everything looks great, yeah, I've heard good stuff about it too." Ai nodded enthusiastically. Unlike Mitsuo, he wasn't as sure in regards to what order to make... he'll get to that when they're in the front and ready to order. Though it'll probably be noodles of some sort. Ai loved noodles.

"Mmm..yeah, I'm afraid. It's just getting worse as the year progresses, huh?" Ai laughed bitterly, thinking of all the stuff he had to either do or think about. Sometimes they made him feel depressed, especially when he was left all by himself to think about it, but right now he was doing his best to enjoy a day off with his friend. "Well, I do have free time... today? haha." Truthfully, he hardly ever had free time. But it was alright, whenever he wasn't doing anything productive, Ai felt as if he was wasting time."Well, Faberge and band stuff take up most of my time... and I joined another club recently too: the counseling club. If you're ever facing any troubles, you can come talk to me or my friend Takeo, by the way!" Advertising at its finest. "I've also been trying to catch up with school... my grades have been slipping."

Luciel frowned a bit when he was completely ignored by Mitsuo. No matter how mean, Ai's friends never did that. Not even Ai's mom. It was depressing for someone as attention-craving as Luciel to be ignored... they definitely made eye-contact too, even if it was brief." Hey! You alright?" He tried to ask, but Ai subtly grabbed him and gestured him to shut up with a finger over his lips. The silver-haired just assumed that Mitsuo couldn't see guardian characters and asked the small angel-fairy not to cause any trouble. Not that Luciel would, anyway... he was the "nice" kind.

With a pout, Luciel landed on Ai's head, asking quietly, not that Mitsuo would be able to hear him anyway, right? "Can I please have some cake then? I'm a bit hungry..." To which Ai hummed in response. He didn't usually deny any of his guardian's requests.

"Nah I pretty much 'took the day off', I'm going to keep you company for a bit longer." Ai stared in front of them, over a person's shoulder to see how many others were standing in queue. It seemed like it wouldn't be long until their turn came.

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

Mitsuo gave an excited look when the other agreed. Yay, he wasn't going to be eating alone! And it was with Ai too! He hadn't seen him in a long while, so it was a good time to catch up with him. Before the silver-haired boy became immensely busy again. "That's great!" he said with a bright smile.

"Oh I know," the boy said, groaning already at the thought of school. He couldn't even remember anything from today's classes. What did he even have anyway? He could remember getting some yakisoba bread for a snack during lunch though, but nothing else before break period and after it. Eh, whatever. "I know we're supposed to be going to have to choose universities and careers and stuff like that soon, but come on, let up already! Not everything is about grades anyway." He gave a little huff - before he turned back towards Ai with a laugh of disbelief. "Wait what?" he said. Truthfully he wasn't really that surprised to hear that he had joined another but still. "You joined another club? Jeez, how many are you going to join?" he added jokingly, hitting him on the shoulder. Yet at the mention of the club's name, there was a moment of hesitation, as he blinked a little - before a smile soon resumed back onto his face. "Counseling club eh?" he said, laughing a little. "You like helping others do you?" he added with a smile. It was a nice idea to be honest...but surely those must be for students who were facing difficulties with school and friends. Not something like mental illness. If only he could go to something like that about his schizophrenia...

Still, he didn't want to be a downer. This was a time to have fun and catch up, not to be a gloomy meanbutt! "Really?" he said, his tone doubtful. Ai seemed like such a hard worker and someone who wanted to be productive, so he couldn't help but be skeptical. "Come on, it can't be slipping that much," he laughed. "Have you seen mine? They're horrible, I swear classrooms are better for sleeping than learning."

But why was the hallucination talking to him again? God, was his schizophrenia really getting worse? He shook his head a little, trying to cover it as if he was simply combing through his unruly messy hair with his fingers. Yet at that moment, he caught Ai's movement - a finger on his lips, and...wait was he actually looking at the angel-like creature? And grabbing it? No that can't be it, it was just his own hallucination surely. Small tiny people like that don't exist. But you couldn't touch things like that, right? He shook his head again - harder this time. Maybe he was just mistaken; maybe he didn't really see Ai's movement's right. Yeah that had to be it.

Right?

Yet - was he dreaming or did the two of them just somehow conversed with each other? Sure, it was just a little hum from Ai, but it sounded like a kind of a response. Goddammit, he was so confused. Surely it was just one of his hallucinations? He shuffled forwards as it got closer to their turn. Honestly, he could have ignored it if he wanted to. But he was just so distracted by the idea.

Could it really be real?

Nah. But just to confirm, maybe he should try to touch it. "You got something on your hair-" he said as an excuse, his hand reaching upwards. It'll probably pass through it, surely it wasn't a--

Until his hand papped against the creature.

His eyes widened.

And withdrew his hand quickly in shock.

[Ai]

"Oh, I know right? I don't even want to go to University in the first place, but I kind of promised my parents I'd at least finish high school with good grades so..." Ai gave a brief sigh. He wasn't even in school because he wanted to. Honestly, at his age, he should have already graduated, but his life story was much too complicated to go through, especially with Mitsuo whom he didn't know long. Ai could be overly friendly with people and truly cared about them, and to some extent, he shared his life with them... but when it came to the more sensitive issues, he was hesitant. Ai didn't want to be depressing... or give the impression that he needed somebody to rely on... although that was probably true.

"I swear this is going to be the last one, haha!" Mitsuo seemed to be surprised and almost scold him for joining another club. Truthfully, Ai was a bit surprised at himself too but... he had a gut feeling he should join Takeo and support his endeavors. Besides, helping people was something that he, too, strived towards. "Yup, I can't help but want to lend a helping hand, with everything that's been going on..." Whoops, he almost continued the sentence. Ai always seemed to forget that not all students had guardian characters... and even if they did, it wasn't guaranteed that they were involved enough to know what's been happening around the school. "Anyway...We might not be professionals, but we're there, if, you know, want to get advice from a fellow student... or if you're too nervous to ask an adult. It's all anonymous so we won't know whom we're talking to, ... you might find it more comfortable that way... but at this point I'm probably just blabbering, sorry." Ai chuckled. It was easy to get carried away sometimes.

Ai always thought that Mistsuo had a little too much confidence in him. It made Ai want to be stronger, to meet those expectations, but at the same time, something in him died when he figured he might not be able to. "Well, they're slipping enough. I was told to get my act together...and everyone's starting to see me as a bully too, I guess it's difficult." Again, saying more than he intended. To begin with, Ai was never a bully, but his sporadic character changes surely made him seem like one. "I must keep my promise to my parents though. I might have gotten distracted for a while, but I'll at least maintain my spot in class B next year." It was hard to believe that up until his first year of high school he always had the top grades in the class. A lot had changed since then, though... he found other priorities, other things that made him happy. Studying didn't matter anymore.

But then, Mitsuo attempted to touch his hair, where Luciel was seated. Watching his shocked expression as he pulled his hand instantly, caused Ai to go quiet for several moments. What was going on? "Oh, see? I KNEW it! He could see me from the beginning, Ai-kun. I wasn't wrong." Luciel floated at the height of Ai's shoulder, looking at Mitsuo in the eyes as he did. "Eh, but that can't be..." Ai found himself unknowingly replying to Luciel. He was surprised, so his voice slipped. ".... I mean..." Ai cleaned his throat, realizing Mitsuo must be confused. But he couldn't possibly see Luciel unless he had a guardian of his own... and given his shock, he probably did not. So how was this even possible. "Uh, I know this might sound strange to you but... do you uh, ... see anything?"

[Mitsuo Takahashi]

"Oh that's right!" he said excitedly. "You wanted to become a rockstar right?" Then he suddenly stopped, before he scratched his head. "...I guess you don't really go to university for that huh." The freckled boy wasn't sure how to respond to the other's words about his parents. Mitsuo's own were more easygoing, and weren't at all strict about the boy's academics, as long as Mitsuo passed his exams. He furrowed his eyebrows a little, tilting his head a little as if in thought. "I don't know if I want to go to University either. I don't even know what I even want as a career." He gave a sigh. But he soon perked up again, flashing a toothy grin back at Ai once more.

"Pffft!" Mitsuo elbowed him lightly in the ribs, wiggling his eyebrows as if to show that he didn't believe him. "Really now? Sure I won't find your name in every single club in school?" The boy joked, laughing heartily. But as the other continued to talk, Mitsuo's own smile soon faded and he began to take on a look of confusion. He hadn't been privy to many of the things that had happened in school - had he already been on Twitter beforehand, he would have probably known already but alas, at this particular timepoint, he was still debating on making one. For he did have one before, but that was linked to his old school...and his old friends.... The second-year shook his head. The boy wasn't sure if he wanted to ask what was going on, but upon Ai's apology, Mitsuo only shook his head vigorously. "No, don't apologise for that!" Mitsuo said, patting him on the back reassuringly. "It sounded like something you wanted to do, so-!" He pumped a fist into the air. "Just do it if you wanna do it!"

But the freckled boy whipped his head back towards the other with a look of absolute disbelief. " 'Get your act together?' " Mitsuo repeated. To him, there was nothing that Ai could have done that would have made him -- wait bully? "What bully?" the second-year asked, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Ai was so nice, surely he couldn't be someone who would hurt others just because he could. Well, sure he had an unconventional look, but that was besides the point. It was the inside that counted! "Who would even think you're a bully?" Mitsuo said, a pressed tone in his voice. And he became even more confused with Ai's sentence of being 'distracted'. Did something? Was this linked to joining to the counselling club? "Well don't burn yourself out man!" the freckled boy said, raising his hand to place it on the other's shoulder in a bit of a worried manner. "Make sure you get a break every now and then."

The touch of the...creature however completely rendered him speechless.

He stared at the floating angel, his eyes wide and his mouth open, unable to forget the sensation of a soft body against the back of his hand. Even as the strange sprite talked, all he did was simply stare. It was looking at him! And it was talking to Ai! And - oh my god was Ai responding?! But if Ai was responding that could only mean that the silver-haired boy could see it too! Yet, the question that the second-year asked him completely sent him reeling. If the other was now asking a question like that, that must mean -- No wait! This couldn't be! This--

This couldn't be real, could it?

"Hello boys!"

The sound of a man's voice cut through his thoughts and he whirled around. A smiling man's face soon greeted his vision and he belatedly realised that they had already arrived to the front of the counter. He gaped, unable to say anything. "What can I get for you today?" he said, grinning at the two of them.

Yet there was a flicker of his eyes to the little floating angel.