Whatever question the child had, even if it was considered ‘rude,’ Blues wouldn’t be offended by it. He disliked human standards to begin with; they got offended over things that in his opinion, should be commonplace to ask.
His eyes followed her over to the vending machine, watching as she pulled out her purse to pay. A hint of a smirk played on his lips as he spoke, bemused.
“You don’t have to pay. It’s already set to give you whatever you want.” If she were to look at the screen, it read that the maximum amount of money had already been inserted, and that all she needed to do was select her item.
The prototype casually leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest as he watched for a reaction. It would likely play out in one of two ways: either the girl would assume he’d paid for her and be grateful, or she’d realized that he’d cheated the system and get angry.
It didn’t really matter to him. Perhaps he’d get an interesting, unexpected reaction? That would certainly be entertaining.
Rebecca blinked and then looked up at Blues, looking at him like he somehow grew a second head. Then she looked at the screen, her little ponytail swinging a bit.
He had paid for her? She hadn’t seen him put any zenny in, and wireless transfers were dangerous! So how had he…? But a phrase she had learned when she had still be a newbuilt was ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’. If someone wanted to be kind, she’d damn well be grateful.
So she smiled brightly and snapped her purse closed again, putting it back in her pocket. The ID on the little outside pocket had read ‘Rebecca’, along with her ID number, and if Blues looked up her file, it would read that she had been built on base as well as her service record.
“Thank you, Blues.”
She looked through the list of e-tanks and spotted the type she took, it was one of the cheapest ones on the list. She tapped the selection, tapping it once more to confirm. A second later, it clunked down and she took it from the dispenser.
Then she cracked her’s open and sipped at it, looking quite happy before turning back to Blues, smile still bright as the sun. She probably would remind him of X in a way with that smile.
“You’re very kind. Thank you so much.”
She looked down at her tank before sipping at it again, then looked back up, curiosity sparking in those vibrant blue eyes.
“Is it okay if I ask how you and X met?”
Ah yes, there was her curiosity, just like her father’s. Cautious but not very restrained when they wanted to ask questions.
Back in the Game 