[Kida was out cruising the streets of Ikebukuro after school, as usual. He didn't have any end goal in mind, other than keeping his mind off his current problems (specifically: how best to protect his friends from the Slasher, and whether or not he could afford to stay away from his past mistakes if he really meant to do that with 100% of his strength). He's simply wandering, hands in his pockets, deceptively watchful for all his casual mien.
...Which is why he notices the slight figure in the newsboy cap purposefully approaching Shizuo Heiwajima.
For the first second, he doesn't move. Then his eyes dart to that too-pretty face, the gracefulness of the stranger's frame, the way they move--and then Kida's moving also, smoothly interposing himself between the strongest man in Ikebukuro and this unsuspecting girl (because she was a girl, he was certain of it, there was no fooling the eye of a true connoisseur of womanhood!).]
Ahhh, at long last, here you are! I'd almost started to think you'd stood me up, but ~OF COURSE~ I had more faith in you than that!
[With a smile and a twinkle in his eye, he firmly links arms with her, towing her away before either of them gain any unwanted, unfortunate attention from the lanky blonde smoking nearby.
He'll explain himself in a minute, but. First, more distance between themselves and Certain Death is necessary. 8|]
[There was a reason this slight figure was approaching Shizuo Heiwajima. The reason was simple: she had been hired to do a job and the best source of information was likely to come from him. When a strange blond boy very purposefully steps between her and her intended target to say she's not pleased is a bit of an understatement. Naoto positively bristles with annoyance.]
Excuse me? What exactly do you think you're --
[And then very suddenly the boy's gone and linked his arm with hers and has started to pull her away and WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?]
Let go of me! I have business with that man and I don't know what you think you're doing, but I do not appreciate being manhandled!
[Kida's smile only gets wider and more desperate, for the few who know how to see it and he doubles their pace, swiftly towing the girl out of earshot of Shizuo.]
Mm, but I don't think I know what I'm doing, I ~DEFINITELY~ know what I'm doing! Unlike you, it would seem, if you think that approaching Shizuo Heiwajima-san is something you can do so casually!
[They're out of earshot now, but still within sight, so Kida's going to keep pulling her along at a good pace, making sure to turn a corner as soon as possible, but not stopping even then.
And of course, he keeps babbling away the entire time.]
Ahhhh, no no, we're complete opposites, no matter how you look at it! Which makes even the possibility of a ~STAR-CROSSED LOVE STORY~ infinitely more appealing!
[The look on Naoto's face has gone from an indignant frown to one of incredulous anger in seconds. Once they've turned the corner she tries to rip her arm away from the boy who's been tugging her along.
She sighs heavily, rubbing at her temples.]
I have no idea what you're talking about, nor do I care to find out. As I have already said previously, I have business with him and the way I approach him is certainly no business of yours! I was scheduled to meet with him!
[He lets go of her arm, not because he has to, but because it doesn't look good for a guy to be hauling a struggling girl along the streets (not that most would think she was a girl, but that was beside the point). Still, he does pointedly put himself between her and the way they've come, effectively blocking her route back to Shizuo.]
Whether you were scheduled to meet with him or not, that's not really how things work with Shizuo Heiwajima-san...and if you don't know that, then you definitely don't know enough about him to talk to him without getting him angry! And even a super cute girl like you wouldn't be safe if she was responsible for making Shizuo-san angry! SO!
[Smiling his most inviting, sparkling smile, Kida spreads his hands wide, then gestures to himself grandly.]
Question me instead! I might not look like it, but I actually know a surprising amount about what goes on here in Ikebukuro, and with me there's ~ZERO DANGER~ of being knocked off your feet--only swept off of them!
If he's as volatile as you say he is then surely you understand that the very act of causing me to miss this legitimately scheduled appointment is going to make him angry, yes? Not only that, but you have now potentially cost me a direct source of information if he is no longer willing to speak with me due to you dragging me away out of some misguided desire to protect me.
And yet you wish me to speak to you instead? You who are not even aware of the nature of the business I had with Heiwajima-san?
Ahhh, but you see, if you really knew Heiwajima-san and had an appointment scheduled with him, then you'd know that you have to go through someone else if you really want to talk with him safely!
[He playfully wags a finger at her as he says that, which turns into another florid and ridiculous gesture as he continues with]
Heiwajima-san isn't really the sort you go to for information, while I have enough connections that I could probably answer all your questions and more! And since I've already pulled you away from your direct source, you might as well question me, a viable secondary source, just be to sure! That way you won't lose any more valuable time--in fact, you might end up saving even more than you would've lost in the first place!
You are speaking of Tanaka-san, yes? I am not nearly as foolish as you seem to take me for and I am well aware of the necessary protocols and steps needed to secure a meeting with him. A meeting which you have as of...
[She pauses for a moment, purposefully flicking up the sleeve of her jacket and raising her arm to look at her watch.]
... this very moment made me irrevocably late for. As it turns out, Heiwajima-san is precisely the person I needed to speak to as I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is the man who has the connections that I personally need to investigate.
[Naoto crosses her arms over her chest, looking the boy in front of her up and down with a heavy frown.]
So, unless you have information on the Dollars or the Black Rider, I have no use for you.
[...There's some perverse part of him that wants to send her to Izaya. Someone as no-nonsense as this could potentially make for a very bad day for the information broker, and she did just say that she was looking for 'the man who has the connections that [she] personally need[s] to investigate'...and no one had more fingers in more pies, more people caught and spinning in his spidery webs, than Izaya Orihara.
And yet...what kind of guy would he be, to potentially save her from Shizuo, only to send her to someone far more dangerous and unstable?
Listening to her talk, Kida can't help but chuckle at how annoyed this girl is. It makes him REALLY want to sweep her away with his dashing good looks and a CASCADE of sweet nothings...but some of what she's said has caught his interest. And so, even more than he wants to ~WIN HER HEART~, he wants answers of his own to some questions...]
Heiwajima-san might know some things, but if you reeeeally knew him, you'd know that he's definitely not the best source of information. Like I think I said before, I'm probably a better source than he is, so what do you want to know about the Dollars or the Black Rider, and why? You've mentioned your investigation, but what reason could you have for looking into a color gang and an urban legend come to life?
[His tone is light, casual, and he doesn't sound particularly interested...but it's a lie. And though his tone doesn't change, there's a subtle, steely gleam in his eyes when he pauses for a fraction of a second before adding,]
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HAVE A KIDA <3
...Which is why he notices the slight figure in the newsboy cap purposefully approaching Shizuo Heiwajima.
For the first second, he doesn't move. Then his eyes dart to that too-pretty face, the gracefulness of the stranger's frame, the way they move--and then Kida's moving also, smoothly interposing himself between the strongest man in Ikebukuro and this unsuspecting girl (because she was a girl, he was certain of it, there was no fooling the eye of a true connoisseur of womanhood!).]
Ahhh, at long last, here you are! I'd almost started to think you'd stood me up, but ~OF COURSE~ I had more faith in you than that!
[With a smile and a twinkle in his eye, he firmly links arms with her, towing her away before either of them gain any unwanted, unfortunate attention from the lanky blonde smoking nearby.
He'll explain himself in a minute, but. First, more distance between themselves and Certain Death is necessary. 8|]
KIDA PLS. KIDA NO.
Excuse me? What exactly do you think you're --
[And then very suddenly the boy's gone and linked his arm with hers and has started to pull her away and WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?]
Let go of me! I have business with that man and I don't know what you think you're doing, but I do not appreciate being manhandled!
no subject
and more desperate, for the few who know how to see itand he doubles their pace, swiftly towing the girl out of earshot of Shizuo.]Mm, but I don't think I know what I'm doing, I ~DEFINITELY~ know what I'm doing! Unlike you, it would seem, if you think that approaching Shizuo Heiwajima-san is something you can do so casually!
[They're out of earshot now, but still within sight, so Kida's going to keep pulling her along at a good pace, making sure to turn a corner as soon as possible, but not stopping even then.
And of course, he keeps babbling away the entire time.]
Ahhhh, no no, we're complete opposites, no matter how you look at it! Which makes even the possibility of a ~STAR-CROSSED LOVE STORY~ infinitely more appealing!
no subject
[The look on Naoto's face has gone from an indignant frown to one of incredulous anger in seconds. Once they've turned the corner she tries to rip her arm away from the boy who's been tugging her along.
She sighs heavily, rubbing at her temples.]
I have no idea what you're talking about, nor do I care to find out. As I have already said previously, I have business with him and the way I approach him is certainly no business of yours! I was scheduled to meet with him!
I CAN RESURRECT OLD TAGS TOO
Whether you were scheduled to meet with him or not, that's not really how things work with Shizuo Heiwajima-san...and if you don't know that, then you definitely don't know enough about him to talk to him without getting him angry! And even a super cute girl like you wouldn't be safe if she was responsible for making Shizuo-san angry! SO!
[Smiling his most inviting, sparkling smile, Kida spreads his hands wide, then gestures to himself grandly.]
Question me instead! I might not look like it, but I actually know a surprising amount about what goes on here in Ikebukuro, and with me there's ~ZERO DANGER~ of being knocked off your feet--only swept off of them!
LOOKIT YOU GO!!
If he's as volatile as you say he is then surely you understand that the very act of causing me to miss this legitimately scheduled appointment is going to make him angry, yes? Not only that, but you have now potentially cost me a direct source of information if he is no longer willing to speak with me due to you dragging me away out of some misguided desire to protect me.
And yet you wish me to speak to you instead? You who are not even aware of the nature of the business I had with Heiwajima-san?
no subject
Ahhh, but you see, if you really knew Heiwajima-san and had an appointment scheduled with him, then you'd know that you have to go through someone else if you really want to talk with him safely!
[He playfully wags a finger at her as he says that, which turns into another florid
and ridiculousgesture as he continues with]Heiwajima-san isn't really the sort you go to for information, while I have enough connections that I could probably answer all your questions and more! And since I've already pulled you away from your direct source, you might as well question me, a viable secondary source, just be to sure! That way you won't lose any more valuable time--in fact, you might end up saving even more than you would've lost in the first place!
no subject
[She pauses for a moment, purposefully flicking up the sleeve of her jacket and raising her arm to look at her watch.]
... this very moment made me irrevocably late for. As it turns out, Heiwajima-san is precisely the person I needed to speak to as I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is the man who has the connections that I personally need to investigate.
[Naoto crosses her arms over her chest, looking the boy in front of her up and down with a heavy frown.]
So, unless you have information on the Dollars or the Black Rider, I have no use for you.
no subject
And yet...what kind of guy would he be, to potentially save her from Shizuo, only to send her to someone far more dangerous and unstable?
Listening to her talk, Kida can't help but chuckle at how annoyed this girl is. It makes him REALLY want to sweep her away with his dashing good looks and a CASCADE of sweet nothings...but some of what she's said has caught his interest. And so, even more than he wants to ~WIN HER HEART~, he wants answers of his own to some questions...]
Heiwajima-san might know some things, but if you reeeeally knew him, you'd know that he's definitely not the best source of information. Like I think I said before, I'm probably a better source than he is, so what do you want to know about the Dollars or the Black Rider, and why? You've mentioned your investigation, but what reason could you have for looking into a color gang and an urban legend come to life?
[His tone is light, casual, and he doesn't sound particularly interested...but it's a lie. And though his tone doesn't change, there's a subtle, steely gleam in his eyes when he pauses for a fraction of a second before adding,]
Or is this all tied to the Slasher somehow?