Miki's day off! [Private]

From the first day Miki entered Academy city, it was if she had fallen in love. When she was told that she would be given her own personal dormitory, Miki was skeptical regarding validity of her escort's words. After all, it sounded way too good to be true! Oh, but indeed it was! She was now in possession of her own personal room, outfitted with every item she could wish for. The city itself was even more grand. It was filled with life, as many students could be perceived traveling through the city, entering grocery shops to procure food or entering a state-of-the-art library to indulge in Shakespearean literature. In no uncertain terms, this was a paradise. Miki pondered on how Hephaestus was able to afford everything here, how they were able to maintain such a large number of students without arousing the suspicion of others. How could they manage to be so secretive and yet possess the funds to build such a heavenly location?

As Miki took a small glance through the window, she smiled with joy as she stretched her body, releasing the tension from her muscles gained through sleeping in an unorthodox manner. She went through a few morning exercises. As she jogged, circling the room ten times, Miki brought herself to a halt before exiting her night clothes. She grinned momentarily as she found herself admiring her bare form.

When said admiration was complete, she entered the shower. As she turned on the water, Miki started to hum a song. The sensation of hot, relaxing water made her feel giddy.  She brought soap across all the nooks and crannies of her body, washed herself off, and returned to the mirror once more. Instead of taking another gander at her body, however, she quickly placed a finger against the mirror, allowing it to fall back, granting her entrance to a closet full of clothes.  What was she to wear today? No matter what she wore, she knew she would be attracting looks, especially after the week she experienced with Krito. After all, the friendship she had forged with that Jinx, has already seen the two gaining an infamous reputation. There were even rumors that the two were going out. However, there was no evidence to prove that these rumors were true.  In truth, she was still astonished by what occurred in the gymnasium.  Who would've thought that he, of all people, would stand up to a bunch of lowlife thugs? Moreover, where had that new found gusto come from? She was amused, no doubt, as this was a sign that her efforts were bearing fruit. She wondered, for a small moment, If Krito happened to frequent Academy city. Miki sighed deeply before casually shrugging her shoulders.

"He could very well be the type of guy who stays in his house.... "

These burdensome thoughts would only dampen her mood if she ruminated on them any longer. And besides, she was more than satisfied with the path that their friendship was moving towards.  For now, it was time to get dressed and have fun. From one of her drawers, Miki grabbed a pair of necklaces. She quickly set them down on the counter.  From the closet, she pulled out a rather comfortable green striped shirt revealing her shoulders, a pair of short shorts with a rose colored symbol on the left,  and a pair of brown high heel boots. She motioned with a thumbs up to the closet, it automatically closed, and the mirror appeared once again.  From her dresser, she pulled out a pair of panties and a black bra. She put these goodies on with little hassle. And then, no sooner, she quickly dressed herself within the garments that she had chosen for today's festivities. Concluding her dress session, she placed the two long, black necklaces around her neck and wiggled her hips towards the mirror, winking with amusement. She looked damn good, she mused. She grabbed all the money she would need today, placed it within her pocket, and exited her dormitory, walking towards where the hustle and bustle of Academy city would meet her. Ahhh, today was going to be so fun!

Yet another morning in Academy City. Krito's morning wasn't exactly action-packed - instead of getting out of bed after waking up, he just stared up at the ceiling for at least half an hour, as if he was hoping not thinking about anything would eventually lull him right back into sleep. Sadly, that didn't work so well - and so, the Jinx crawled more out of bed than anything else, grumbling multiple swear words fused together under his breath. His apartment was an absolute mess - clothes strawn about, most normal, but some of them part of his supervillain-outfit, together with cardboard boxes that he apparently lived out of, together with a few plastic bags that held the rests of multiple shopping trips. The kitchen part at the entrance of the apartment was also a complete mess of dirty utensils - all in all, this apartment looked as if multiple bombs exploded in it. Absolutely nothing seemed nice about living here, considering that even the walls seemed dirty and grey, together with not even a TV adorning the walls. This was definitely more of a hideout and less of a home - Krito never thought of anything as his 'home'.

And so, he got ready for another terrible day in this terrible city. If not for it being the perfect hiding place, Krito wouldn't stay here one day longer. So many spiritual people, all living in perfect ignorance... He wasn't stupid enough to fall for the illusion of safety of this city. In fact, he was counting the days until some army came by to forcefully draft a bunch of students into the next war on the horizon. One could easily call him jaded - but who would blame Krito for that? His entire life had gone to crap because of war, and because of those responsible for it. Still, he was pretty much forcing himself to always think about that, and about how little he mattered in the big sheme for things - he wasn't even a footnote in the history of the third world war. Something had to happen, so people would remember him - remember him, before...

Sighing, Krito tried to free his head at least a little bit, or he'd just spend the entire day brooding, half on the ground and half on the bed, about his life and the annoyances of it. Getting up, he managed to slide past the boxes and dangerous towers of empty fast food containers, into the bathroom. A quick shower always helped with getting his head clear - the only mirror of the entire apartment was in this room as well, leaning against the wall, and being a bit taller than he himself. A quick look was met by his own stare from within the glass - a rather frail looking form with at least some minor muscles, a bored, desinterested face, messy brown hair, and dull brown eyes that flared up in violet for a short moment, the only outstanding feature about him at all.
The shower didn't exactly change that, either. He still looked just as nerdy as before, especially since he now grabbed his glasses from a pile of old clothes in the corner of the bathroom, but at least he was a clean nerd. Of course, the 'nerdy' look was there to help mask his Jinx persona - and by now, it also masked his not-so-hidden second persona within the school itself - the 'hidden badass', as one or two people were calling him by now. Really, just flinging some insults and balls at a bunch of lowlifes had gotten him right into the spotlight - he'd just act as if it didn't interest him, like a completely aloof badass. That'd be something people accepted, and soon, everything would go back to normal...
Everything but one thing. Miki, the annoying, perverted, dangerously smart 'friend' that decided nothing was funnier than both directing attention at Krito and simultaneously flirt with him nonstop to make him flustered. Really, as long as she was around, there was no way Krito's fake student life could return to what it was before. Still, he was in denial about that, so he just wanted to walk out of the bathroom and go grab some clean clothes, if he could find any, as a sharp pain shot right through his side. With a grimace, he took another look into the mirror - that red dot... Oh, right. He had been outside as Jinx last night - some policeman took a shot at him, probably. His body first healed around the bullet, which explained waking up without pain - but now the piece of lead was slowly being pushed out by regenerating parts of his flesh, which at the same time destroyed some parts. Concentrating his Qi into the lower body, Krito helped the piece of metal along, even if that meant increasing his pain by a big amount - and with a clank, the bullet fell to the ground at his feet, together with a bit of blood. Great.

After another shower, the new 'wound' was already healed away without so much as a scar remaining. That was the one part Krito enjoyed about having his intense healing - something as minor as a gunshot wound didn't even slow him down, and if he just focused for a second, it healed within a minute or so. Probably no other student posessed a healing factor of this magnitude - but the payoff was highly increased pain. Of course, he was no little boy, and wouldn't go around crying from a single gunshot - that didn't make it hurt any less, though! The supervillain didn't even pay attention to the bloody bullet on the floor of his bathroom - nobody but him could enter this apartment anyway, so why bother with cleaning? Sure, at some point he'd throw it away, together with all of the other junk here, to make room for more junk.

Without any real aim, Krito got dressed. He didn't look any different on an off day than he did usually - white shirt, blue, mostly open piece above it, and a tie around his neck in the normal boring black and violet. Incidentally, this was the only part in his casual outfit to actually have the Jinx colors on it - maybe a little ironic 'hint' towards any hero who'd try to stop the dastardly villain. So far, nobody managed to pick up on it. As for pants, he went with dress pants in the same blue color as his jacket, and some shiny black shoes. Really, it looked far to 'good' for a student, but with Krito's hairstyle and face, it just made him look even more like a total nerd. Which was kind of the intention, since someone like him didn't exactly have any preferences in fashion.
Why he had gotten out of bed, showered, and then decided to actually wear clean clothes, though, was a mystery to himself. Normally, he spent his off days in this apartment, working on more Jinx outfits, counting stolen money, or sometimes, actually working on school projects. Not today, though - maybe the stench from all of this junk finally got to him, and it was time to clean up tomorrow or at least sometime soon. But deep down, Krito had the nagging feeling this had to do with Miki.
"Friends. What a load of bullcrap."
With a sigh, Krito left his apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him, and wandered off without any real direction... Maybe towards other people. No real reason for it, but maybe he'd see something more interesting than the dull grey walls of his 'hideout'. The chance of actually meeting Miki here should be really small... right?

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Hello!? Wake up!?"

"Hey! Stupid girl in the tree! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Ai's eye's fluttered open at the annoyingly disturbing sound of teenage insecurity slapping against the inside of her ears. She let out an annoyed groan until she turned her head over to look at three young women staring up at her. Each held their own offensive expression, but Ai was a little to drowsy to give half a damn. "You aren't supposed to be up there, ya know! Is this even your dorm? You don't just fall asleep in a tree outside someone else's dorm!" a young pink haired girl with a bit of spunk said to her quite loudly. "You're annoying me... Go away. I'm tired." Ai told them and turned the other way. Ai was actually laying across a thick branch of a tree she had randomly decided the night before that she would sleep in. Her best friend, Kiokure the Malayan Krait, was asleep on her back under her shirt. Her legs and arms hung loosely over each side of the branch and her head rested on the end. She hoped the three would take the hint and go away, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. "Hey! We're talking to you!" a blue haired barbie doll said in a screechy high pitched voice. Ai ignored again, but a sudden sting in her side kept her from doing so. Ai's head snapped around towards them, a look of rage instantly forming on her face as the sound of a rock hitting concrete could be heard. Yes, they threw a rock at her to get her attention. Before any of them could react, Ai's arm shot out in their direction. Little Kiokure went on the offensive, rapidly slithering himself down her arm in a coil and then struck out at them. Of course, he did not bite. He only acted as if he was going to do so. All three girls freaked out like most would when a snake was around, they screamed, and then they ran off in a panic. "..." Ai blinked a couple of times, looked to Kiokure and both started to laugh. Ai curled up and lost her balance on the tree branch, falling quite harshly to the concrete below, but wasn't hurt. She merely stopped laughing for a moment, watched Kiokure fall into her lap, and then began laughing again. "That was perfect! Made my day..." Ai said as Kiokure slithered up to coil gently around her neck, "Nice job Kio."

Well it seemed that it was time to start her day, unfortunately. Ai pushed herself to her feet and glanced around. Where the hell was she? Oh... right. "It's just around the corner from here. I remember now..." Ai thought as she jogged her way towards her actual dormitory. By the time she got to her door, she was annoyed again. She quite loudly slammed the door open, not caring to shut it. She stepped into her bathroom, casually tossing her clothes off to the side and hopped into the shower for a couple of minutes while Kiokure waited by the sink. She wasn't one to stay in there for too long. It wasn't the beach, it wasn't a pool, or a hot tub. In fact, she usually took her showers at night. If she hadn't slept in a tree, she wouldn't even be here. Anyways... "Now that the shower's done..." Ai thought as she stepped out. Instantly, Kiokure coiled himself around her waist as she walked by, something she was used to. The two made their way over to the closet and Ai pulled out a clean pair of underwear, a bra, a pair of blue jeans, and a tank top. She put it all on and slipped into some boots she liked afterwards. Once dressed, she did exactly like she usually does and left the room with Kiokure curled around her waist, above the shirt. "Where do you wanna go now?" Ai asked her scaly friend as they made their way out of the dorm, but neither of them had an answer. Ai shrugged and began walking in a random direction with absolutely no reasoning behind her choice besides the fact that the sun was in the opposite direction.

Note: Anything in a different font is not something that any other characters can understand... She's talking to the snake.

The vast plethora of shopping facilities that graced Miki's eyes upon entering Academy city were nothing short of grandiose.  Although she would never claim herself to be an expert in architecture,  she felt as though each design was superb, as though the makers of this paradise had brought all of their architectural wit to bear.  What made this even more profound is that this was a city for students, fashioned by the hands of an academy housing humans with supernatural talent.  

There was no need to feel out of place here, for no one person was different, each possessing an otherworldly power capable of changing the world around them. Miki sighed happily as she decided to sit on a bench, lifting her arms towards the air as if to embrace the sun itself.  Her life was shaping out to be divine so far. Her good fortune had yet to cease;  no cruel fate had befallen her ever since coming here.  

And yet, in the deepest part of her mind, she could not help but feel as if it was all too good to be true, as if there was a cruel stroke of fate ready to strike her down in an unsuspecting moment.  She was not one to ponder on negative thoughts, of course, but to enjoy these pleasantries without even so much as a single calamity still made her feel unease.  

These poisonous ruminations were of no use to her, it was best if she discarded them.  Whatever came her way, she would be steadfast as she always was. Life was always full of challenges, and the best way to conquer them is to walk forward with your head held high! Yeah! That's the spirit! Kill the bad thoughts!

As Miki nodded furiously, she rose from the bench and decided to walk around. She had not yet decided on her plans, so there was no particular reason to rush into any one place. She wanted to savor her day for all that it was worth.

It was right about now that Krito started cursing himself for leaving his apartment. Not literally, of course, he wouldn't go around jinxing himself. Still, there were just so many people... so many students. Academy City had the highest collection of spiritual humans in the entire world. That was the sole reason he originally came here to hide, since finding him here wouldn't be easy as long as he told nobody who he really was... But it also meant dealing with a LOT of teenagers. Really, a truckload of them. Krito was like a pale, grim-looking spectre amongst the crowds, his face hidden far behind hair falling around loosely and the thick glasses, behind which his eyes looked completely distanced and disgusted with everything around him. In other words, Krito looked like he always did when walking around Academy City or the Academy itself.

Really, he was now wondering on what to do. The day was rather young, and a lot of people were wandering the city - both those that had no classes at this specific time, those that had the entire day off, and those that simply decided to ditch classes today. Since education was the responsibility of each student to themselves, that happened quite often. Krito tried to keep his own attendence high, if only so he wouldn't stand out. Should he go grad something to eat? No, the last time he did that so early in the morning, he ended up in a gigantic queue up to the next quick stall only to be served a cold coffee and greasy sausage. Of course, he had then secretly jinxed that stall, causing it to break apart and spill it's contents all over the employees and other people waiting in line. That'd show them to serve a bunch of bullshit to students of a supernatural academy.
Not that he cared much about the well-being of the others waiting back then, of course. He had done that purely for himself, not for the other people complaining and being brushed off - why would he care for people like that? And why was he now thinking back to that? Lately, his mind really wandered way too far.

Because of his wandering mind, Krito wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings - even after he nearly collided with someone walking in the opposite direction. Of course, the Jinx didn't bother to apologize for being a walking roadblock - that'd imply an empathy he didn't really have. The girl he had nearly ran over apparently walked away from the sunrise, while Krito was heading towards it. That's when he saw her again. Geez, was there just no way to escape? Stopping dead in his tracks, with an exasparated sigh, the Jinx raised his right hand to the forehead and closed his eyes. Miki, his tormentor... and 'friend'... was only a short distance away on a bench. Hopefully she didn't see him, but... someone that has 'bad luck' as his power usually doesn't believe in having good luck.

"Why, why, why!?" Ai darted out of a corner store with a horrified look on her face. All one could hear from behind her was a crash, a man yelling, and a woman freaking out! "Kiokure! I swear! Why can't you just stay hidden!?" she yelled at the snake coiled around her belly and popping his head out of her collar. He always had to make himself known! What a pain in the ass!? Freaking out some woman and causing her to scream when she was attempting to apply for a job was not called for! Ai ran down the street just a bit and then ran around the corner until she was suddenly stopped when her body collided with another person. Throwing herself completely off balance in hopes of not harming them, she fell back and bumped her head against a nearby wall. "Agh! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!" she curled up a bit and pushed herself back to her feet as quickly as she could, rubbing the spot where her head hit, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hi-. Ow!!" Ai opened her eyes and looked to see a beautiful young blonde woman that she had bumped into. "Yeah... Sorry about that." she repeated with a small smile and then something clicked in her mind, "Oh crap! Do you have a watch?" Ai realized she had another appointment that she was supposed to get to, but what time was it!? Not really giving the beautiful blonde any chance to answer, she saw a young man and hoped that he would have a watch. "Oh! Hi! You! Um, do you know what time it is?" she asked him. Taking a quick look, she noticed his odd expression, long hair, glasses... "Geek." Kiokure said with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Ai would seem to hiss at a small snake that was currently slithering out of her shirt and around her neck, "What the hell is your problem today! We haven't even been awake ten minutes and you're already causing problems!" Ai glared rather angrily at the black and white Krait on her shoulder and then looked up to the man to see if he would answer her question, "So, do you know what ti-..." Out of the corner of her eye, Ai took in a familiar sight. It was Michiko! A smile was brought up on Ai's face when her mind completely blanked about her 'time' issue. "Hey!" Ai waved to the girl, forgetting about the 'shy' thing that Michiko usually went through. Who knows, maybe she'd be okay this time since she knew Ai wouldn't hurt her! "Michiko! Right? I remembered your name right? Michiko? How are you?" Ai asked with a cheerful attitude before glaring down at Kiokure once more, causing the snake to hide once again under her clothing.