2014-06-14 - Akihabara Meetup! Friendship Confirmed

Title: Akihabara Meetup! Friendship Confirmed
Summary: Endo and Ren pay a trip to the infamous home of the best electronic gizmos. They also get to know one another better in the process of trying to find a new alarm clock for Ren.
Who: Endo Naoki and Ren Aizawa
Where: Akihabara Electric Town
OOC - IC Date: <06/14/2014 - 28 January 2014>

Meeting up with Endo places has become a seemingly regular thing for Ren. With school recently done for the day the Infinity student wastes no time texting her former classmate, coming up with a desginated meet up spot. After a train ride and some walking they arrive at their destination -- Akihabara! Though she doesn't come here often, Ren likes all the gadgets and gizmos the various shops have to offer. It's like Disneyland for tech nerds!

"Oh! Look at that, Endo-kun!" She points to the cutest little robot who happens to be dressed in a butler outfit. Apparently it can roam around your house and clean up things dropped onto the floor. Wow! What will they think of next, huh?

Endo hasn't been that easy to get ahold of, for some reason. Not like he could be avoiding Ren on purpose or something. Eventually, though, he decides to answer her texts. He can't just keep telling her that he's busy working forever. He's been a bit more subdued than usual on the train ride and on the walk toward the center of Akihabara, but not completely reticent. Just a bit off. "That's" Amazing? Incredible? REVOLUTIONARY? "For lazy people." The boy nods somberly, tucking hands into pockets as he observes the robot waddle around. "Robots are untrustworthy. Look at that face." It's probably a joke, judging by the smile that twitches across his lips. "You can't trust them to do your work for you, I've seen movies about it."

"Ehh...?" Endo's words cause Ren to stand up straight and fold her arms as she gives him a look of exasperation. "I still think it would be a nice to have a robot butler or maid." And that's her take on the subject. Deal with it. Her face relaxes into a smile, though, obviously happy to be in good company.

...Even if said company has been trying to avoid her and any attempts she's made to hang out. Hmm.

But Endo is here now. So she's super content! "Oh! That reminds me. I need a new alarm clock. My old one sort of died." She doesn't elaborate past that, though the way her cheeks have reddened suggests she possibly had a hand in its destruction. "You can help me pick one out!"

And then she takes his hand and begins to drag him to a nearby shop. There's no use resisting.

"That's what a lazy person would say, Ren-san." A lazy person like her! Endo's brows rise, making a ridiculous and accusatory sort of face at his companion. Whatever's bothering him, he's obviously not in a bad enough mood to keep form his usual, playful nettling. His face changes rather abruptly when he gets yanked along, making a short noise of protest. It doesn't last too long, though. Resistance is futile.

"I suppose I can. I don't think picking an alarm clock is really that hard, though." He's still smiling faintly, feet peddling to keep up with the girl.

"So," He asks, as they push into the shop, "You like hanging around Akihabara? I guess it seems like your sort of place, but I never really thought about it."

Ren ignores the lazy comment altogether. She won't deny that sometimes she's a bit of a sloth. Though given her extracurricular activities spending time lazing about is kind of a not often indulged in luxury. As they go into the shop she turns to address his query. "Ah. Sometimes. I don't come around here often enough to really know everything there is to know. It's a nice place to pass through and window shop on the way home from school, you know?"

They've walked past the counter and into an aisle of electronic knick-knacks now, and Ren seperates herself from Endo to start browsing the shelves. "Even so, seeing all the new electronics and how far technology has come is pretty exciting. I'll admit that..."

"I'm sure it'll just keep getting better," Endro replies to the mention of technology. Which is something he knows for a fact. Even if he uses his personal piece of hyper-advanced technology as more of a glorified club than anything else. He follows a few steps behind Ren once she releases his hand, peering over the girl's shoulder at the rows of electronics.

"I don't know a lot about Ren-san, though," He muses. "Besides that I always thought you were smart, since you just sat in class and didn't talk a lot." Which is his polite way of telling her he thought she was a nerd. "I didn't know you liked video games that much before, but if you do I guess this is the kind of place you'd like."

Red once again overtakes Ren's cheeks as she whirls around to look at Endo. "O-Oh yeah? You say the strangest things, Endo-kun!" His blunt honesty is a bit jarring. Yet... refreshing at the same time. At least she can expect him to always give it to her straight, right? That should be a good thing.

"I don't really advertise that part about myself. I... I think others would find it kind of weird." She shyly looks away, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

Endo only makes a tiny shift backward to accommodate Ren's turn. His head cocks at the girl, an owlish sort of motion. "Strange?" Maybe he said too much. At least she isn't offended, that's the response he usually gets when he goes too far. "It's just what I was thinking about." His lips purse, skewing off to the side.

"Really? That's silly." Another faint smile. "There are lots of people who like to waste their time on this sort of stuff. You could probably make a lot of friends." He nods affirmatively at his own advice.

"But-" Dark eyes turn toward hers. He hesitates a moment, and then goes clears his throat. "What other kind of stuff do you like to do? I should learn more about you, since we're friends now." It feels painfully dishonest to go fishing for information for the reasons he is, but it's what he came to do.

Yeah. Yeah, she probably /could/ make a lot of friends with similar interests as her. "Possibly." Is all she says in response, though she does give it some serious thought -- and will continue to in the future. Sooo... good job Endo!

"Me?" Oh. Now it's time to share. And... did he just say they were friends? Wow. Ren grins at that. /Really/ grins. It's not all the time she has someone declare themselves as a friend. "Well I won't sit here and try to get you to think I'm cooler than I am. It's not like I fight crime or anything." Hah. That's funny. Because, you know. Yeah. "I like to read. And go to concerts -- but I haven't been to one in forever. Karaoke is always fun to do, too."

Endo's eyes roll off to the side at Ren's smile. Maybe it's guilt. "I can't imagine you doing something like fighting crime, no." The thought is amusing enough to draw his lips into a quick grin. "Ah. Yeah, that's all okay." Nothing that he didn't expect, except maybe the last part. "Are you a good singer, or are you one of those people that makes everyone cover their ears whenever you do?"

"I know right? I'm not cut out for that sort of thing, obviously." Ren laughs. Oh boy, if Endo only knew! Except that he does. But she doesn't know that little tidbit. "I'll leave that up to the professionals." She doesn't notice Endo's little guilty look off to the side, of course. "And hey! I /am/ a pretty good singer. I wouldn't subject people to my awful vocal abilities if I wasn't." She sticks her tongue out at him after. The teasing is welcome, though, because that's what friends do! "What about you? What kind of things do /you/ get up to when you aren't at school or work?"

"Alright, I'll believe you. I don't really do much of that stuff, but if I ever do I'll invite you." He's not much a singer himself, so he's never had cause to go.

"Ah-" Endo has to think. What does he do? When he's not doing those first two, he's doing something he's not ready to talk about and sleeping. "Well. Sometimes I have time to swing by Rugby Club after school. I still practice with those guys, but I don't play on the real team anymore." He thinks. "Mmm. I like to exercise and jog and stuff, and when I have time I'll go watch movies or eat with friends from school. All that." Pause. "But, I really don't have a lot of time for all that stuff."

"Great! I'll try not to outsing you too badly." Wink. Though since Endo doesn't do much singing himself it probably won't be too hard to do so. Oops.

He explains his pasttimes, and Ren nods along. "Oh you used to play Rugby?" Yeah. She doesn't remember that detail about him. "I guess I never paid much attention to sports outside of P.E. You must've been really good. Wish I could've watched you play back at Juuban." That's what she gets for being a wallflower -- missing out on potentially cool events! Bah. Nothing she can do about it now but try and be more outgoing. Which is easier said than done sometimes.

"Eh? No more time, huh? That's too bad." She then grins, leaning in close. "But you still find ways to make time for me, right?" Ehehehehe.

"It's not a big deal, really." Even though Rugby did teach Endo his most fundamental skills, such as running into other things very hard. "I was alright. Having a thick head helps in those sorts of sports." He does, for a moment, sound almost wistful. He does miss that, and all that other stuff he used to do to kill time. But now he's got responsibilities.

"...Huh?" The question takes him off guard. Endo's upper body wobbling backward. "I-Why do you say it like that?" How embarrassing. "You invited me out, I didn't want to be rude. That's normal, right?"

Ren's never really been dedicated to anything other than magical girl stuff. And that's all recent. The way Endo talks about his previous activities is really telling. It must be tough...

"I'm only kidding." She responds, moving away from him with a grin. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tease you back as much as you tease me, hmm?" Obviously not a very good one! "Anyway. Help me pick out a clock already, you jerk!"

Yep. This is going to be a beautiful friendship.