Familiar Faces [Arc and I, Private]

"Oh, I thought you might know of somewhere good," Kyoko said. She was unfamiliar with the city, after all. She did drop back to walk in step with Brandi. Perhaps a little further back, just enough that she could be said to be following. She was also unfamiliar with where the exit was. "And if not, we can always grab some fast food..." she added a few moments later.

Brandi took a slight lead as she made for the school's exit. "Aight... I mean, I know a place. A little rough, but they got good fries." She responded, adjusting her path as they made for the front door. "Owner lets me lay low there when I skip. Nice guy, kinda old though." It wasn't a far place, and even though they were in a less reputable part of town, it wasn't that deep in, so it was unlikely they'd run in to any trouble. Besides, even if they did it was likely nothing she couldn't handle.

Kyoko didn't really expect much else. As long as the food was edible and they could talk, it suited their needs just fine. Though, the reason Brandi was familiar with it was as worrying as it was unsurprising so far. Brandi of all people describing it as rough was also a little worrying, though if she was talking more about the area then Kyoko had nothing to worry about either. "Sounds fine," she asserted.

Brandi took a stroll down the many, MANY stairs that led to the school, making sure Kyoko was able to keep up with her. "I never asked, where you been all this time? They have you locked up in a normal school or some shit?" She inquired, adjusting her bag on her back as she casually peered over her shoulder.

"Yeah, pretty much," Kyoko said. "I think Ma' got scared after... Well, y'know. Anyway, she wouldn't let me come here," she explained as she fell back in step with Brandi. This was nothing to Kyoko. "At least until the school called for me specifically, saying they had a partner lined up. She had a hard time refusing that. Y'know, nobody ever told me what happened to your family. I thought the reason we never went to see you anymore was because Ma' wanted to get us away from anything to do with the DWMA. It was all speculation on my part, really. Nobody would say anything."

Brandi kept her pace, glancing to the arm-warmer on her wrist. "Nobody wanted to tell me much either. Had to work it out of em. I wanna find the witch or kishin egg that started it, if they ain't dead." Bradi responded, fixing her gaze at the stairs below her. "Sucks if they are. I want to choke em out myself."

"Mmm. I killed one of those that attacked me, personally," Kyoko said. Seeing that they'd gotten to dwelling on the past, she tried to think of a distraction. She stopped all of a sudden. "Hey, I wanna see how we match up now. Rest of the way down. Race ya'."

Brandi was about to begin feeling sorry for herself when Kyoko suggested a race down the stairs. It wasn't much further down, but it was enough to warrant the comment. Besides, if Kyoko had been training to keep up with a meister, who was Brandi to tell her no? With that in mind she stopped in her tracks and responded. "Just let me know when we go, then. Just don't get all sad when you can't keep up."

"That's not going to happen," Kyoko said, while getting a few stretches done. Wouldn't do her any good to pull something on her first day, though a race down a bunch of stairs probably wasn't the safest. "Er... Getting all sad, that is," she added. Wouldn't do to get Brandi more fired up than she needed to be either. "Alright. Go!" she then said once she was done. The lack of a countdown was not a mistake, and she started off by running as fast as possible for her at a diagonal towards one of the walls on either side of the stairs.

Kyoko got a bit of a head start by catching Brandi by surprise, but Brandi wasn't going to let that be the win. As soon as she realized what had happened she took off in a straight line. She ran as fast as she could without tumbling down the stairs. It was actually a bit challenging. She noticed Kyoko heading for the edge of the stairs, but did't think much of it.

Soon as Kyoko was close enough to the edge, she jumped forward to land on the slope of the wall a little further down. She picked up the pace a bit, since it was a bit easier to run down a sloped surface like that than it was to run down the stairs proper. Using her brain was the only way she could ever even think of beating Brandi before, so she saw no reason why that wouldn't be the case now.

When Brandi noticed Kyoko pick up the pace, she picked it up as well. She stumbled a bit, almost falling towards the end, but she barely got down ahead of Kyoko. When she reached the bottom she didn't have to wait long for her friend. "That's nuts Kyo... You gave me a hard time..." She called out, moving over to where Kyoko was. She was a bit amazed at the girl's physical capacity.

The only downside to running down the side banister was the jump at the end. The plan was to go off at full speed, but at seeing Brandi somehow power through her plan let her slow down a little. She was still forced to roll at the end, even sliding a little once she popped back up at the other and of it. "I made sure you couldn't leave me in the dust like you could when we were kids," she said, once she walked on over, brushing debris from the ground off of herself. "I didn't expect to win, even taking every advantage, anyway. Anyway, all that's done is make me more hungry, so..."

Brandi adjusted her bag back onto her shoulder, motioning Kyoko to follow her. "Did good. Not a lotta people can keep pace with me anymore." Remarked the girl as she rested her hands behind her head and began to head for the restaurant. "Man, wait until the old man at the counter finds out I didn't skip today an' got the day off anyway. Wild. S'like they don't want me there." She added, grinning at her own joke.

Kyoko smiled, pleased at the remark. "That sounds like high praise," she said, returning to walk in step with Brandi. "I'm sure he'd love to see you attending the school more often, if he cares enough to let you use his shop to skip," Kyoko said. Subtle? Maybe not.

"Maybe, but like that'd ever happen. Place sucks. They make you read." There was a certain sound of disgust in Brandi's voice when she said it. The DWMA had a reputation for cleaning up Kishin Eggs and stuff, but to Brandi, it just seemed like a bunch of losers reading books. Sure, some people went to go hunt, but a lot of their time otherwise was spent in school. She just didn't get it.

As the two walked, the streets around them seemed to get a bit more... sketchy. It wasn't like don't get out of your car sketchy but more like I could see myself getting mugged here at night sketchy. It was here, on this street, that Brandi stopped in front of an old, a bit run down, burger joint. "Looks better on the inside. Food's pretty good too." She remarked, clearly aware of the state of the building.

"Y'know, if you did the learning part, I think they'd probably let you out on more hunts..." Kyoko said, despite how disgusted Brandi seemed by the idea. Maybe it'd be some new revelation. Kyoko doubted it. 

As for the burger joint. It... Was one. That's about what Kyoko thought of it. Sure, the place was sketchy and all but that didn't meant that the food was bad or anything. And Brandi seemed to regard it well enough that she was even more sure of her assumptions; though whether that would be the correct thing to think was still yet to be see. "Well, lets go," Kyoko said as she went on inside.

Brandi gave a shrug. "Maybe. Iunno, I just don't see how they connect." She responded as she opened the door, heading inside. As she passed through the door she called out into the restaurant. "Yo, Old man, I brought someone with me!" With that she headed to a table and kicked her feet up on top of it, leaning back in her chair.

Kyoko smiled and waved at the owner before joining Brandi where she was sitting; that is, without putting her boots up on the table, obviously. "Doesn't the academy teach a thing... Uh... What was it... It's been a while since I read about it... A sound... Ah! A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. There. That's how they connect."

Brandi seemed to almost have a coherent thought, but then simply shrugged. "Think I've heard it before, but never got it. What does brain have to do with kicking ass?" Seeming satisfied with that response, she waved a hand lazily at the man. "Double, basket of fries, an' a chocolate shake. Whatever Kyo wants."

Kyoko was about to remind Brandi that she had almost beaten the girl in a footrace down the stairs of the Academy by using her brain, but the mention of a chocolate shake caught her attention. She sat up straight and, putting her arm up, rattled off an order. "Same. But, I'll have a chocolate shake and a strawberry one... Please..." 

Her voice trailed off just a little towards the end, the embarrassment of ordering two shakes like that on an impulse catching up to her.

"Didn't know you were so into milkshakes." Brandi smirked, rocking her chair a bit. She wasn't crazy on sweets, but there was nothing wrong with them. The occasional piece of cake or milkshake was good, but she much preferred meat. Really though, Kyoko's eagerness was kind of cute. It was like a puppy waiting for a treat. Maybe she could use that to keep her around? Maybe...? But how...? With that, Brandi had lost herself in thought. This didn't happen often, but it usually gave her a headache when it did.

Kyoko looked away from Brandi with her red face, scratching idly at the back of her head. "Ah... Something like that," she said, not really wanting to admit that she ended up with a sweet tooth like none other somewhere between their childhoods and now.

Brandi shook her head, as if to snap herself out of it. "Nothin' wrong with that. Milkshakes make ya happy, then have em. Rather enjoy life than wastin' time on things I don't like. You should do the same." Suggested the girl as she sat up and dusted the table with her hand while the man brought the shakes over.

"Right..." Something like words of wisdom out of Brandi. Not that they were something Kyoko could agree with exactly, nor did Brandi know quite how unhealthy her obsession was... Not that Kyoko thought she'd care. She thanked the owner when he set her shakes out in front of her and immediately got started on the chocolate.