"I certainly hope not," Kaito replied with a shudder, the image of people kicking a phone around while laughing maniacally popping into his head. If there was any other way to piss him off besides messing with the things in his workshop, it was to mistreat any piece of technology in such a way that said piece would be damaged. Dealing with customers like that was a nightmare, since it took all of his willpower not to throttle the customer. Technology was a gift, one that many people took for granted. However, Airi didn't seem like that type of person. In fact, she doesn't seem like the type that uses machines all that often. Which was fine; as long as she wasn't going around kicking mechanical instruments for sport like she said, she was okay in his book.

Kaito perked up a little as she got ready to leave, though he made sure not to show it in case she took it the wrong way. He didn't have anything against her, but her leaving meant he could go back to his other projects he was working on in the secret room! Well, it wasn't exactly secret since there was an obvious locked door to the side of the main room of his workshop, but it was secret in the sense that no one but him knew what he worked on inside the room. Hence why he dubbed it "the secret room", although he should probably think up a more creative name for it...well, until then, that's what it was going to be called. Having only been working there a few minutes before Airi came in with her phone, he was somewhat eager to get back.

Hearing her laugh, he was broken out of brainstorming for new ideas to work on in the secret room as he heard her question. This wasn't the first time a customer has asked him that, so with practiced ease, he answered, "Well, what people usually do if they have no phone is either check in every few days or so to see if it's finished and pay me before picking it up, or I'll just ship it to your home address along with the bill. But it costs extra with the shipping fee." Blinking, he remembered how she came in looking exhausted and roughed up. She must've walked here then, unless it was one really rough ride inside the Satomobile. "But I'm guessing you'll want to save a few yuans and just come back in a few days to pick it up...unless you can't stand me and I'm just that horrible to be around?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

"I suppose,"

[/color] she began as she finished her stretching, "I'll do that, then."[/color] Maybe she would just head on home. There wasn't much else for her to do, after all, unless she just wanted to wander around Republic City and she felt that she simply didn't have the energy to stay out all day. A different, maybe slightly longer route would keep her mind busy, trying to figure out how to head home instead of worrying about things that didn't concern her. Well, not that some things didn't concern her but rather things she had no control over. "I'll see you in a few days, Kaito,"[/color] Airi said with a quick bow before she walked out, feeling the scraps and scratches all across her body now that she was moving.

—-

'A few days' felt longer than it actually was to the baker and while she did want to get up, go out and do something, there were just days she found herself without the energy to do the things she wanted to. Sometimes that meant she slept all day, others where she poured herself into her work, helping her mother out despite her pleas to 'rest up' and make sure she was 'feeling better'. It was more than a remote feeling that doing nothing but the basics was going to help her at all. She had to change. She had to move around and do things. Soon, the long days became much shorter.

Though there were times that the woman had to rest, unable to do the things she could before.Heh, I sound like an old lady, she thought to herself soundly as she rested her hands on her knees, her chest heaving up and down after a long run. Aisen had found a way to help her adjust by teaching her what he had learned over years of lessons of self defense. Airi even found something of a joy in running, as she rested from right there.

"Ai-ee, hun?" the nonbender heard her father call from inside the house. The back door was to her right but she just wanted to stay still for a moment, just a moment. "When did you say the phone would be ready?" Airi froze. The phone. Oh spirits, the phone. She had almost forgotten about it. Almost everything she had been doing didn't require the phone.

"Oh,"[/color] she said plainly, finding herself winded no more and she stepped into the house but staying by the door. "Um, uh, I'll go right now!"[/color] the woman announced as she retraced her steps and heading back on outside.

"In your workout clothes?" the faint voice of her father questioned from behind the door and in the kitchen. She looked down, seeing her sleeveless white shirt, the ever so slightly tattered shorts she wore and shoes. Her hair - she couldn't see her hair but she had a feeling it was just as shabby, coming out of it's braid and, or plastered to her neck with sweat.

After a quick shower, she threw on a pair of clothes: a brown skirt that went to her knees, a gray-red sleeveless shirt with her black, fingerless gloves to cover her burns and a pair of simple shoes. Without the crate to carry, this time, she found it was much quicker to get there, even if she did take a while to remember where it was. Only when she reached the door did she wonder: Is he still open? It's the late afternoon but he said something about keeping food here, so maybe he stays late often? With only one way to find out, she tested the door which opened easily and poked her head through.

"Kaito Ishiguro?"[/color] Airi called for though she remained where she was, her head the only thing that showed from behind the door that covered the rest of her body. "I'm here for the, uh, phone. Is it ready, by happenstance?"[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

Kaito pouted slightly when she didn't rise to the bait this time around, but brightened again as she was getting ready to leave. "Yeah, yeah, looking forward to it," he said in a lazy tone, turning around and rearranging the items on his desk yet again, replaying their conversations in his head. If he had to be honest with himself, it was actually pretty nice talking to someone who wasn't gunning for his money, even if it was a one-time thing. As he heard the door ring, signaling her exit, the door rang again not two seconds later, followed by an appreciative whistle. "She ain't one of your regulars, huh, Ishiguro?" Kaito's mood immediately darkened, slowing down with rearranging his desk. "Piss off, dirtbag," he muttered.

He heard a chuckle from behind him. "Aw, don't be like that Ishiguro. We're supposed to be friends, right?" Kaito felt an arm across his shoulders. "The other guys are waitin' at the usual place." It took him a moment before he schooled his features, giving the man his fake smile that he practiced a hundred times each morning in the mirror. "Then we'd better not keep 'em waiting, right?"

Back to the usual.

—-

...Ow.

The walls of his workshop were what he woke up to. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the light. It smelled slightly funny...and why was it harder to breathe? Wait. That faint smell...blood. His blood. Lifting his head off of the desk with a groan, he blinked a few times as he lost focus for a bit. The blood was dried on his desk, and he felt a little below his mouth. "Ack!" he cringed as he tried to straighten his back. His ribs...they hurt. A lot. He was still able to move with a bit more effort, however, so he didn't think they were broken. Kaito checked the time. I was out the whole day...crap. He didn't even get the chance to switch the "closed" sign on the window to "open". Perhaps it was just as well; it wouldn't do for his customers to see him like this.

They're getting more aggressive, he thought to himself as the events of last night began to come back to him: went drinking with one of the gangs. Forgot something at the workshop. Another gang was waiting there. After that, it was a bit of a blur. Finally getting up with some effort, he looked to the side. The lock to the secret room was intact, so they probably didn't take anything too valuable, and as far as he could see, nothing in his workshop was damaged. They probably beat him for the sake of reminding him.

Walking over to the bathroom, he looked himself in the mirror. What the hell are you looking at? he asked himself. He was a mess. He felt like a mess. Sighing in frustration, he turned on the faucet, washing his face and fixing his hair to get ready for what was left of today. Looking himself in the mirror again, he began to feel around his midsection, trying to locate the source of the pain. Lifting his shirt up a little, he found a nasty bruise to the left of his stomach. "Oh right...took an earth-fist right there," he muttered dryly.

Ring.

He froze. The door. He never locked it last night. Looking over, he quickly buttoned his shirt and rushed back over to his desk with a small towel, wincing at the pain that sprung from his ribs with each step. Quickly placing the towel over the small bloodstain on his desk, he turned around to see who it was. Airi. That was her name. The one whose phone he fixed. And she picked a perfect time to pick it up. He was not in the mood to deal with people today.

"Dammit, woman, can't you read?! I'm closed!" he said with frustration, trying not to betray any signs of pain on his face and keeping his breathing even. "Come back tomorrow, I'm busy!" Kaito said, turning around and pretending to look something over on his desk while hiding the wince that appeared on his face. Agni, that hurt. The faster she went away, the faster he could just lay back down and sleep it off.

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

Airi was more than a little shocked at the response she received from the mechanic. She leaned back and looked at the door to see the sign saying closed. Oh, well she hadn't bothered to look, assuming that he'd be open at the time of the day. Actually, she more than assumed he'd be available but perhaps she just had him pegged wrong. She wasn't too good with people, perhaps she shouldn't assume people until she did. "Oh, sorry-"

[/color] the woman cut herself off when she looked back into the shop to apologize to him but something was off.

She squinted. There was something off here. From where she stood and, obviously, not knowing him too well she couldn't be totally sure but was his breathing shallow? Did he look pained? "Hey, are you alright?"[/color] she soundly said, forgetting that the sign said he was closed, that he said he wasn't open for business, that she would come back tomorrow. Slowly, the rest of her body slipped through the doorway, leaving the door open ajar. "You don't look quite... right,"[/color] she simply observed, and rather dumbly at that.

She didn't move any further, though. There really was something wrong here. The nonbender couldn't really point anything out, to put reason to her accusation. It was simply just a feeling that she had and while it didn't seem like something sound, she knew to rely on her instincts after living with her memory problem so long where almost everything she did was based on guesses and missing information. "You alright?"[/color] Airi asked calmly, hoping he wouldn't jump over his desk and throw her out. Though the surprising lack of sarcastic phrases aimed at her told her that he wouldn't actually jump over the desk to throw her out. [/blockquote][/blockquote]

(ooc; again, sorry for the short post T-T)

(OOC: it's all good )



...And she still wasn't leaving. Muttering a curse under his breath, Kaito turned his head to yell, "What, are you deaf too? I said--ack!" He winced again as he put a little too much pressure on the injury. Okay, so no more yelling. This was just peachy. If she decides to tell others of his rather questionable injuries, his other customers will start getting suspicious. That was never a good thing. He looked over his shoulder again. Yep, she was still there. It was useless to hide it now, so he just took a deep breath as he looked towards the ground, thinking over the situation that he was now in.

He could easily just say he just got into an accident while working on one of the Satomobiles. But anyone with two eyes that takes a closer look at the extent of his injury could easily tell that this was more than just an accident, so he'll just have to keep his distance. And having taken a closer look at his knuckles, he could see that they were glaringly red. Huh. Wonder how the other guy looks, he thought, the events of last night still one big blur to him. He'll have to hide those as well. "Well, I've had better days," he muttered dryly in response to her question. "Why're you so damn interested anyway? Can't you just mind your own business and leave?" Somehow, he didn't think she would listen anyway, seeing how effective it was the first time around.

Turning around slowly, he leaned back against his desk, subtly adjusting the cloth on top of it to make sure that it was still covering the bloodstain. Kaito was careful not to lean too much towards his left side so that he didn't agitate his injury any more than he already has. "Y'know, I could call the authorities since you're technically trespassing," he said, glaring at her. If he could even reach the damn phone. Plus cops were bad for business. If the guys he owed debts to saw police at his workshop, they would get nervous. And that was never a good thing.

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

"I'm not deaf! But I do tend to forget things a lot so... um... yeah,"

[/color] she droned on before realizing what he was asking was not only rhetorical but not literal either. When he winced, Airi had barely noticed it but it was the sound he made that really caught her attention. He wasn't alright! It seemed really weird to be glad she was right seeing as if she were wrong there'd be no problem other than the fact she was trespassing.

"I figured,"[/color] Airi dryly said, though in the back of her mind thinking if someone was like this at their best, what would their worst be like. She took a few steps closer, her hands on her hips as she leaned slightly forward to look at him. Her wet hair tumbled over her face and clung to her skin, but she paid it no mind. "And I'm not interested. I'm concerned,"[/color] she tried to clarify, looking him square in the eye. Or as best she could the way he was positioning himself.

His knuckled were the first thing to grab her attention, the bright red skin hard to overlook. The second was how he held himself and remembering the earlier noise he made. "You look really banged up,"[/color] she plainly observed, walking around the desk and pulling at the towel he had on his face. Invasive? Probably. But the mother-like instinct she always seemed to drag along with her seemed ever so more persistent that day. She didn't gasp at the sight or anything of that sort because she wasn't surprised. The marks he wore on his skin, the way he held himself. It was all too familiar: she had seen these injuries before at the Probending Arena after games.

"You wouldn't happen to like to drop rocks on yourself, would you?"[/color] Airi asked with something of a smile, trying to lighten whatever mood had seeped into the scene. Completely ignoring his threat to call the cops, she huffed, placing her hands back on her hips. "I come all this way to get my phone..."[/color] she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "But it looks like you need more help than I need that phone."[/color]

He may not want her help, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to help. Her mind raced back to Bolin, whom she talked to, encouraged, comforted. To the probending team she was a part of, at first just to make sure they had a substitute firebender if they ever needed one (which they ended up actually needing). Even if she never meant it, she found herself doing it. "Do you have a supply of bandages? Water? Salt?"[/color] she asked as she looked up, scanning the room.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

(OOC: Ack sorry for the late reply I had my last final on Friday and then I was busy the entire weekend >.<)



Kaito raised an eyebrow at her remark about forgetting things. He wasn't expecting her to actually justify herself for not listening to him earlier. Were he in a better condition, he would have tried to come up with another witty remark, but as it was, it was becoming harder and harder to even keep himself upright. He blinked in confusion as she stared him in the eye. "You're...concerned? We've only just met the other day," he said with a humorless chuckle. For the past three years, the only concern people have shown for him have either been for his services or his money, but never genuine concern. "What exactly are you getting out of this? Tryin' to get a favor out of me?" he asked suspiciously. He had enough debts as it was, and he wasn't about to add another onto the list if he could help it.

Sighing in exasperation, he stopped trying to hide his injuries. Apparently, this Airi girl knew injuries when she saw them. "Brilliant deduction, detective," he remarked in a deadpan voice, not having the energy to keep her from taking his towel. Taking a few more deep breaths, Kaito leaned more of his weight onto the desk, still taking great care not to lean on his left side. Well, she wasn't freaking out over his injuries, which was a good sign. At least he didn't have to worry about her running off to tell other people in her panic.

He snorted, though not at the joke itself. It was funny she should mention rocks, considering that it was an earthbender who did this to him in the first place. I remember his face now, too. I wonder how important he is to the gang; maybe his boss won't mind me getting a little even, he thought darkly. It would be too easy. He knew their usual hangouts and routines, all he had to do was be a little sneaky and get the drop on him. Being broken out of his thoughts of revenge by Airi's next words, he frowned again. "I never asked for your help. I can take care of myself. I have been for a while now," he muttered, looking off to the side and crossing his arms.

Sighing in exasperation, Kaito pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to prevent the oncoming headache. She really wasn't going to leave. Slowly adjusting his position on the desk, he replied while lazily pointing towards his bathroom, "If you insist on staying here unnecessarily, then there's a medicine cabinet over in that bathroom, along with a sink."

(ooc; it's fine! I actually just finished my own finals, so I understand)

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

Airi blinked. "A few days, actually,"

[/color] she recalled, wondering how out of it he had to be to forget time. Or if he was beaten a little too hard by whatever he was put up against. Of if he had the same (or slightly more problematic) memory problem she had, but that was far more unlikely. "And yes I'm concerned,"[/color] she said, sounding almost insulted. "So many kind people have helped me over the years, saying they were just doing what was right. I want to do what is right,"[/color] she explained though she didn't quite feel her words summed up what she really felt all that well. Always, she had a bit of a motherly protectiveness to those she knew, even for a short time. Maybe recent events just amplified it.

The woman watched as he dropped his charade. Not yet knowing the full extent of his injuries, looking at him now, she realized they were probably worse than what she had initially thought them to be. "Thank you, sir,"[/color] she lightly replied, having recognized his dry humor even in his pained state. Oddly enough, she feel a little proud to be able to pick up on small things and stuff. No, she shook the thought from her head. This was not the time to think stuff like that; she could do that later when he was better and she had her phone back home.

"Not very well, it seems,"[/color] Airi said with a sigh as she wandered over to where he told her his medicine cabinet. She grabbed as much as she could carry safely over. Some gauze, disinfectant and some other supplies, not knowing the extent of his injuries until she really took a closer look at them. Even then, she wasn't sure how much held she'd be. She was very good when it came to dealing with burns and she only had so much experience when it came to other things like broken bones, scrapes, cuts and the like. Thankfully, probending taught her just a little more than fighting. Practices could be rough. Heck, after one practice with Bolin, she bruised herself pretty bad after being hit by one of the disks.

Upon her return, she laid the items on the desk and worked on what she saw she could. His hands, his face, cleaning them as gently as she could and wrapping them. "What else hurts?"[/color] she asked calmly, hoping he wouldn't ask her to leave again. [/blockquote][/blockquote]

Kaito raised an eyebrow. Did they not meet a few days ago? Either way, he did not have the energy to argue that point. Scoffing at her next remark, he replied, "Lady, the only thing that "doing what is right" is good for is screwing yourself over. You're better off looking out for yourself." His voice grew slightly distant at his last sentence, remembering the last time he tried to "do the right thing". The one time he did go against the gangs was for a family they were harassing while he was out with them. Apparently, the father owed them money, and they were there to cash in. He was swiftly beaten down by his so-called friends, telling him to remember his own situation, and then ended up killing the father anyway. Since then, he's turned a blind eye to all their activities, instead choosing to keep his head low so that they wouldn't set their sights on him. Better them than me, he always told himself.

He snorted. "Just because I'm momentarily disabled doesn't mean I can't take care of myself. I just need a little.." He tried to move towards his chair, but stopped, wincing at the pain. "...okay, well in my defense, this is the first time it's been this bad," he said with a little embarrassment, scratching the back of his head and looking off to the side. He's taken beatings dozens of times before, but none were ever this bad. And the beatings he did take were never for his debts, but rather because either he or some other jerk picked a fight. He doubted this would be the last time they would "remind" him of his debts, so he would have to begin taking the proper precautions to make sure he didn't end up like this again...or worse.

Kaito scowled as she cleaned and wrapped his hands and face. He never asked for any of this.Granted, he probably would've done a much sloppier job at patching himself up, but he felt less vulnerable when it was just him taking care of himself. He felt naked looking like this in front of someone else. But the pain was excruciating. And she seemed to know what she was doing. So he'll accept her help, maybe just this once. Even though he really hated it. Looking away from her, he slowly unbuttoned the bottom of his shirt and parted it, showing the large and very dark bruise on his left abdomen.

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

Airi gave a second to what he was saying but never with the intention of taking it to heart. "Doing what is right, sir, shouldn't be done with thinking about the gain,"

[/color] she explained with a slight sigh, her eyes half closing. He seemed pretty intent of getting her to leave. Maybe she would, after she was done fixing him up and got her phone back, but until then she wasn't going to think on that. She had enough trouble trying to concentrate on the task at hand, feeling an episode trying to creep up from a dark corner of her mind to gobble up her memories. Repetition, she silently reminded herself. In her mind, she repeated over and over what she was doing and what she was planning to do, her forehead creasing with a scowl.

The woman shrugged lightly, not really paying attention to what he was saying at this point. Probably just telling me to leave him alone again, she consoled herself. "Sure,"[/color] she absently replied. Only when she looked up did she notice how embarrassed he looked and she flushed. Was that why he didn't want her there, helping him? Pride? Or just not used to someone helping him. She paused for a split moment and looked down. Having no one to help you, not even your parents. She couldn't imagine living like that. "Well, I guess you're just lucky I came around,"[/color] she said.

She watched as he unbuttoned his shirt until she realized she was staring. Her face flushed again when the nonbender remembered she had never been in a situation like this before where she was in a place alone with a guy who was undressing. It was just his shirt and it was for medical purposes but that didn't erase her embarrassment and she was thankful he was looking away. Seeing the badly bruised area told her two things: one, that whatever he had done to get this hurt was probably really bad and two, that it wouldn't heal for quite a while. Her hand absently moved to her shoulder which had been bruised the same way once before though less severe.

Quickly she stood up and fetched a towel and cold water. When she returned, she hovered the wet rag over the bruised area. "Bare with me, Kaito. This is going to hurt,"[/color] Airi warned him before tentavily placing the cold cloth on the bruised area. "Hold that there,"[/color] she told him, slowly removing her hands from the rag and looking at the desk for any pain relievers. Sadly, there were none that she had grabbed with her.

"I recognized the way the bruise was placed,"[/color] Airi told him though not very concerned if he listened to her or not at this point. She was mostly talking to herself. "Some areas of the bruise were differently colored. You don't see that often,"[/color] she said. "So unless my earlier question of if you dropped rocks on yourself was right, what in the name of the Spirits have you been doing to yourself?"[/color][/blockquote][/blockquote]

Kaito made no gesture to show he acknowledged her reply. Doing the right thing never changed anything in the long run, other than getting oneself into more trouble. He wasn't about to try to convince this woman, however. He's said his piece; whether she chooses to listen to him or not isn't his problem. Besides, he had more pressing matters at hand, like the giant bruise on his left abdomen. When he recovered, someone was going to pay, debts be damned. No one gets the drop on him and gets away with it. He put those thoughts to the back of his mind, however. He didn't think he was going to recover for a while. He'll remember the bastard's face, though. Another shot of pain raced through his stomach as he put a little too much pressure on the bruise. "..Yeah. Yeah, I guess I was," he admitted with a low voice.

"Oh boy," he muttered when Airi held the wet towel over his bruise. Kaito drew a deep breath as she began to put pressure on the cloth, letting out a small grunt of pain. "...Ow." Holding onto the cloth as she removed her hands, his breathing slowly evened out as he adjusted to the pain. Looking up towards the ceiling, he cracked his neck a couple of times to ease the stiffness. Looking back towards Airi, he felt at a loss at what to do. Was this the part where he was supposed to say 'thank you'? He's never been in this position before; where someone has done him a favor out of genuine goodwill. Then again, he heard that one was supposed to say 'thanks' as the other person is leaving, so maybe he'll just hold off on it until then, in case he made things more awkward than they already were.

Letting out a deep breath, Kaito closed his eyes in exasperation. Damn this girl and her keen observation. This was exactly why he wanted her to leave in the first place: so that she wouldn't get a closer look at the injuries and start asking questions. "It's none of your Spirits-damned business what I do on my own time. I'm grateful that you fixed me up, but that doesn't mean I owe you any answers. Just...don't ask," he said, lightly glaring at her, though it held no real hostility. After what she's done for him and what she's seen of his injury, he couldn't really hold it against her to ask questions. But he's never had to tell anyone about his personal problems, and if he could help it, he was going to keep it that way.

After a brief pause, he asked, "Shouldn't you be getting back anyway? Your family might get worried you're taking this long to fetch a phone, wouldn't they?"

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

Airi disregarded his words with ease as he became defensive about the questions she asked him. "Alright then,"

[/color] she told him calmly, taking a seat on the floor and closing her eyes. Focus, she silently reminded herself. The possible episode continued to tug at her memories but she held a tight grip on them. She couldn't let herself start forgetting things now, though she'd prefer to not forget anything at all. While Kaito seemed to be the closed personality kind of person, he did talk and act like a lot of the people that cast her off as mentally challenged, a blight on society. Sure, she had made a few mistakes in the past but she always tried her best to rectify them. Then again, there did seem to be some people that stuck to one idea and never changed it.

"Alright, I won't ask,"[/color] she said, deciding to finalize it out loud, think that she could, perhaps, remember right now a little better if she heard her thoughts as well and not just repeating them in her head. "Just forget I ever asked."[/color] The woman opened her eyes to see him glaring down at her. Kaito held some kind of look in his eye that she couldn't quite describe. No, the look he gave her was not meant to be mean or threatening. Warning, perhaps?

"I would,"[/color] Airi said confidently, more than she actually felt, "but we really need the phone. Besides, my family doesn't get too worried about me. I always come home sooner or later."[/color] Oblivious to the words that poured from her mouth, she never thought to wonder if it was too vague or mysterious than what she meant to convey. Simply put, her family never worried because she could handle herself, but maybe they would now that she couldn't rely on her bending to help her out in fights or to keep her warm if she ended up wandering the streets at night.

"So, in light of recent events, I'm going to have to guess that it's not fixed yet,"[/color] the nonbender realized sadly. All this way for nothing, hm? Well, at least she helped him out. That was a plus, for him more than it was for her. Nonetheless, she was glad to have done something.[/blockquote][/blockquote]

Kaito's eyes softened at her reply. "Good," he said with a sigh of relief, cradling his injury while adjusting himself on the desk. He watched as Airi sat down on the floor, a few expressions that he couldn't recognize going through her face. Was she the one in pain now? "Heh, don't tell me that you need help now too? I doubt I could fix you up as well as you did me," he said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood, though he did wonder if he would really have to. He could do it, but it would be a little more than difficult given his recent injuries.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly got off the desk, trying to straighten himself out. Wincing a little, he bore the pain until he was able to stand without leaning on any object, although he had to slightly lean forward. "They should worry more. It ain't safe for a pretty girl like you to be wandering alone...and the streets are getting more dangerous." Especially here, he thought to himself. He was just glad the thug that went to visit him as she left the other day didn't decide to go harass her instead of picking him up to go drinking. "Then again, I'm probably in no good position to tell you how your family should run things," he added as an afterthought. Why did he care anyway? Did he feel indebted to her now that she helped patch him up? No, that's stupid. He has enough debts as it is, he shouldn't worry about one that doesn't pose a threat to his life.

"Actually," he said after recalling the phone, "I finished fixing it yesterday. Well, y'know, before this," he said as he gestured towards his injury. Luckily, his order for a new generator came fast, so he was able to get to work right away. It was a good thing too; if it came after he got injured like this, it would have probably taken a lot longer to fix the phone.

Making sure to keep pressure on his injury, he slowly walked towards her. "It's out back. I can't carry it because...well, you already know why. I'll need help moving it," he said, offering her his free hand. "And also...um.." he muttered, looking at anywhere but her. Was it always this hard for other people too, or was it just him? "...Thanks," he said in a small tone. Agni, that sounded pathetic. He should probably just go crawl into one of his Satomobiles in the workshop right now and go sleep for the next week...or year.

Kaito's Workshop

Tagged: Kaito[/center]

Airi shook her head with a laugh. "No, I'm fine,"

[/color] she reassured him with a smile, opening her eyes. "Trust me, you'll know if I need help. I'm pretty obvious,"[/color] she joked though it wasn't really a joke. Not that he needed to know. She had it under control. Well, sort of but so long as she still had a hold on her memory she wouldn't need his help. She even found herself doubting if he could help her if she couldn't even help herself. It wasn't something physical that you could bandage or take medicine for. It was up to her.

"You misunderstand,"[/color] she tried to say but then the worlds died in her throat. They used to be okay with her going out, sometimes getting lost, because she could take care of herself. Without her bending, she had little to defend herself with. She wasn't like her brother who constantly took self defense classes to protect himself. "Never mind,"[/color] she said to dismiss the topic. Something else, she thought to say, something else.

The woman perked up, hearing that the phone was indeed fixed up. "Great!"[/color] she exclaimed happily. When she remembered how hard it was to bring it here in the first place her happiness dropped somewhat. It had been such a pain - literally - to carry it. Perhaps she should have brought Aisen, but now it was too late she supposed. Airi watched as Kaito stood up and walked over to her, offering his hand. Was he offering to help her up? Nonsense, he was still injured, why would he do that? So instead, she pushed herself up from off the ground and then took his hand into her, shaking it. "No problem. I was happy to help."[/color]

She looked around, wondering where her crate was and then pulled out her wallet from her pants pocket. "So how much was it going to be?"[/color] she asked him.[/blockquote][/blockquote]