Du Riecht So Gut (open)

[ninjaastronaut]

Josh had cheered up quite a bit lately. Team Imum seamed to care quite a bit less about him now, and he'd gotten a chance to buy some new -non soiled- clothes. But he knew that this wasn't good news for everyone else. If they'd stopped following him, that meant they'd found something more important than him to care about. Something like the Irisia City Dance.

So that's how Josh ended up standing around at the dance, socializing with no one, and drinking punch like the loner he was.

But who knew? Maybe he'd meet somebody. Maybe he'd make a friend. Maybe. Probably not. Possibly. But still maybe.

Anyway he was in a relatively better mood than he normally was, and he'd stopped all the self- pity quite a while ago. He was just kind of, excepting things now, going with the flow. He even thought about sneaking some liquor into his body, if he could find some at the party.

The room they held the whole dance was quite large. Some might of called it a ballroom even. Honestly Josh had no idea if it was a ballroom or not, but he wasn't necessarily having a "ball." At least, not yet. The white tile floors gleamed with the sunlight that shone in from the windows, which were draped with some sort of fancy purple cloth that Josh assumed was some sort of curtain. The smell of the room was really good, and even though he couldn't recognize the smell he made sure to take long, deep breaths with his nose. This was quite the contrast to the usual smells of vomit and whatnot he was used to.

Standing alone in a room like this will get people to start thinking to themselves. Josh didn't think the regular thoughts like "Why am I standing alone?" or, "This punch is really good!" instead he thought about scarier things. Things like the Arrival of Team Imum. He was here to try and stop them, but really, could he? Josh expects them to do something dramatic, like burst in through the windows. But he'd learned a while ago that his life was never as dramatic as he expected it to be. but hadn't they done that to him once already? Anyway, there was no way he could defeat any of them. Not one. His only pokemon was a growlithe. Not even an Arcanine or anything cool. And it didn't even like him very much.

Josh tried his best to shake these thoughts out of his head. A faint impression of the thoughts would linger for quite a while though. He made his way over to the next table nearest to him, trying to see if he could spot any liquor. He was sure no one would notice if he poured something into his punch. After all, no one had noticed him so far.

There was no liquor at the table, but some pieces of cake were laying about, already on paper plates. The paper plates seemed out of place in comparison to the rest of the affair, everything else was so high class. Josh felt under dressed in his new black hoodie and jeans, but the paper plates cheered him up.

"Hey, were two beans of the same pod." Josh said under his breath, grinning, to the paper plates. He picked up a plate and the cake on it and took a few steps away from the table.

He craned his neck, trying to look over the heads of all the various party goers. His target, the largest group of fully grown adults. He was still on his search for a liquor to uplift his mood.

If only he were a bit taller.

[karaline]

Ranmaru was never used to crowded parties, so this was out of his comfort zone. He had a few stares from both the men and women at the party. All gossiping about him- or at least that’s what he thought, about his gender. He tends to act like a girl subconsciously.
Ranmaru could see another person with a black hoodie over the dozens of people in a corner. He looked away briefly and then…
The person disappeared.
He pondered to himself, “I wonder why he’s here...”
Ranmaru’s wear was semi-casual, so no one complained. Oddly enough, nobody noticed the katana he has in its sheath across his back.
His hair glistened along with the floor making him look even more like a beautiful girl. But, he was not female…
Ranmaru walked around for a bit, thinking to himself.
“Oh my… I’m getting so many awkward stares… I-I-I don’t think I should be here much longer… things are getting weird and weirder stares by the minute!”
He kept walking… and walking, aimlessly.
Until, finally, he saw the guy in the hoodie again.
Nervously, he debated with himself, procrastinating on whether he should introduce himself or not.
He thought, and debated for a few minutes.
Finally, he acted quickly, but with a naïve mind.
“Well, maybe he might think I’m a girl if I walk in front of him or past him from a different angle, perhaps he may notice me; like in one of those cheesy romantic comedies! I mean, I’m standing out of the crowd anyways…”
So, Ran walked around a few people, made his way through and walked past elegantly, without doing it on purpose, in front of the boy with the hoodie.



NOTES: Okay, I've stopped with the word counting, but, for those who doesn't know what 'Subconscious' means, it means doing things without you knowing.

[ninjaastronaut]

Josh, paper plate in hand, continued to strain his neck on the search of an alchohalic beverage. He heard quite easily the loud obnoxius singing of someone who was obviously not going to remember this night tommorow morning. Oddly enough, the voice sounded familiar to him.

Josh shrugged it off. All he cared about was finding the booze.

Then, he stopped craving the liquor. Because he saw something that made him happier than any thought altering drink ever could. The individual walking right in front of his face. Josh had thought that he'd looked out of place, but this guy really took the cake! He almost mistook him for a girl, with his long hair and the wacky outfit he was wearing. Josh could barely hold back the hysterical laughter that was brewing up inside him.

He absolutely needed to start a conversation with this individual, to see what they were like. It was odd, because Josh was never this excited to talk to someone before.

Shaking his head, he realised that he needed to stop thinking and say something, before they got away.

¨Hey, you!¨ He souted at the individual, ¨Are you cosplaying or something? And holy crap! Is that a katana!? Awesome!

(omagosh I did this whole post from mah 3ds)

[karaline]

Ranmaru was successful, but extremely flustered.
He slowly walks toward the guy with the hoodie.
“Well, um, not, I’m not cosplaying… I-I usually wear this often…”
He looks downward in embarrassment, “And, yes, this is a katana, a long sword actually…”
Ranmaru grew even more embarrassed and more unsettled as the crowds around the tow kept talking about them. Ranmaru was almost on the verge of tears, he was overwhelmed.
“And… uh, did you really need to shout like that, sir? I mean, I’m just so embarrassed and-“
He stopped, realizing that he’s making a complete fool of himself.
Ranmaru all red in the face, flustered. Was getting more stares than when he walked in.
His heart pumped faster.
He wanted out; he had to get out of here.
The many stares he was receiving was pushing and piercing him by the second.
He finally stammered…
“I-I-I-I n-need a breather, I’m just so- Never mind, excuse me please!”
Ranmaru bowed frantically to the hooded man and ran out of the doors to the front yard.
…
Sitting on the steps, Ranmaru had small tears coming out of his eyes.
Overwhelmed still, Ranmaru somewhat cleared his mind…
He was wondering of what the boy with the hoodie might have said to him.



NOTES: My muse is super high! This is awesome >w< and... poor Ran ;w; BTW Cheddar, that was awesome!! >w<

[ninjaastronaut]

Josh never thought he'd meet somebody that was worse at conversation than he was, but he might have done just that.

The strangely dressed- and apparently not cosplaying- man bowed to him and basically ran out the door. If he was trying to avoid making a scene, he'd definitely taken the wrong route. While earlier the people around them were staring, now everyone was. People stopped eating mid bite to see what was going on.

But seriously, did this guy just bow to him? He was definitely hardcore oldschool. He had really good manners, at least.

It was obvious enough to Josh that he had hurt the poor guys feelings, and so he decided he would walk calmly to the front doors from which he'd stormed out.

He walked by, noticing the people staring at him from left and right. It was odd to him, because usually nobody payed him any attention at all, even if he was really hurt, or hungry, or dirty, or anything of the such. He also noticed a bar, where they were serving beer, and other beverages. He walked up to the bar, figuring he might as well buy a drink for the person he had just hurt the feelings of.

He knew he couldn't steal a drink, like he had originally planned, because a lot of people were still staring at him, so he decided he'd try to just order one. Why not try, right? He didn't even consider buying a beer, this guy obviously was too high class and old school for that kind of stuff. He figured a guy who was that old fashioned would probably drink mead, or rum or something like that, but he was sure that they wouldn't be serving those drinks here. they were too... pirate-y. Eventually, he decided he'd order them some scotch. It seemed appropriate enough.

The man handed the drinks over, not even asking Josh for his ID or his age or anything. "Wow, that sure was hard." Josh said to himself sarcastically. When the bartender asked what he said, he replied, "Nothing, here's your money." Then he continued to walk to the door, drinks in hand.

He came close to the door, realizing that he couldn't really open it while he was holding drinks in both of his hands, so he politely asked someone nearby to open it for him. Thanking the man, he walked through.

The strange man was sitting on the stairs. And he was crying. Josh felt absolutely horrible. He had no idea that he'd made this person so upset. "I'm such an idiot." He thought to himself.

Sitting next to the strange man, he said, "Hey, I'm really sorry about being so loud and rude back there, it was stupid of me." Then after a short pause added. "And it's actually obvious that you're not in cosplay, that was stupid too. Anyways, do you want a drink?" He moved his left hand, and the drink in it, closer to the odd man. "I'm Josh, by the way."

Then, feeling stupider than he had since the party began, he thought to himself, "Shit, where'd I put my cake?"

[karaline]

"Hey, I'm really sorry about being so loud and rude back there, it was stupid of me."
The phrase broke Ranmaru’s thoughts and trembling, he looked up silently.
There was a pause.
"And it's actually obvious that you're not in cosplay, that was stupid too. Anyways, do you want a drink?"
His hand stretched out with a suspicious drink in it. Suspicious, Ranmaru was one not to drink alcohol.
"I'm Josh, by the way."
“I uh…” Ranmaru was a little embarrassed and blushed a bit.
He stared at the glass for a moment.
“I’m Ranmaru Hira.” He finally said.
He took the drink from Josh’s hand.
“I forgive you, I’ve had worse responses.” He looked down at his drink not daring to take a sip.
There was an awkward silence.
“I wonder when he’s going to ask me about my gender… Most people usually ask me that sooner or later,” he thought.
“So…” changing the subject, “What kind of drink is this…?”


NOTES: sorry if it's kinda small. o.o

[ninjaastronaut]

"Oh, it's just some scotch, I didn't, like roofy it or anything." Immediately after saying that, Josh realized how suspicious it sounded. He added, "No really, I didn't!" That only made it seem much, much worse. God, he must look really sketchy, with his big black hoody talking about roofies. "I'm such an idiot." He said to himself, looking down and shaking his head.

He didn't even think that this "Ranmaru" could almost definitely hear that part.

Speaking of which, did this guy always introduce himself with his full name? "Ranmaru Hira," Josh thought, "what an odd name." Where was this guy from anyway? Josh then realized that this "Ranmaru" was just as shady to him as it was the other way around.

He added, "It's okay if you don't want to drink that now." Regardless of how shady the individual was. Still, he was very curious about him. Where did he come from, where they dress like this? Why come to this little region?

Then Josh remembered something horrible. Team Imum was probably going to show up at the dance at any minute, and he was all distracted with this person. For a moment his eyes went wide from this realization, shocked at a thought that had been in the back of his head since he entered the dance.

He shrugged it off fairly quickly, though. He realized that he probably wouldn't be very much help fighting them off anyway, and if he tried, they'd probably just kill him like they'd been trying to do earlier. He figured he might just sit back and hope it doesn't get too out of hand, maybe run away again. After all, he had gotten pretty good at that by now.

Anyway, he decided to go back to the small talk. "So... where are you from?"

[karaline]

"Oh, it's just some scotch, I didn't, like roofy it or anything."
“Hm? What’s ‘roofy’?” Ranmaru thought.
"No really, I didn't!" Josh panicked.
Ranmaru didn’t understand and tilted his head to the side and ignored Josh’s actions after that.
"It's okay if you don't want to drink that now."
Ranmaru looked down at the glass in his hands.
“Is this alcohol? I don’t drink that…” he thought.
"So... where are you from?" Josh asked.
“I’m from Aria Village…” Ranmaru replied.
At this point, Ran thought that Josh would think he’s lying. Ran figured he would say where he’s actually from than lie about being from a Region shaped like an Arceus and where warlords use Pokemon to battle for Kingdoms and such.
“Am I really dressed that strangely to you?” he asked, “Or am I really that strange?” He added.
If only Ran knew about the impending danger inside within the walls of that party…

[ninjaastronaut]

Josh didn't know how to answer this question. Really, was there a right answer? How do you go about telling someone who must know they are strange whether or not you thought they were? It really didn't matter, this conversation was already really awkward. What else did Josh expect? He'd practically never had a conversation that wasn't akward.

"No, it's not like that... well, yeah, it kind of is... but mostly I was just trying to make small talk." Josh hoped that Ranmaru would believe this. After all, it was the truth. Then his mouth said, without the consent of his brain, the worst thing you could possibly say about someones home town.

"You know, I almost died there once..."

[karaline]

"No, it's not like that... well, yeah, it kind of is... but mostly I was just trying to make small talk."
Ranmaru could see the look on his face.
He was hiding something.
"You know, I almost died there once..."
Ranmaru's face had no signs of emotion.
"How? Aria is a quiet place... I've never heard of such..."
Ranmaru put his glass to the side, "Well, I guess I understand... sort of..."
Ranmaru looked into Josh's eyes and tried to read him.
There was a pause again, but longer this time.
Ranmaru's eyes were piercing everytime he was reading someone.
"You... you're hiding something, tell me, what is it?"

[ninjaastronaut]

"you... you're hiding something, tell me, what is it?"

Quite honestly, Josh had no idea what he was talking about at the time. He tried his best to think about something he'd been hiding from this person. Nothing really came up.

"Well... um... you kind of... you kinda look like a girl. No offence." This was all he could think of at first, and he really didn't think that adding "No offence" would make it seem less offencive. What else was he supposed to say?

...

He felt stupid. He'd felt stupid before, but this was up there on his top 5 list. He'd forgotten his own secret, the secret that he'd never really had to try and keep before, because no one asked. Maybe that's why he didn't think of it as a secret, because he never really had to try to keep that knowledge away from anyone. But what way was a good way to tell someone that you were a part of a dangerous gang? That's right, there really isn't one.

"I did some complicated stuff a little while back, but I'm out of all that now. Anyways, it'd probably be better for you if you left the party. Stuffs probably gonna get pretty messy soon." His face and voice were very serious, and he probably came off as a really rude person at the time. It didn't matter to him though, because there was something Josh liked about this weird guy, and he needed to get away from the party if he didn't want to get hurt.

"I'm gonna go back for my cake, but like I said, you should probably get out of here." After saying this he grabbed the drink he had intended for his new friend, and downed it it one go. He walked through the door without looking back to see if Ranmaru had gone.

Then he opened the door again, and added, "Aria village is actually very nice, and I never would've almost died there if it weren't for my particular set of circumstances. But you should seriously probably leave, and it was nice meeting you. Closing the door, he realized how ridiculous that must of looked to anyone watching him.

[karaline]

"Well... um... you kind of... you kinda look like a girl. No offence."
Ranmaru turned beet red.
"I-I... well... um..." flustered. he didn't know what to say.
"I did some complicated stuff a little while back, but I'm out of all that now. Anyways, it'd probably be better for you if you left the party. Stuffs probably gonna get pretty messy soon."
"How so?" Ranmaru managed to ask under his blushing.
Josh seemed to like Ran. And Ran, well, noticed it.
"I'm gonna go back for my cake, but like I said, you should probably get out of here."
"But, why? I'm not scared, I am a warrior!"
Josh opened the door, "Aria village is actually very nice, and I never would've almost died there if it weren't for my particular set of circumstances. But you should seriously probably leave, and it was nice meeting you."
He closed the door.
Ranmaru sitting on the steps, jaw slightly opened in confusion. He didn't know what to do or say, he just knew, something bad was going to happen...
"I-I, can't leave him like that in the open, what if gets killed..."
Ranmaru looks at his katana's hilt over his shoulder and pondered.
...
After about, 30-ish minutes, Ranmaru returned to the party.
He decided to re-enter the party through the back door.
Hair not in a ponytail, out of his other attire that Josh last saw him, but...
(oh dear)
In a purple ball dress, and white gloves. It flowed past his ankles and had long sleeves, but his original attire underneath. He had a little lipstick and eye-liner on to enhance his feminine appearance.
Ranmaru gave a long sigh after looking down at the long skirt.
"This is so morally degrading... But a warrior must do what he must to keep the land safe."
He looks to his left.
He looks to his right.
"Okay, no one's around, phew"
Ranmaru opened the doors elegantly, "Well, I guess I have to be girly as possible..."
Ranmaru stepped into the crowd, no one noticing him.
"Hopefully Josh is alright."
Ranmaru quickly stepped by a plant near by casually, ans slipped his katana-long sword behind it.
"I should retrieve it when trouble's here..."
...
Clearly, Ran's disguise was working as planned, everyone was complementing him. Thinking, as planned, that he was a girl.
Ranmaru, polite as usual, thanked them all and complemented back.
He walked over to where the corner Josh was standing, and looked down.
There was the cake Josh was talking about. Ranmaru picked it up with one hand. And looked around.
Josh was no where in sight.
Ranmaru looked out of a window, back towards the crowds, "I wonder if he left..." he thought to himself.
From the back... Ranmaru looked completely like a girl.


NOTES: more liek a pretty girl ran-ran >w< -shot-

[ninjaastronaut]

Josh walked back into the party. Had he heard right? No, this guy was weird and all, but there was no way anyone would go out in public and call themself a warrior. That was just social suicide. Even Josh, the king of awkward momments knew this.

Besides, he had more important things to worry about currently. When was Team Imum going to show up? How could he get ready? And most importantly, was there really anything he could do about it when they came? He didn't know, but he needed to do something. Should he just try to warn everyone, and make them leave? No, that would make him seem stupid. They'd probably just think he was some sort of public neusance or something.

Still thinking about what to do, he went off wondering aimlessly. He really didn't have any intention of finding his cake, that was just a white lie to get himself inside.

he did kind of miss his paper plate though. It made him feel more comfortable for some reason.

He started to walk through a large clump of people that seemed to take up most of the room they were in. The music that was playing sounded familiar to Josh, even though he wasn't sure where he heard it. It was faint, and he couldn't really make out the words very well. Regardless of how quiet the music was, people were dancing, and it made navigation pretty difficult.

He finally got to the other side, very suprised that he'd gotten through at all. Looking back, he noticed how well dressed everyone else was again. It felt good to stick out for once, Josh was so used to being genaric. He walked into one of the hallways on the side of the building, and realeased his growlithe.

"Hey buddy." Growlithe didn't seem to like the fact that Josh had called them buddies. Which makes sence, because they weren't. They practically hated each other. "Oh, stop that. You should cheer up, anyway. We're finally going to do something you like! You're going to get the chance to do a bit of battling today, so be on your toes, alright?" For the first time in a long time, Josh saw his growlithe actually get excited. Josh put his pokemon back into it's ball, and walked back into the large room.

"Well, I might as well look for my cake while I wait for the big entrance." Josh said to himself. Then he began to press through the big crowd to the place he had originally been standing. As he punctured through the other side of the crowd, he saw that there were now people in the place he had originally been. Not a huge suprise, but it brought up a good question. "Did one of them steal my cake?"

Then he saw the girl, in the outragously overdone balldress. Geez, did she think she was a princess or something? It would've been hard to come up overdressed at this affair, but somehow this crazy broad had managed to do it.

More importantly, she had his cake. It was unmistakably his. "Hey lady, what's the big idea taking my cake?"

[karaline]

"Hey lady, what's the big idea taking my cake?"
Ranmaru giggled. And turned to Josh.
"This is your's?" He asked innocently, "I'm sorry about that, here you go!" He said with a smile.
Ranmaru returned the cake to its rightful owner.
Trying his best to have Josh not recognize him, Ranmaru knew that he had to do something.
"A nice night isn't it?" He asked, changing the subject, "Anyways, is there anything special about this night?"
Ranmaru wanted to coax Josh into saying about the dangers about the party.
He turned to the window and looked out into the sights.

[aspertiagymleader]

Masamune walked into the party. Looking and scrutinizing every person he saw.
"It can't be THAT bad...."
He walked over to where he saw two people by a window.
"Hey... that looks like..." Masamune thought as he saw the girl in the purple dress, "Is that... Ranmaru?"
Masamune blushed madly, "Wow... She looks good... I have to talk to her...Wait... Ran's a girl? I KNEW IT."
But just when Masamune made his first step, he noticed that Ranmaru was talking to another guy in a black hoodie.
"No... he's not..." Masamune's blushing turned into rage, "No, this can't be happeneing..."
Masamune walked past the crowds in a hurry and stopped where the two were talking.
"Hey," Masamune started, "Ranmaru. Nice dress."