Baby Steps [Minako]

[Vice Ysal]

"Grrghgrvgh…"

It was the sound that many monsters made, when their bloodlust had reached such a peak that no amount of control could ever curb it away for another day. It was the deadliest grumbles that anyone could create from the deepest recesses of their inner demons that only the bravest of the brave could withstand against. For Vice, it was simply him once more cursing the evil that was sunlight and the sun's ability to snipe him from how ever far it was. Exaggeration aside, it happened once more that the twice damned ball of hot air that had been the centre of the galaxy that Vice lived in woke him up in the same week. The civilian, apparently having dealt with a rather rough time from the night of yesterday's endeavours, tried his best to get off his overly comfortable bed to try and get his body working. Unfortunately, his lack of control had more or less delegated him to sprawl himself across the floor of his condominium in the most painfully way possible. Grunting his discomfort at the current situation, and finding out that his ceiling didn't really look all that pretty, the fresh graduate attempted to get his ass moving. It took him a couple of moments to untangle his legs from the tentacle like grasp of his bedsheets but after much struggling and another string of his rather colourful language, Vice had finally been able to stand up on both of his feet whilst being supported by the bedside table he had in the room.

He bid a the family photo he had a good morning as he tried to wake himself up. Going through the process of his morning routine was really the only way of completely waking him up when he was this bad. Dragging his feet against the floor, his vision still swimming and the morning haze strong enough to have him end up bumping against some of the corners in his room, the bachelor had finally reached the kitchenette he had going on and turned on the heater for the water dispenser. A grumbly yawn escaped his lips before he proceeded to head to the bathroom to get his daily fix of 'wake the hell up.' Soon enough, thankfully, the young man could be found on the dining table drinking a cup of instant coffee. His eyes were boring a hole through the empty schedule for the day and his mind reeling to try and find a suitable way to spend it. He felt too sore to try and do any rigorous training, there were no chores that had to be done either, and he didn't exactly want to spend the entire day inside his condominium. Leaving another half hearted grumble at that, the young man decided to return to his room in order to scavenge for his smart phone that was probably left lying around near the plugs.

Groaning as he bent down to pick it up, the young man almost spilled his coffee from the action, he then scrolled through the contacts list to check if there was anyone or anything that had to be done. Spending a minute or two just staring at the thing, and not having found any underlying notes for that matter, the young man decided to let fate guide his path today and closed his eyes. He thumbed the screen and with a single push sent the contact page into a scramble. Waiting a moment, Vice then pressed down on the phone before opening his eyes to check just who it was would be the unlucky winner of his attention for the day. Raising an eyebrow at just what fate had in store for him today, the young man shrugged and opened up the screen to where he could send this randomised number, which belonged to Nanasawa Minako, a message.



"Morning Mina! Hope I didn't bother you or anything like that but I was planning on heading to the White Lion Shopping Center today and I thought that you might have wanted to hang out or something. I'll be by the entrance at around 10 am. We can also just meet up there if you feel like going. :))"



And send. The loading screen popped up for a moment until the phone pinged successfully to show that the message was indeed sent towards the aforementioned contact. Dumping the phone onto the pillows on his bed, Vice began to stretch out again before finishing his cup of coffee. Heading towards the closet that wasn't quite full of clothes, two thoughts came to the young man's head. What the hell was he going to wear, and what the hell was he going to buy in the shopping centre?

[Nanasawa Minako]

It was Sunday and her leg was still rather injured. It was a frustrating situation since it meant another day of no practicing tennis but she wanted to get better she had to keep from doing something strenuous on it. Her ankle felt so much better compared to the day she hurt it but it wasn't at one hundred percent. It was all rather frustrating!

Still, Minako found herself awake early in the morning as if she were going to go out for her normal run.  It was hard to break from her habits.  After her usual routine, Mina hobbled to the kitchen. Her mother had left her a nice breakfast since she still had work today. Her father worked everyday even though the city was shut off from the rest of the world. Everyone had something to do but her today. It was really bad feeling to be stuck at home with no direction. She almost wished she found that strange boy again so she could try teaching him how to smile so he could help his dad.

She ate in silence for a moment until her phone chimed. It was pretty odd for her phone to make any noise since Yuki want awake for another for hours. The two didn't have plans today but with no real plans, today was a good day to spend with her friend. The teen girl picked up get phone and read the message just to get a bit of a shock. It wasn't Yuki but Vice looking to spend time with her today. She had met him a week ago right before her father's birthday.

The two hasn't talked since that day mostly because she was too shy and scared of ruining her second friendship ever. She had known Yuki for years so it was easy to understand the other girl to a degree. Vice was so different and new. She didn't know his schedule or really anything about him. It was still beyond get how they became friends. Still, he was being rather nice again and offering her a fun time together. It would be bad to refuse. The girl sent a quick text back:

okay. will be there. : )

She looked at the message for a long give minutes before sending it. She hoped the smiley face didn't seem too friendly or even sarcastic. It was hard to get the hang of smileys. The girl sighed as she felt a little nervous. "Oh no! I have to get ready." She ate as fast as possible then rushed to her room to change into something nicer. Sweat pants weren't really something people wore all the time.

She grabbed a red hoodie and white under shirt as well as some jeans and boots before heading out. Mina got to the shopping area twenty minutes early and waited for her friend. She was supposed she even made it early considering how slow she walked with her messed up ankle. Don enough, Vice came and she got up to her get to greet him. Mina bowed to the boy.

"Hello Vice. Thank you for inviting me to spend the day with you."

[Vice Ysal]

It was when Vice was in the middle of putting on his favourite pair of black denim pants that his phone rang. Fitting the apparel on and belting it in the end to make sure it didn't sag down his pants like some of the other guys out there, the young man then proceeded to cover the distance between his bed and his closet with a small slide. Picking up the phone and checking the battery level, which was currently at 98%, out of habit, the teenager then checked out who had texted him. He had a couple guesses as of to who did sent him the message but it'd be better to at least reply as soon as possible. Seeing that it was Minako who had replied, Vice was somewhat surprised at her quick response, he decided to text her back a quick message to indicate that he had received her message:


"Cool. See you soon. :)"


Placing the phone inside his pockets instead of the bed this time, the red eyed civilian then proceeded to rummage around the place for the keys to his motorcycle, the bag he usually had with him that carried a couple of everyday supplies, his wallet, and debated on bringing the magnum that was conveniently hidden on the pillow side of his bed. Seeing as this was more of a causal outing than anything else, Vice decided to forego arming himself and instead picked up a long sleeved black shirt. Donning it on himself along with a stylish silver work necklace, the red eyed teenager then went on ahead towards the garage of the condominium with everything he needed now on his person. It didn't take long for Vice to get to his vehicle, and with the same monstrously loud engine and the same sheer speed he ran the thing with, it didn't take him that long to actually get to the aforementioned Shopping Center.

Passing by traffic was a breeze, specially since he was on his motorcycle and today seemed lucky enough that he didn't need to try and beat any of the red lights on the way there. Slowing down once he had reached the premise of the area, the teenager's red eyes swept the entrance to try and see if Minako was already there. It was a slightly amused and raised eyebrow on his face that more or less acknowledged that the girl was excited enough to be there early. Going through the whole parking process was faster than he thought it would be, and seeing as he had some time for himself before the clock actually hit 10:00, the male decided to at least freshen himself up a bit. Fixing his hair, along with applying a bit of cologne to combat the smell of the city that clung unto him, the young man then soon enough locked his vehicle down and made sure that it was secure before heading off towards the designated meeting place.

Vice had been hoping for a more casual greeting but apparently the girl still had a thing for being too formal when in the audience of a friend.

"Sup to you too, Mina. How're you?" The male began, his tone carrying the same lightness and amusement it had when the two met back in the grocery. "And much as I appreciate the gesture, you don't have to be so formal with me. Friends, remember? Just relax yo, and I should be the one thanking you for coming with me despite being such short notice." Cue the slightly bashful look as the black haired individual looked slightly to the side with whilst scratching his cheek. "I didn't really expect that you'd accept, honestly."

Removing that face quickly enough and replacing it with a small grin, the taller of the two then ushered Minako into the shopping centre.

"Now that we're here, I was kinda thinking of maybe going to the bookstore first to get an intermediate book for cooking. You wanna look up something on the way there? We'll probably pass by a couple of equipment shops while we're at it."

[Nanasawa Minako]

Vice must have been a very punctual person since he arrived on time. Being punctual was a good trait. She arrived early just in case he came too early so he wouldn't have to wait since it was rather rude to wait. The last thing she wanted to see was rude to her brand new friend or else he'd never invite her on another outing again. He greeted her very casually with a slight head bob and a friendly tone. "I am well," she replied in her normal rigid tone. She thanked him for the invitation to spend time with him and bowed yet again. All the formality and manners didn't sit right with him since he reminded her they were friends and thus didn't need to be so bound by rules. The girl moaned as she glanced at the ground. If she was less formal then she'd be rude somehow. She didn't want to be rude. If she was too formal, however, it seemed he might think they were friends. It was such a conundrum.

"I-it's alright. I don't mind the short notice. And I'm happy you invited me," she replied quickly so he didn't feel bad. He was starting to look uncomfortable and she definitely didn't want him to feel bad about something she was happy to do. She gave him a small smile and he smiled back. It seemed catastrophe was avoided this time. Today was going to be really stressful at this rate.

She followed him along into the shopping center. She had been to the White Lion Shopping Center before since Yuki liked to do things like look for clothes and eat at the food court. It wasn't a terrible place since it had so many different things here. She followed slightly behind him as she made sure to keep an eye out where she was going rather than glance at any stores. The girl looked rather determined since she didn't want to mess up her first outing with a new friend.

"The bookstore sounds like a good place to go," she agreed. Her eyes shifted over at the taller boy for a moment. "You need a middle level cook books? Does that mean you're a beginner level cook?"

He probably knew how to cook if he knew the secret to food shopping. Honestly, it was much different than clothes shopping. With clothes, she just had to make sure everything fit on her body rather than look on the back of items. Clothes were used to cover herself, so there wasn't any tricks or secrets to it.

He wanted to know if there was something she wanted to do and Minako shook her head. The teen girl was more here because she was invited rather than some grand desire. "An equipment store is nice, but I don't need anything. Though, maybe I can find a book at the bookstore too. That way I can learn more about Anis?" All she knew was the information he told her about. She really needed to brush up on the Filipino fighting style if she was going to help him practice.

[Vice Ysal]

"Yeah, the bookstore's pretty good if you ever want to learn anything else they don't teach at school. Like how to repair the bathroom, to cooking, to giving you a detailed guide on how to make friends with others. I don't see why so many people diss it like it's some plague infested place."

Vice added as he kept the light hearted air around himself. He also decided to walk a lot slower to make sure that he was matching his pace with the shorter girl. He took a moment to observe how she walked and, after a bit of motor management, went ahead and copied the rhythm of her steps. Now instead of having her follow him like she was some lost puppy, the two were now walking together like how friends were supposed to be. Vice kept his hands on the side and resisted the urge to place them inside his back pockets while he glanced around the shops that lined the sides of the wide path the mall had.

"Mm? Yeah, I don't really know a lot of dishes yet and I really want to make more nutritious food for myself. Health's really important after all, and not to mention I need a good diet to keep up with my hobbies."

With those hobbies being getting into the occasional fight and running around to try explore the outside circle. Well, that took up a lot of energy and he had to eat a lot in order to make sure his body didn't just die out on him.

"Book on Arnis? Well, I can probably give you my basic set. It's got a couple of notes on the side too so it might be more helpful than having to buy a new one. I'll bring it with me the next time we meet."

That said, the two had soon enough reached the nearest bookstore available to the public. It was a small place, not the most furnished and it couldn't really hold a candle to those top of the line libraries that most of the schools and other businesses could boast. It did, however, give the customers a welcoming feeling and less of that sterile environment that libraries often carried with them. Holding the door open, the bell above it jingling when the entrance had been opened, Vice ushered Mina in first before following suit. The interior of the small book shop was filled with the rich scent of mahogany…that probably came from the air fresheners rather than the wooden flooring and shelves the place had. Several books, magazines, tomes, and knickknacks were fixed immaculately along the available spaces in the book store.

Different labels were placed above them, sporting names that ranged from Fiction to Sports to Drama and so on and so forth. Moving forward, the young man gave Mina a small nod of his head to tell her to follow him instead of just standing around to look at the books that were only displayed upfront. To Vice's opinion, those books were more or less usually trash. Best sellers that didn't really have any substance behind them. It was the books at the back that actually made sense for him, actual things that taught you what you paid for.

Before picking out a book that had been deemed as 'intermediate' enough by Vice's less than expert observation, the young man turned to look at his companion for a moment as a thought crossed his head. Cocking his head slightly to the side, he asked:

"Hey Mina? What's your favourite dish?"

[Nanasawa Minako]

He went to the bookstore to learn to repair broken bathrooms? Minako looked at him blankly as he talked about other purchasable books. She wasn't sure if a self-help book on friendship was something she could invest in. It seemed rather odd that a book would really know what to do in situations. It had to take more than a few hundred pages of a book to understand others since she failed to grasp that concept for years. The girl moaned lowly as she considered buying one just to see if it would be helpful or not. In the end, she dismissed the idea since it probably would just be a waste.

He had to slow his pace down to match hers, which was embarrassing. Her eyes closed as she forced her legs to move faster so he could walk at a normal pace along with her. Moving her ankle so quickly was painful but it was something that needed to be done. The injury was slowing her down too often. The two kept a steady march for the bookstore as he answered why he would need a cookbook. She nodded along again since healthy food was important. Her lifestyle required her to have a very high protein and carbohydrate diet to keep up with all the activities she did in a day. Eating unhealthy foods would slow her down.

Vice suggested giving her books he had but that was unfair! If she took his items then what would he have? Minako frowned at the thought as they walked into the store. "I'm not sure if that would be smart," she told him as she looked around. "I read a bit slow so I might not return them in a timely fashion. So it's probably best to buy myself a book."

They moved about to the back of the store. He went to the cooking section and she followed along as he asked what type of food she liked. Her favorite thing to eat was strawberry cake since strawberries were her favorite fruit. She knew he wouldn't be interested in something like that since they were just talking about healthy food. "Okonomiyaki," she said lowly. It was really tasty since it was almost like a pancake for lunch. She rather liked pancakes for breakfast, so having one for lunch or a snack was really nice. It wasn't necessarily that healthy either.

"I like stew during winter," she commented absently.

She also liked eating nabe with her family. It was nice to sit around the table as everyone shared their meal from the same pot. Her dad was really nice and left most of the mushrooms and tofu pieces for her even though he liked them too. Eating together was really nice.

"What's your favorite food?" she asked as she looked around at the pretty pictures of food. Everything looked very nice and fancier than any of the things her mother made her. She picked up a book with a picture of very nice looking onigiri all lined with colorful toppings at the top of the triangle. "When you cook using a book like this, are they really that pretty?"

[Vice Ysal]

"Don't worry about it. I've more or less memorised everything those books could offer me and no one's really using them right now. Books were meant to be read and used, not holed up in one corner of the room for all eternity."

Vice shot back, a light hearted grin on his face at the short time banter they had going on. He also kept an ear out for what Mina had liked in terms of food. It wasn't really required of him, nor did the girl ask to do such a thing, but it pretty much went unspoken that when you know how to cook, you're going to have cook for someone one time or another. So might as well do that for the most efficient of reasons. Flipping through the pictures after scanning the recipes and tips shown on the page, Vice made sure to file away his companion's preferences at the back of his mind and would try to recreate some of the dishes when he got the time. Stew was understandable in the winter, a pretty common dish too that could be easily changed depending on the preference of the ones who'll be eating. Okonomiyaki though…those japanese pancake things he'd seen in TV back when he was a kid wasn't something he really knew how to cook but maybe if he could find a japanese cook book…

"I…don't really have a favourite food? I mean, I've really always been more concerned with the nutritional value rather than the taste but I'm not really sure."

Vice sounded off as he actually began to put some thought into it. Placing his hand on his chin while crossing the other one across his chest, the young man looked down for a second as if trying to remember something he'd eaten in the past.

"I like Mapo Tofu. Or Tofu Noodles…Tofu in general I think."

Vice answered as he looked back at Mina for a bit. An unsure look on his face given that it wasn't really something he bothered himself with a lot. Shrugging after that and flipping through the book one last time, Vice decided to grab another small booklet for beginner Japanese Snacks that seemed to have been conveniently placed along the same row for intermediate level cooking. Then again, a lot of the customers from Library's don't really know how to arrange them.

"Well, I got what I wanted here…but to answer your question, not always. You see, it really depends on how good the cook is and everyone has their own style. It could probably look like the one you see in the picture but it might not be as colourful or it may be more so…it's really hard to differentiate sometimes on where people change things up unless you're experienced or something."

The aspiring cook informed as he flipped the books and tugged them into his grasp before moving out of the aisle to let the other customers move through them with more ease.

"If you're still serious about buying your own book, I won't stop you. Wanna look for one now?"