[h2]In Which Kei and Sasaki Talk and Stuff[/h2]

[b]Earlier That Day...[/b]
The edges of Sasaki's lips curled into a bemused smile upon hearing the artist's shameful admittance to his perceived, and probably legitimate, misbehavior. Now, Sasaki wasn't typically the kind of weirdo to take pleasure in the often flustered reactions of others. No, he had to deal with enough of [i]that[/i] at work. But the kid's atmosphere of genuinely naive innocence was hardly common in a place like Academy City, where dark machinations lay underneath the thin veneer of peace. Thus it came as no surprise that Sasaki appreciated the pure, lighthearted air of the situation, even if the young man didn't know it. "Heh, nice," Sasaki chuckled, leaning back into the bench, "Consider it my intuition, but something tells me she wouldn't mind a bit more attention."

[s]Geddit because she's invisible[/s]

"But you should still ask probably permission next time," Sasaki added with sudden seriousness, eye contact and scolding finger point included. Being the big brother to a troublesome young girl evidently had its merits. "That aside, what's your name, artist-kun?" he asked, tone back to its usual almost-monotony "I can't just call you 'artist-kun' forever."

Kei's expression went quickly from "full of shame" to slightly relieved, though he once again looked puzled when the giant suggested the violinist wanted more attention. Was he suggesting something? The magician decided to try and seek the girl later. Maybe befriend her.

"[b][color=00aeef]Yes, I'll be sure to ask for permission from now on.[/color][/b]" Kei answered, really meaning it. Though, it would be a real shame if he had to disturb a good scene just to ask for permission to draw. "[b]Artist-kun...?[/b]" It was really weird being called like that. As far as Kei was concerned, his sketches were very far from art. "[color=00aeef][b]My name is Nishihara Kei. First year, class A...[/b][/color]" The magician added, just a bit timidly. "[b][color=00aeef]And you, giant-san?[/color][/b]"

"Ah, Kirima Sasaki of 2-EX-2A," the young man in question answered. Though he didn't rather like the idea of nicknames, the moniker 'giant-san' [i]did[/i] bring to his attention the vast size discrepancy between the two students. Fortunately the tinier one didn't seem to hold any obvious fear of him based on size, so Sasaki had that going for him, at least. Though such an occurrence wasn't exactly common for the giant, it couldn't be said to be uncommon either. He allowed a calm silence to settle between the two for a few moments.

"Hmm... Kei-kun," Sasaki said, breaking the dreamlike intermission, "Can I ask you a personal question?" The boy stood from the bench and stretched out his limbs, turning and looking down towards the literal magical boy. "Why did you hide your sketchbook when I sat down?" he asked anticlimactically, much to the disappointment of anyone watching through the window and hoping for something out of a certain genre of romance work.

"[b][color=00aeef]A personal question? Sure, Kirima-senpai.[/color][/b]" The smaller boy looked at the giant with an expectant look, before quickly turning a bit gloomy. Why did it have to be about his sketchbook? Kei let out an audible sigh. "[color=00aeef][b]It's just not something I like showing to people. They are only rough sketches.[/b][/color]" The magician spent a a few moments examining Sasaki. The scenario behind... It didn't look like it worked with him. Too big. "[b][color=00aeef]Either way, it's nothing but a silly hobby. I think of it as merely training my focus.[/color][/b]" Kei fidgeted a little, seeming eager to let the topic die but unsure as to how to direct this conversation elsewhere.

Ah, so his art was his own personal focus training. It wasn't exactly Sasaki's idea of focus training, which was a much less serene process that involved hitting and getting hit through countless almost-if-not-actually life-threatening situations, but to each their own. Still, it didn't quite get a clear answer to his question, but from what Kei had explained, the giant could make a hypothesis of his own. "Still, I don't see why it's so bad," he shrugged, "Even if they're rough, I thought they were good." That wasn't a lie made to encourage the young magician to open up; Sasaki meant every word of it. "Whatever you do, you should be able to take pride in it, right?" Sasaki asked rhetorically, voice taking on a more disheartened tone. He knew he wasn't quite living up to that himself, and felt like a complete hypocrite saying those words to Kei. But that was his problem, wasn't it? He couldn't [i]honestly[/i] take pride in all he'd done. 

Before he could devolve into an angst-ridden monologue about regret, Sasaki's phone buzzed loudly. "...Excuse me, Kei-kun," Sasaki said, removing his phone from his pocket and checking what message he had received. Beneath the emoticons and text speak was a message from his boss that roughly translated to 'Sasaki, get me a ludicrous cafe beverage before you come to work today.' Sighing, the giant pocketed the phone and asked the magician who might've already managed to read the hieroglyphic writings of the message, "You know any good cafes or anything?"

Kei just listened in silence as Kirima continued to go on about the subject of the sketches. He seemed dedicated to change the magician's opinion on the drawings, but it was futile. The smaller boy would not be so easily persuaded. Rather, Kei did his best not to let show how uncomfortable the subject was becoming. His relief was almost palpable when the giant's phone buzzed.

"[color=00aeef][b]A cafe?[/b][/color]" Kei wondered why the giant suddenly asked about that. Probably something about the phone message? Either way, if it was a cafe, he knew about one near the apartment he had been staying before classes started. "[color=00aeef][b]I know one not far from here. Kirima-senpai, do you want me to take you there?[/b][/color]" He had some time to kill, so it should be no problem to show the place to giant-san.

The giant took note of the increasingly suppressed fidgetyness of the effeminate magician before him and decided to shelve any related topics that could incite a similar response for the time being. Motivational speaking just wasn't his thing, was it? He snorted at the thought. [i]'Stick to your sciences, Sasaki,'[/i] he thought blithely, turning his attention back to the magician who had evidently used the settled silence to ponder on his query. Fortunately he did, saving the giant the effort of looking up or asking somebody else about a high-quality - because there was no way Kihara Sen would accept just [i]any[/i] run-of-the-mill drink - cafe. "Ah, no thanks," Sasaki shook his head upon the suggestion of being led there immediately, following it up with an explanation, "I don't have to head out there just yet. Just a favor for someone after school. But, ah..." The giant sheepishly scratched at the back of his head, smiling awkwardly and averting his gaze.

"If the offer still stands, let's meet up here after school, ne?" 

Somewhere in the building, a few schoolgirls watching from the window fainted. 

[b]Later That Day...[/b]

Even though the conversation with giant-san earlier had had it's uncomfortable moments for Kei, he felt just a little bit grateful later when he realized classes had come and gone without the restless he felt during that week resurfacing. Thanks to that, the magician was feeling in quite high spirits when the bell rang. "[i][color=00aeef]Ah, that's right... I need to meet with Kirima-senpai.[/color][/i]" Kei had after all agreed to show giant-san the cafe place after class. Thus, the magician packed up his belongings into his bag and headed to the courtyard.

On the way there, Kei wondered why exactly were there a couple of girls giving him weird stares. He decided to pay it no mind and just reached the courtyard and sat on the same bench as earlier. Wait, why the hell were those girls hiding in the nearby bushes?! The boy eyed his watch nervously. "[i][color=00aeef]I hope Kirima-senpai arrives soon.[/color][/i]"

To say that Sasaki's day went by fairly uneventfully would have been an rather accurate observation. There was a distinct lack of friends in most of his classes, Bang excluded, so the giant was allowed to focus solely upon his studies. Which was good, he was behind on those. Thankfully he'd managed to quickly get the gist of what was going on in the oh-so-exciting classes. As he mentally contemplated the merits of his decision to send the meek violinist to find the meeker songbird, the bell rang to signal the end of the day. Gathering his materials in his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, Sasaki began to head to the courtyard. He had a magician to meet, after all. 

"Good afternoon, Kei-kun," the elder student greeted with a big wave as he made his way towards the Amakusa mage. He stopped right in front of the effeminate boy, large frame obscuring the bush-dwelling fujoshi, who moved to a more suitable vantage point as a result. "Ara... You re....ady to... head out?" Sasaki asked, voice trailing awkwardly as his attention was averted by flashes from a trash can. "...I think we should leave," he suggested.

Kei's expression visibly brightened up upon seeing the giant approaching. The thought of spending a while waiting was distressing. "[color=00aeef][b]Good afternoon to you too, Kirima-senpai.[/b][/color]" The magician promptly stood up when asked whether ready to head out. "[color=00aeef][b]...Sure.[/b][/color]" Kei was also distracted briefly by the flashes. Was someone photographing something? Wait, maybe there was a scene worth capturing and he did not notice it! Such a shame to not have the opportunity to capture it himself in drawings. "[color=00aeef][b]Ah, yes, let's go.[/b][/color]" The smaller boy wondered why Kirima seemed to suddenly be in a hurry as they headed to the gate.

Arriving at the school's front gate, Kei stopped briefly, wondering what would be the best way to reach the café place he had in mind. "[color=00aeef][b]I forgot to tell you where we're going. There's a good café called Mocha Dreams, it should take us only a few minutes to get there from here.[/b][/color]"


"Nice name," Sasaki remarked with a nod. The name gave him the impression of somewhere relaxed and peaceful, like any good cafe ought to be. It wasn't a name that brought terror and foreboding into his heart, at least. The giant figured for what he was going for, it should do nicely. "Let's get going then, ne?" he suggested, gesturing out at the Academy City skyline, "Lead the way." The young magician took his senpai by the hand and pressed onwards, like a child leading his parent. Or a girlfriend leading her boyfriend. 

Someone was probably having a fun time with that thought.

Not long afterwards, weaving through backalleys and sidestreets to streamline their travel, the pair made it to a rather stereotypically cafe-like building with sign labeling it as 'Mocha Dreams'. Sasaki held open the door for the younger of the pair before entering himself, noting the presence of a certain violinist but not remarking on it. Deciding upon a two-person seat closer to the windows, the two young men waited for someone to take their order...