Of Masks and Glasses [Roux]

[Kashi]

The sun had still shone so brightly, even in the hours of the late afternoon. Probably the only consolation to this otherwise torrid day was the breeze that blew throughout.

One particular dark-haired student did think so, at least.

He had sat quietly on one of the benches in the open field, and was strangely dressed in rather warm-looking attire—a dark turtleneck shirt and denim pants—despite the stifling weather. Even so, he seemed quite content to play with the pocket mirror in his hand. To any ordinary observer, perhaps, if they'd take the time to notice, the young boy was apparently enjoying how the light kept gleaming off the surface of the dark glass.

A smile tugged at his lips at the thought. In truth, the day had proven quite uneventful so far. His amusement was satiated for the time being…

...apparently, it came and it went.

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

The ever mischievous mademoiselle thought it was time to go out to terrorize—no, endear people once again. She hasn’t been going out lately, as she was trying to ponder over the things that happened to her for the past couple of weeks. But then again, there was nothing much to ponder about. Except for the kiss she and the council president shared, maybe.

Well, even if she went outside to play, nobody would probably recognize her. Come to think of it, she really never stuck to one appearance when going out. Today she sported the look of an innocent child, with flaming pink hair that reached to her waist and seemingly begging gray eyes to match her straight locks. In her wardrobe she found a flush pink tube dress with a white sunflower decoration on the right chest—just perfect for today’s weather—and a white head ornament that closely resembled a chef’s hat. On her arms was a cute snow white teddy bear, and with that she could pass as a very harmless little girl. Which, of course, she is absolutely not.

A solitary boy happened to catch the Lady’s fickle attention as she was on her way to the field. Actually, it was the light that hit the lady’s eyes that caught her attention. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to play with him for a while, now would it? A wide, playful grin then formed on her cherry lips as she trudged the bricked path towards the nearby benches.

“Nothing says vanity quite like a pocket mirror, yes?” the mademoiselle greeted from behind the bench where the boy sat, her French accent prominent in her words. With a smile, she leaned her elbow at the back of the bench and dangled her white teddy with her right hand. “Hi.”

[Kashi]

The field had been filled with snips and pieces of people's conversations all day long, and, as much as the boy had the benefit of his hermitical inclinations as of late, he was getting mildly bothered by the raucous crowd. Were he not feeling lazy enough at that time, to just plainly leave the noisy place, he would seek out a quieter place in an instant.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Oh no, not at all.

And there was so little else that he could do to block out the numerous volumes of idle speech that floated about. Well… there was one other thing that he could think of―although, sadly, there were no mirrors nearby other than the one that he had currently clutched in his grasp. And it certainly did go without saying that he simply could not fit into such a small surface, no matter how large the space on the other side was. It could simply not be done! In a more theoretical setting, of course, he supposed that he wouldn't mind all that chatter at all – if only he had someone to talk with. At the moment, however, there was no one to exchange a simple word or two with. Alas, for this was because he was new, and the ones that were kind enough to speak with him during his first day were nowhere in sight. Oh, how he did surely miss his little sister now.

This new and utterly unfamiliar experience did give him some insight, at the very least. Was this what all those 'new kids' at his old school felt like? Not quite belonging, not quite fitting in, not quite knowing what to do or expect...was that why they all seemed so timid and acted so shy and all that nonsense, when they would eventually turn out quite different as the school year went on? Was that what was happening to him, now?

No. Just…no. The hand that gripped the mirror tensed slightly at this point. He was definitely not going to fit into that stereotype. Not if he had anything to do about it, at least.

But now, he could definite appreciate some peace and quiet.

Although that one request alone seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Poor Kashi.

“Nothing says vanity quite like a pocket mirror, yes?” A short pause. “Hi.”

The voice had come in soft cadence, surprising the young boy, if only for a split-second. The crown of ebon hair snapped to the side almost instantaneously, stormy eyes looking into the equally coloured grey eyes of the person who spoke. A questioning gaze took in all of the delicate features of the girl―infinitely long, straight, strawberry locks, an utmost lovely and adorable face, the charming smile, the elegant toque and dress, and the gentle outline of a stuffed bear that hung over the back of the bench. He felt his cheeks warm slightly at the sight. By all means she appeared so daintily innocent and pure—although there was something amiss that the raven-haired boy surmised to be present but could not simply pinpoint. Perhaps it was that enchanting tone in the way the girl spoke to him; the accent was clear right away—French, he believed it to be, unless proven otherwise.

"Good day to you." he finally returned the girl's greeting, in his own harsh but nevertheless melodic accent. The tone he carried in his voice was polite, and his next words carefully chosen but otherwise utterly sincere. Unwavering eyes and gaze had still not diverted away from her form. The hand mirror shifted slightly, and a slow languid (if not charming) smile soon came to rest on slightly teasing lips. "I'm often told that vanity's one cure is solitude. I only find it irrelevant."

"Wouldn't you say so, ojou-sama?"

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

Interesting. But not interesting enough.

Another mischievous smile played on the strawberry haired girl. But charming, isn’t he? I think I’ll play with him for a little while, she shot back at her soeur, looking back at her newest playmate with the same gray eyes he has.

What, has he fallen in love with you already, my dear soeur?

She merely laughed. “Perhaps it is the other way around. People say such senseless things, I am afraid,” the Lady answered as she raised her stuffed bear up to play with its puffy arms. Ah, the sight of a small girl playing with her toy is just simply adorable, however in this case, one can’t be too sure of which the real toy is. Behind those lovable beams and puppy dog eyes is a person far from adorable or innocent. Looks can really be deceiving, can’t it?

The small mademoiselle straightened up and pushed herself off the bench and walked around it to sit beside the raven haired one. Again she raised the bear, now up to below her eyes and facing the boy. “Your name. I do not think I have… how do you people say it,” she then lowered the snow white teddy, revealing her small, cherry lips once more, “…caught it.”

[Kashi]

Caught?

The way the question was poised had been innocent ― very much consistent with how girl presented herself to be. But no matter how it may have appeared as such, the wording had borderlined on something that was not entirely so. In all honestly, that alone had almost unnerved him. In a way that he never even thought about before. And the poor boy simply did not know how to react to that. A tiny, harassing voice at the back of his head hissed at him to lash out and seize control; but yet another presence urged at him to be reassured that the girl was simply asking for his name, and there was no harm in that.

'Is there?'

Dark eyes swivelled dangerously vague for but a moment, undecipherable as his attention focused solely on the girl sitting beside him. The raven-haired youth said nothing for a while, merely sitting there and letting the question hang in the air almost idly. The pocket mirror moved again, spinning smoothly in the boy's hand in one full rotation, although this time, there had been no light to gleam from the dark surface.

And before long, the obscurity faded from grey eyes, giving way to an almost impish spark. The same sweet smile also soon found its way back to his lips, even as two slender brows rose slightly in an almost unspoken challenge.

"Only if you would allow gracing me with how you yourself are called, ojou-sama."

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

Needless to say, the Lady only found herself raising a brow at the dark haired boy’s playful response, not letting his face fade from her sight. It was actually the first time that anybody has refused to give his name when she asked it. Now, it wasn’t too much of a strange thing, but for some reason, the young lady felt somewhat slighted.

Such subtle impertinence! her soeur could only exclaim, for whatever the Lady felt, the former would feel too. However the strawberry-head can’t help herself from smiling, replying only this in thought: But the choice of words… a romantic perhaps?

“Ahh, but of course monsieur,” she said, resting her pristine doll in between her and the lad. “I have been dubbed many names, but I wish to be called Reine. Fitting, is it not?” Now, if the boy would recognize, the name Reine means ‘queen’ in French. The Lady feels that this boy is smart enough to know of such thing, but if he doesn’t, well, that’s something about him she can scoff at.

Reine then scooted closer, and in the process shoving her toy bear nearer to the boy. She stared at the boy with the same gray eyes as he had (which is something enough to make any lad blush) and smiled, flashing her beautiful, pearly whites. “You know it is quite rude to keep a lady’s question unanswered.”

[Kashi]

Ah , so he was indeed correct with his earlier deduction.

The girl was really of French origins. She proved such suppositions true when she had referred to him as 'monsieur'. That alone did not seem surprising, at the very least. She did look a little foreign; not in an unpleasant way, of course―but rather, in an exotic type of attractiveness. But as to how she answered his question, well...that was another matter altogether.

'Ara, are we playing role-play today?'

If they were, the boy would not mind.

But that same nagging voice was bothering him again. It prompted him to question the answer he received from, but at the moment, the boy could care less―he was merely content with what the girl had given him. In fact, if anything, he should surely feel amused. He would even humour her if he was in a better mood, but he supposed that this would do for now.

And the girl was too interesting beyond words.

Grey eyes watched intently as she inched closer. The bear as well, he noted quietly, along with her small movement. And, if he shifted his arm slightly, he could almost feel the soft fur through the long-sleeves of his shirt. The quiet boy continued on watching, even as the girl's own grey eyes meet with his for the second time that day. He did not look away then, and instead, held the near stifling gaze. Evidently, he was not embarrassed that she might have caught him staring―and even then, he would simply not care.

"I did not intend to come off as rude," the ebon-haired youth murmured in reply, the same charming smile still present on his lips. "If that was the case, then please, do accept my apologies."

"My name is Kashi. I have no use for others." An slightly even bigger smile. "Although I should say that I am most delighted to meet you, Reine-san."

Hopefully, he had pronounced her name right despite it sounding like 're―n' than anything else.

Oh, how he disliked the need of nasal delivery for the otherwise beautiful language. Given the chance, it was no brainer that he would choose his own native tongue.

And for a minute there, he was tempted to call her 'Kisaki' instead. That will come later, perhaps, if he feels the need to fall into a teasing mood.

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

“So am I,” the Lady replied, dropping the lids of her eyes halfway for a rather seductive approach. Reine was interested in this Kashi person despite not showing the characteristics she wishes in a young man. Her soeur’s uncommunicativeness indicate that the boy is not someone to be feared, and that voice is almost never wrong. Of course, it would be much more interesting if this lad proves the girl’s sister otherwise.

She would stare at Kashi for a while, and then stand up before him; her round, grey eyes locked into his. In a few moments, her cherry-coated lips would form a smile as she would take one step closer to the boy. And in a few moments more, she would move her face directly in front of his that they would be able to feel each other’s breath. Another smile, and then…

“Gotcha!”

Reine suddenly poked the boy’s nose and then broke into a very girlish giggle. At that she pulled her stuffed bear, threw it to mid-air and caught it with one hand, then twirled around. “We got him there, did we not, Jean Paul?”

[Kashi]

It was rather unsettling, that short amount of time of not speaking after the girl called Reine had responded in turn.

There was something awkward, too, when her grey eyes closed halfway. The image had somehow screamed duplicity―especially when compared to the reflection of innocence he had first come face-to-face to, earlier on. But then again, perhaps he was simply mistaken for the majority of such presupposition. Maybe this was the aspect that he had discerned, but could not pin down.

Nevertheless, who was he to judge?

The girl may possibly share his playful spirit as well.

His own grey eyes turned tempestuous then, never leaving hers, even as she got up from her seat and stood right in front of him. He was curious again, but patient enough to wait it out to see what Reine planned to do. If this would transpire into a staring contest, then, by all means, he would gladly indulge her. However, when she did finally make her move, he nearly dropped the mirror he was holding―if not for the vice-like grip he had on it.

The dark-haired youth was admittedly caught off-guard. Not that he showed it, of course. He remained stoically still all throughout the near intimacy of personal space, his gaze never leaving the fascinating girl. He did not react then, but a gleam of sunlight reflected off the mirror surface. Other than that, there had been no other visible change in his demeanor.

Whatever pride he had would simply not let him move one bit.

And it was that same source of dignity that pushed him to retaliate seconds later.

"Teasing me like that, out of the blue? Ikezu..." the boy's smile turned teasing now, grey eyes leaving her for a moment to focus on the teddy bear in her hands, "Is that not right, Jean Paul?"

[The Queen that Rules Over You]

My dearest sister, you never cease to amaze me, the voice remarked, causing the young, strawberry-head to giggle even more. ‘Reine’ really loved to tease people, either in a really cute or cruel way. Or both. Today she was feeling rather generous and decided not to mess with this boy’s head a lot. There was no fun in toying too much with the ‘weak’. At least those whom she and her sister consider weak.

Reine watched the boy closely as he looked at the stuffed bear at her hands. She then squatted in front of the boy, barely showing any discomfort in her position (she is a gymnast, after all), and raised ‘Jean-Paul’ to cover her elfin visage.

“Ich-kuh-suh?” she repeated with a French accent, raising up her tone to make it sound like the bear was the one talking. “Jean-Paul does not understand.”

A few moments more she pushed the unblemished toy of her face and furrowed her equally pink brows.

“Ah non.”

[Kashi]

No?

The boy slipped the mirror inside his pant's pocket in one fluid movement. He stood up from the wooden bench as well, taking one step closer towards the charming girl. The sly grin on the male youth's lips spread even wider now. She was just too cute! And effortlessly, he leaned over her, crouching low enough to rest his chin lightly against the top of the bear's head, just so he was just a few centimeters away from her – in a sense, recreating the proximity of what she had done before.

"Whatever seems to be the matter, my dear Kisaki-chan?"

He said this in a most arguably cute manner, the speech not exceeding that of a whisper. His fine eyebrows drew up in genuine interest, grey eyes staring at the girl's own.

Surely there was nothing wrong with using some select words from a regional dialect, was there?


[OOC: Yuki! You told me that she was currently 5”!! xDD]