maskormenacelogs | Meet me on Thames Street

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Meet me on Thames Street

WHO: Kaneda & YOU! (guest starring Capsule the puppy)
WHERE: Nonah 05 sidewalk (Birthday) & Any city for the rest
WHEN: September 5th (Birthday) & Rest of September
WHAT: September 5th is Kaneda's birthday. He sort of celebrates for himself. Other than that, he'll be bouncing from city to city every now and then to scope out for Tetsuo. He may or may not ask people to bunk with them for a night instead of trekking home.
WARNINGS: Kaneda

BIRTHDAY:

[8AM, September 5th. Was it already that time again? Honestly, if it wasn't for his communicator, he honestly would have forgotten. He often did--there was nothing special about it. Well, that is, until he got here and saw so many people asking for things for their birthday. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. Whatever. What he wanted wasn't exactly tangible.

The day went about as normal, a soft 'happy birthday' to himself in the mirror before messing up his hair into it's usual position was enough. A bruised face looks back in that mirror a moment, running a hand down the skin and rubbing it, turning away soon after.]

Happy birthday, Kaneda.

[Confirmation that yes, it was his birthday, he'd do something for himself about it, and that would be that. Only one other person probably knew about it, anyway, and he highly doubted that Tetsuo would a.) remember b.) care or c.) come back to even mock him about it. Not that he expected him to, either way. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he makes his way out the door to his bike. Maybe he'd just...go off driving for the day. Do what Kasumi said and relax a little. He doubted that driving just to see where he ended up was what she meant, but she wasn't exactly specific either....

Yeah, he'd do that.]

---

[Its not until 11pm that the bike pulls up to Nonah 05, engine hot from running itself into exhaustion. It'd certainly gotten a workout with Kaneda behind the handlebars, and there's an affectionate pat to the windshield as he steps off. Not exactly a talkative guest to his birthday, but a loyal, reliable one nonetheless. Fingers follow the glass to the handlebar itself, where a bag dangled. For once it's not takeout, he muses, looking into the plastic with a smile as he snaps the bike away to make room for his ass to plop down right on that sidewalk.

What's inside the bag? Two cakes, nothing big or special, but really what was just at the grocery store bakery. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what he got, only just now looking at the label. Chocolate and...red velvet? Huh. It looked white. He sets that one to the side as he opens the chocolate one, pulling out a box of forks and pulling one out. Just...straight up digging into it silently.

After all, it was his birthday. He'll eat his own damn cake. That is...unless someone finds him.]

GENERAL:
[Since Tetsuo's decided to wreak havoc among the cities, Kaneda's trying to play bloodhound and hunt for him. Which makes for a lot of travel, a lot of strain on his bike, and one tired teenager. You can find him doing any of these, either searching actively for signs of his *-BEST FRIEND-*, or if you're familiar with him enough, he might (accident or not) knock on your door to ask if he can break with you for a few hours.

He will travel home to check on his dog after a few hours, though. Or sometimes he'll even bring his dog with. It's a baby golden retriever what more of an icebreaker do you need than a boy and his dog?

A man has his priorities.]

[ooc: this is for general kaneda shenanigans as well so if you want to do anything with him, feel free to hit me up or toss up a starter! I'm good for anything, these are just the main two prompts if you want some teen boy disaster!]

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[Who even takes roads? Koromaru just looks up at him as Kaneda's foot rubs against his side, tilting his head and opening his mouth so that his tongue lolls out, panting as if to say, "Whaaaaaaat?"

He knows there's a road. But that's the road Ken told him to avoid if he was alone because the cars are faster and they might not see him, so small and close to the ground, so he walks the neighborhoods. But he has no words or an android to answer that for him, so he barks once and rubs the top of his head against Kaneda's leg.]

[Dogs. It's hard to be upset with them when they give you that face. Even one as perceptive as Koromaru still had the same playful behavior they all shared. That's what made them dogs, you know? He gives a cocky smirk back, slowly kneeling down to run his hands on both sides of Koromaru's neck, wiggling that extra fur.]

You knew I was following the whole time, didn't you?

[A thumb reaches up to rub the inside of his ear, tickling it playfully.]

I'll get you back for that, furball.

[That touch so welcomed, Koromaru's expression turning into that of glee as Kaneda starts petting him, and he even tilts his head into the touch when that thumb starts tickling his ear. For all that Kaneda said he had bad experience with dogs, he's good at playing with one. His tail wags harder.

If this were anybody other than Kaneda or a housemate, Koromaru would never have led him here. But as he waits for the bell to ring, he thinks he was just right about bringing the guy here. He was good to Ken, and that was most important.

A couple minutes later, when the sound of the school bell echoes across the campus and even outside of the gate to where they are, Koromaru doesn't bound forward toward it. Instead, he sits right at Kaneda's feet patiently, looking up at him as if waiting for his cue.]

[It's surprising to him too. For something that was supposedly his worst enemy in Neo Tokyo, he took to them rather well. Then again, Kaneda never really feared them like Tetsuo did. They were annoying, and tough to outrun--hell, their bites were even worse, and he would have no qualms about kicking one.

Koromaru was different, though. Capsule was different. He couldn't really explain it.

The bell rings, and Kaneda's head tilts up at it, brows raised. Hands pause at petting him for a moment, head turning to see the halls start to cycle children out, grabbing their things and exiting the doors one (or ten) by one. Letting go of that fur, he raises himself to his feet and shoves his hands in his pockets, it slowly dawning on him just what Koro came here for.

After all, who else would go to middle school that the dog would come fetch every day and return with? It was obvious.

And now all he had to do was wait with him.]

[Koromaru can see the understanding dawning, and then Kaneda settles down to wait. There it is, that attitude, the thing that he saw Ken be surprised by for the first few weeks of knowing him. Kaneda had looked out for Ken since -- really, since the day they met, and while Koromaru worried at first that he'd just end up dragging the boy in to travel more, that hasn't been the case.

He thumps his tail against the ground and woofs, softly, once, before his attention is caught by a call of,] Koromaru! [from a short distance away, the familiar orange-clad figure of their housemate making his way through the crowd of tiny teenagers.]

[To say that Kaneda understood Koromaru...that was a bit of an overstatement. The dog was a complete mystery. Then again, seeing dogs as anything but what their masters make of them is something new to him all together, but an overall pleasant one. Koromaru had a personality, had wants, had things he wanted to protect. Seeing something in a new light like that…

He'd be lying if he said he didn't respect that.

But his ears metaphorically perk up at hearing Ken's voice, tilting his head from leaning against that pillar to crane to see just where that little bean was coming from.

--Ah, there he was.

Looking down again at Koromaru, he tilts his head quickly, jerking it to the side.]

He's calling you.

[The other SEES members would probably agree with Kaneda. They were used to Koromaru, and they hadn't thought twice about accepting an android into their midst, but they knew how unusual a dog like this was. And Koromaru's well-aware of that, too, thanks to his strange intelligence. Though he's never really minded. People have been kind to him nevertheless.

Koromaru's ears, unlike Kaneda's, perk up physically too when he hears the boy's voice, and his tail starts wagging without missing a single beat. He stays sitting but it's clear that he wants to launch off toward Ken, and the oment he gets that go-ahead from Kaneda he's gone, bounding toward Ken like he hasn't seen the boy in years.

And Ken, who noticed Kaneda's presence and was wondering quietly to himself what he was doing there, is distracted by the assault of a happy white fuzz and laughing as he's knocked into, getting down on his knees to ruffle his fur while Koromaru barks and licks at his face.]

[Kaneda watches Koromaru bolt, like his life depended on it towards the boy. In a way, it was warming to watch. A dog running to someone without intention of harming. That was all too familiar of a scene to him back home, dodging the streets. But that? It had to be the best feeling in the world to Ken, to have Koromaru there every day to pick him up.

In a way, he felt a little out of place here, watching as the kids walking past looked up at him in mild curisoity, hushed whispers as they walked past. Nothing makes him wish he could be a dog right at this moment...

When the space clears out more, he heads over, hands still stuffed in his pockets.]

...

[No 'hi', or anything. Just a smile and a flip of his hair.]

[Koromaru traveling to pick Ken up from school has been a daily thing since February when they first arrived. At first, Koromaru centered his activities around Ken's safety, making sure he got home every day, making sure he came home every day instead of running away. Back then, that had been a big concern. And Koromaru's presence had definitely been something of a lifeline for Ken.

Now, it was much less serious but still a sweet moment for both of them, and Kaneda might see the brightest smile on Ken's face; it's really not the sort of look he shows around other people. That's the magic of having a good dog around.

Still, the smile doesn't fade at all when he looks up at Kaneda, rubbing Koromaru's back as the man stops in front of them.]

Hi, Kaneda-san.

[It's hard not to crack a smile at Ken's face. For all his seriousness, it was nice to see him wear the face of a kid his age for once. Don't worry, Ken, your little secret's safe with him.]

Me and Koro thought we'd meet you here.

[You had no idea where this dog was going you piece of shit. Hopefully the dog doesn't rat him out. Ken wouuld know Koromaru comes every day, but...who cares.]

[Kaneda's not the first or the only one to see that face, but it's a good call for him to keep quiet about it. It'll only embarrass him and he'd wipe it right off! Koromaru turns his head to give Kaneda a Look but of course he's not giving him away, focusing again on slobbering up Ken's face.]

I keep treats in my pocket for Koro, but I don't have anything to give you.. [did he just compare Kaneda to a dog. yes he did.] Did you have that much free time?

[He barks out a laugh as he reaches out, ruffling Ken's hair a little.]

Guess you'll just have to make it up to me when we get home then, I came all this way after all!

[You smug little butthead.]

It's a slow day.

Hey! [Rude, don't mess up his hair. But Ken's not moving away -- these months in the import cities have gotten him accustomed to and comfortable with these gestures of affection. He sticks out his lower lip without thinking in a sulky expression.]

Food?

[The reaction gets a laugh out of him as that hand pats his shoulder, starting to walk, looking to Koromaru to lead the way (and hopefully not over fences).]

You know me a little too well.

[Now that they've gotten Ken, Koromaru sees no need to mess around with their route. They're going to get food anyway, which also pertains to the dog's interest and he's actually heading toward the street, knowing that they're a corner nearby with a few food carts that'll get him some unsalted soft pretzels if he just acts cute enough.]

I suppose I did learn a lot about you pretty quickly.

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Meet me on Thames Street

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