Friends 2
Say something, idiot.
Yui takes quick glances to her side. Standing there is Ashleigh who also glances back at her, the two endlessly exchanging looks as they wonder what the other is thinking. The irony that she was doing exactly what she'd gotten so worked up about wasn't lost on her.
She wasn't shy, but it had been a while since she'd tried to do this sort of thing. So far, someone was always approaching her while she was ignorant of what was happening. Ash wouldn't do that though, so it was up to Yui to make the first move. It might have been easier if their first meaningful interaction hadn't been so rough.
She probably thinks I'm gonna do it again. Ugh. No, just gotta say what I need to say. Why am I overthinking this?
With a deep breath, the delinquent faces Ashleigh and approaches. She stares at her for a moment before scratching the back of her head and opening her mouth.
"Look, Katsuragi, 'member what I said before? I, uh, think you could use some tips."
Ashleigh scrutinizes her with some uncertainty.
"...Tips?"
"Yeah, stuff I think you should know to, uh, deal with shit. I'm not gonna touch ya' if you say no, but I think it'd be good for ya."
And for me.
Yui nervously gives a toothy grin, doing her best to look reassuring. Her menacing shark-like maw does little, but the fact she was trying at all made her desire to help seem more to be genuine.
"Okay."
"Great! Meet me here."
She seems almost surprised by the positive response but quickly grabs a marker as well as Ash's hand to had to jot down an address before rushing off.
Ashleigh waits outside of an arcade. It was farther away from the one most of her peers frequented, and a little rundown. Part of her starts to question if this is even the right place. Yui's writing was a bit rough it had gotten a bit smudged throughout the day. She was also starting to regret agreeing to come at all, but soon enough she spots her classmate running across the street.
"You ready?
"Yes?"
Ashleigh eyes flick to the duffel bag slung over the older girl's shoulder.
"What's that for?"
Yui scratches her cheek while glancing at the bag. A slight bit of pink creeps into her features.
"It's, uh...for later. It'll be easier to explain when we get to it. C'mon."
She leads Ashleigh inside. It'd dim, not by choice but simply because of poor lighting. Most of the games are decades old, out of order, or otherwise showing obvious signs of wear. Yui stops in front of one of the several claw machines. The one she picks is filled with surprisingly up-to-date plushies of popular heroes as well as a large variety of stuffed animals. However, given their size and the use of a two-pronged claw, it was obviously even more of a waste of money than usual to try for a prize. Just a trap for kids who couldn't resist collecting their favorite hero's merch.
"Is this really going to help me deal with people?"
The delinquent's brow furrows as she puts money into the machine.
"Probably. No, definitely. I'm paying so just trust me."
Ashleigh grabs the controls and takes out a moment to pick her prize before taking her shot at it. As expected the claw doesn't even manage to lift the toy up before it slips out of its grasp. Yui urges her student to continue as she supplies her with more chances, but none of them bring her much closer to pulling out the plush. After several attempts, they're out of funds and her chosen prize is only marginally closer to being freed.
"So, how do ya feel?"
"Confused and a bit disappointed?"
Yui grins and taps on the glass.
"Cause you couldn't get what you wanted, right? What're you gonna do about it?"
Ashleigh glances between the machine and Yui, her confusion growing by the second.
"Order one online?"
The delinquent sighs and rolls her eyes. She'd honestly forgotten that was probably the most reasonable option and decided to mostly ignore it for the sake of her lesson.
"Yeah, I guess you could, but that's not the point."
She crouches down and snakes her hand into the little compartment prizes were dispensed into. Several threads shoot out from her fingertips and wrap around the plushie before pulling it out. Yui grins while holding it out to Ash.
"You gotta make things fair however you can. Can't just accept getting screwed over!"
"Oh, I think that makes sense. Thanks."
Ashleigh claims her prize, looking between it and Yui.
"That was cool...but what am I supposed to do if you're not there?"
She gestures with her hand.
"I can't do that."
Yui scratches her head while looking a bit sheepish.
"Point's that you shouldn't let yourself get pushed around. I guess buyin' one woulda been alright for this, but don't throw cash at all your problems or whatever."
The delinquent clears her throat and looks around as she grabs her companion.
"Anyway. we should get outta here before we get in trouble."
The sound of glass shattering suddenly and harshly breaks the silence, causing Ashleigh to jump slightly.
"Should we really be doing this?"
"It's fine. This place is a dump anyway."
Thankfully not literally, but the pair's next stop was only somewhat better. It was some abandoned shack filled with garbage, a thick layer of dust, and crawling with who-knows-what.
Yui pulls another empty beer bottle out of her bag. The clanking of glass suggested that she'd brought quite a few. Ashleigh briefly wonders where her classmate got so many, but knowing she'd likely only get a nonanswer, keeps the question to herself. She hesitantly takes the bottle and throws it across the room for it to shatter just like the first.
"Nice throw! Feels good, right?"
The delinquent pats Ash's shoulder and gives her a thumbs up, the meek girl smiling a bit at the approval.
"Thanks, and kinda. So what is this for?"
Yui shrugs and throws another bottle.
"It's fun."
"That's...all?"
"Kinda?"
She hands Ash another bottle but the girl stares at her expectantly, obviously unsatisfied.
"Look, it's like, you didn't wanna do it because you thought you'd get caught or somethin', right? But you had fun."
"So I should focus on having fun?"
"Yeah! Gotta do what you want and not worry about anyone else. Now get tossin'. I got a lotta these."
Ash shrugs and starts throwing in earnest, the two making a game of it by aiming for certain objects. As the bag empties she notices what looks like a helmet roll forward, but Yui is quick to push it back out of sight.
"This is for... Well..."
Fuck. Why did I want to show her this?
As the sun started setting they made their way to a humble humble skatepark, and Ash got to see what was left in the bag.
Aside from the helmet that she'd spotted, there were some knee and elbow pads that seemed to have been improvised with her guide's quirk, and a pair of inline skates that almost looked new.
"I'll explain while we practice, so hurry up and put 'em on."
Yui rushes the process a bit, hoping to avoid Ash asking about her handiwork. She still takes the time to make sure the skates get on right and feels a bit relieved to see that they fit. She helps Ash stand and holds her to keep her steady as she reluctantly tries to explain herself.
"So the most important thing is that you keep moving forward, right? This'll help with that."
The uncertainty in her word is barely concealed but at this point, Ash decides to just go along with it. She wasn't sure how much she'd actually learned today or if any of it would be useful. However, she'd enjoyed her time so far.
"Okay. Um, are going to give me a demonstration though?"
"I could, but you gotta be able to do stuff even when you're iffy. You can't let others decide stuff for you, you gotta choose for yourself."
These words were more sincere, though she neglects to mention she only had one pair of skates. Ash feels something wrap around her limbs and almost falls as she loses her balance looking for the cause. Luckily, the scarlet threads that found their way onto her keep her stabilized.
Yui looks off to the side as she tries not to let anything slip. Even without the bond, her turmoil would be clear.
"You gotta be able to pick yourself up, but maybe...maybe it ain't bad to know someone has your back."
The two share a look, Yui seeming to want some reassurance of her own. She was still wrapping her head around the whole 'friends' thing, and this outing had more to do with that than she'd like to admit.
"Yeah. I get it."
A weight leaves her shoulders. The words were simple, but blow away some of her doubts nonetheless.
"Good. It'd be kinda shitty to just tell you to get all busted anyway, right?"
The two nod to each other and the practice session begins in earnest.
Ash fumbles less than expected as she feels her way through the movements. When she does, Yui helps her correct herself and encourages her to keep trying, though never outright tells her she's doing something wrong or tries instructing her on the right way. There's no doubt that things could have gone smoother with a more active teacher, but when Ash feels the threads loosen she's still standing.
"Since you've got the basics down, how about I show you some tricks?"
Yui shoots a cocky grin as Ash comes to a stop and sits down as she starts to take off the skates.
"That'd be great, but it's getting late. If I stay out any longer my dad will get worried."
Her grin drops to a frown as she's hit with surprise and disappointment. She hadn't even considered anything like that.
"But you could show me another time?"
Pink fills her cheeks as she smiles unconsciously, happy and a bit embarrassed that she hadn't considered that either.
"Oh. Yeah, sure. We can hang whenever."
As she put her things up, something else she hadn't thought of creeps into her mind. It was late, and they weren't exactly in a great neighborhood. She glances at Ash with concern as she zips up her bag.
Ugh. I'm getting weird too now.
"Hey, I got some things to do that way, so we can walk and talk if you want."
Ash was pretty sure that Yui didn't know where she lived, but she was used to translating what the delinquent meant by now.
"Oh? Sure."
"Great. Oh, one more thing!"
She pulls out the same marker from earlier, but this time scrawls down a series of numbers onto Ash's arm. A phone number.
"In case you need help with somethin' or someone I guess. Call it if you want."
It was Ash's turn to shy away. More than usual, at least. She stares meekly at the number for a moment before raising her gaze.
"Thanks...I will. But, you uh, could have just put it in my phone."
She takes her phone out to copy the numbers down as Yui awkwardly scratches her cheek.
"Well, it'll come off anyway. We should get moving."