Rooftop Reminiscence (RUI SHIEN)

[KAI-LAN XING!]

Lan stared up at the sky. It was just as it always was, which meant, to her, uninteresting. Yet, laying on the rooftop with her arms behind her head as she was today was rather comfortable, and she was able to think. It was nice to think, to reminisce. Though with Lan, there was nothing pleasant in her memories, none but the ones of moving to America, the land of the free.

Either way, the rooftops were wonderful places to relax. For the first reason, it was always quiet up there. You could always count on being undisturbed if you were sitting on the rooftop, or laying on it, rather. No one ever looked up at rooftops, not really, so it's not like they would see you and try to talk to you. Then of course there was the fact that despite common opinion, rooftops were quite comfortable to sit on. Though at night they could get quite cold.

Many a time back in China, Lan would spend her days and nights on a rooftop. Even if the orphanage people would try to find her or call her down, they could never find her, not if she didn't want to be found. She could stay up there and practice her martial arts all day long if she wanted to, without risk of being caught or disturbed. She could bring her food rations to the roof and eat up there, unwatched by other children.

Yes, rooftops held many good memories, if they could be called that. And they would make many more.

[RUI SHIEN!]

Freedom. Nothing was more important in life. The ability to go wherever you wanted, do whatever you needed, and never have to ask for anything. That's what the boy on the rooftops though, at least. With the brim of his hat down low, backpack equipped with a bedroll and pillow slung across his back, and a cheerful smile adorning his face, Rui Shien wandered from roof to roof, jumping here and there while humming happily to himself. Nothing pleased him more than a night under the stars, and his chin was always lifted to allow him dark eyes to roam across the shining sky.

Naturally, this usually meant he wasn't looking where he was going. He did glance down at the roofs as he moved from one to the other, in order to ensure he wasn't going to run into a chimney or something, but by and large his trip was met with quite a bit of tripping, stumbling, and even the occasional fall to the streets below. Regardless though, he'd always just pick himself up, dust off his coat, and set off once more. The casual observer would probably assume he was wandering aimlessly, but in truth he was headed back to his temporary sleeping spot. He changed sleeping roofs ever week to be able to get a different view of the stars every once in a while, and the ones he picked were always very close to his school; Shibusen Academy.

One other thing the demon jian sword liked about the rooftops was the fact that no one else was ever there at nights. At least, not usually. There was occasionally a pair of lovers or two on some nights that would sit under the stars and kiss for a while, but naturally they didn't bother him. Probably because he tried being respectful and avoided them. But tonight it seemed that he wasn't meant to be alone, since the customary scan of the newest rooftop he'd jumped to (which, ironically enough, was the one he was supposed to be sleeping on), had another person there doing exactly what he wanted to be doing.

At first, Rui was mostly just disappointed. Then a smidgen of curiosity hit, which soon bubbled up into a friendly desire to approach the other person. He began walking up with a bouncy stride, intentionally making sure each step made some noise to alert whoever it was to his presence before he got close. "Ahoy there," he called out in a tone that almost made the greeting sound like a question.

[KAI-LAN XING!]

Lan's eyes opened immediately when she sensed another person's presence. It wasn't a person, per se, so it must have been a weapon. She wondered what they were doing at this time of the night on the rooftops- she'd never noticed anyone else on them but her, even in the daytime. She tensed herself naturally, ready for impact at any given moment, and jumped to her feet, hands out in a battle stance. Seeing it was only someone around her own age, she loosened a bit, but only slightly. They had a rather friendly air around them, but that didn't keep the ninja any less wary. It was just how she was, after all. Always ready for anything. She prided herself in that. She had to pride herself in some things... being alone made her like that. But she did care more about others than herself, so it wasn't that she was narcissistic or anything of the kind. Not even close. Kai-Lan was far too loyal and caring to ever have a trait like that.

She then realized that she'd just been standing there in a battle stance for a while and had forgotten about it in the process of zoning out. She quickly tensed herself up again, fingering a kunai at her belt. "What're you doing up here?" she asked hesitantly. She took a deep, silent breath, trying to calm herself down. He probably didn't even need anything. He was probably just innocently strolling the rooftops, as she did. Though that wasn't exactly what most people did, which was probably what worried her, and was most likely why she was treating him like an assassin.

"Well then? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

For some reason, she'd always wanted to say this. Lan's eyes showed everything but fear. Determination was key.

[RUI SHIEN!]

When the other girl leapt to her feet and assumed a battle stance, Rui couldn't help but be a little bit put off. The smile flickered on his lips, almost curving down into a frown, and his brows furrowed noticeably. The resulting expression was an odd one of cheer, worry, and displeasure, all in equal measure so that no particular one stood out among the rest. He stopped approaching her at that point, leaving the ten yards of distance left between them as it was, not wanting to agitate her further. The boy was beginning to wish he hadn't decided to approach and had instead merely moved on to a new rooftop. Not that he was paying attention to it, he could tell that this girl was certainly not an average human. And judging by her willingness to fight rather than talk things out (and the lack of a partial transformation), he'd decided to assume she was a Meister.

That in and of itself was almost enough to cause him to turn tail and run away. Not that he was scared... not completely, at least; Rui just didn't really like confrontations, especially not with girls. Mom had always said not to hit a girl. Something told him he'd be the one getting hit though. But, when the girl spoke, he was reassured slightly. The add-on was a bit hostile, even though he had to admit it sounded kinda cool. In fact, it was just cool enough for him to answer back with, "Just wandering the roofs. I do it every night. You?" before pulling his hat off his head to run his fingers through the long black mass.

If she took the time to inspect him, she'd likely first notice his rather messy state of affairs. That, or the sand and dirt, since he'd been out in the desert earlier that day. Another likely thing would be how his smile had returned to his lips, though only in a slight upward curl of his lips. And from those lips came: "Name's Rui. Rui Shien. I'm a weapon at the academy up there." He gave a casual wave of his hand in the direction of Shibusen to accent his point, though it was an unnecessary gesture. Pretty much everyone knew what and where the academy was.

[KAI-LAN XING!]

Once the boy openly admitted his name and affiliation, Kai-Lan felt herself get her guard down a bit. Of course, it was only voluntary after all. She felt more comfortable around students of the Academy, and though she knew she couldn't exactly trust everyone she met, she felt a trusting air around this one. She lowered her weapon and her defense slowly, and only by a little. She approached him so that she was a bit closer than before, and able to see him better. He seemed as if he was telling the truth- he looked the part at any rate. Lan was always more wary at night than she was in the daytime, so if he sung the same tune at both times of day, she'd probably trust him much more.

"Fine...." she said, eyes still narrowed a bit as they looked him over, searching for any hidden weapons. He had none, so she assumed he was a weapon himself. "Where is your partner, your meister?" she asked, whipping out the kunai and holding it outward so that he would feel forced to answer. Overshadowing your enemy was always a good thing, so that they felt overpowered and weak. Though she was probably shorter than him in height, standing in such a way and brandishing a weapon helped to make her look taller. Lan wouldn't have had such a problem if it hadn't been from the smile. The sort of smile he gave made him even more suspicious, mostly because he was all dirty, as if he'd come from the desert. This was unnerving, but Lan let it go for the moment and instead stared endlessly at him with her coal black eyes. They shone brightly in the night, and in the day, which was why she had such good eyesight.

As she waited for an answer, Lan kept herself tense but lowered the kunai and put it back to her belt. She snapped it in place all the while keeping her gaze on the boy, Rui Shien. Should she say her name just yet? It wouldn't hurt- if he tried to stalk her or something, or make a move or whatever, she could kill him in only a few seconds. Keeping that confidence made her strong, and Lan said, "I'm Kai-Lan Xing. I don't think we've met before... If you are truly a friend of the academy, well, then, you may cal me Lan. Otherwise you must not refer to me as anything, since we do not know each other well." such were her personal customs. Of course, the customs of this country were different than those of her own, considering that there she would be referred to by her surname, "Xing".

Either way, she waited for yet another answer from the boy, testing her patience as well as (no doubt) his own.