A Fine Meeting (Salem + Naoki)

Salem closed his eyes as he took another breath of the chilly air. Even though he was starting to get a little cold the light jacket he wore kept him warm enough. The breeze was refreshing, he had to admit, after being inside for most of the day. He was glad he decided to take his chances with the weather outside.

It hadn't been a particularly rough day at the clinic--he mostly had to finish some paperwork that the rest of his family had neglected to do themselves for the last week--but for the first time that day Salem felt like he could relax. No writing, no organizing, no studying... just him and the streets of District 2.

A particularly chatty group of friends walked past him, and Salem gave them a polite smile though they made no motion to acknowledge him.

He didn't mind. It was rare to have anyone return the gesture. Even his own family didn't, so why should he expect others to do it? But speaking of his family, he did still have some work to finish for them.

Salem glanced down at the silver watch on his left wrist. Was it that late already? He usually kept pretty good track of time. He was torn for a moment as to what he should do; should he try running back to the clinic, or should he just keep up his current pace? Either way, he thought dismally, he was going to be later than he wanted to. Not that anyone would probably notice--he just felt like he might be letting himself down if he fell too behind on time. He didn't like the idea of having to stay up all night again to finish what he supposed he should've had done earlier.

Letting out a soft sigh and still gazing at his watch as though he wished it would change its mind and tick backwards an hour, Salem pushed off and had just begun running when suddenly he slammed right into something soft and solid.

His usual smile faltered for a split second in his surprise, but was back in place almost instantly. Salem glanced at the boy he had run into and saw that he had knocked him back quite a bit.

He barely heard the other person's mumbled "Sorry," and Salem stepped forward to place a hand on their shoulder in apology. "No, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you alright?"

Salem continued smiling pleasantly, trying make light of the situation.

During the silence while this new person thought up a response (Salem assumed that was what they were doing), Salem let himself study the appearance of this stranger--the boy looked a bit younger than him judging by his height and softer features, but it was his outfit that threw Salem off a bit. The clothes were rather dull compared to the nearly blinding combinations he saw others wearing around so often. Not that Salem ever dressed like the stereotypes associated with the upper districts... it was just uncommon to find someone else out of the norm.

He didn't think he recognized the boy from anywhere in the District. No, there was something... different... about them. Salem figured he would probably recall seeing someone like this stranger, because in a place like District 2, it was the people who looked like they craved the least attention that he would remember the most. He was probably the only one who did that though, Salem thought, since most people around town only noticed others if they were dressed as ridiculously as themselves; anyone else didn't deserve the attention, he could almost hear them thinking.

Salem could nearly feel the nervousness in the air. His eyes softened and he was about to repeat himself when they started to speak, "Uhh... no, no..." He watched patiently as their eyes focused everywhere but on Salem, and allowed his hand to fall back to his side as the stranger stepped away. "I wasn't looking where I was going either. Lost in thought. I think it's more my fault than yours, so... Oh, and I'm fine. Are you?"

"Don't worry about me," Salem insisted, then added in a friendly manner, "Let's just split the blame, okay?"

He could sense the awkwardness beginning to surround them. But something about the boy's tone and nervous behavior was nagging Salem in the back of his mind. The outfit, the way they acted... were they lost?

If they were, he doubted this person would be able to find anyone else polite enough to give directions... and even if he did, the boy wasn't behaving like the type who would ask. So Salem decided it was more important to at least offer his help than finish that work back at the clinic--it wasn't going anywhere, anyway. "I'm sorry," Salem said, gentle smile still in place to hopefully show he wasn't being threatening. "Are you from around here?"

Ki hadn't noticed the other boy examining him, much in the same way Ki had been only a moment before. He also missed the tender, patient look on the other's face as Ki tried to think up something good to say. Which of course didn't happen. At least he was making sure to check if the other guy was okay. He was just hoping this wasn't all some big scam--that this guy was just a bored rich kid out for some fun, who was about to turn around completely and punch Ki in the face or something, then run off laughing. Well, Ki knew to keep up his guard.

"Don't worry about me," Salem insisted, then added in a friendly manner, "Let's just split the blame, okay?"

Ki had not been expecting this response, and so he looked up at the other in surprise. He didn't see anything suspicious in the other boy's stare, just a generally friendly look. Not really sure what to make of it, Ki gave a half-smile. "Okay," he replied warily.

He looked away again, wondering why he was acting so weird. Generally, Ki could be pretty outgoing when he was putting on a tough front. That, and he was also very good at lying his way out of an uncomfortable situation. But for whatever reason--maybe because he'd been stunned out of his thoughts, or maybe because of the way this upper-class guy was acting--he just couldn't seem to get his mind to work properly at the moment.

There was an awkward pause, in which Ki became fully aware of this, before the other boy spoke again.

"I'm sorry," Salem said, gentle smile still in place to hopefully show he wasn't being threatening. "Are you from around here?"

Ki looked up, back into the smiling face of the other. He paused. How could he possible answer this? He knew he didn't fit in well here, and he certainly hadn't come prepared to look like a District 2 citizen. But then again, if he said "no", what might happen? Too many questions, and Ki didn't have the thought-capacity at the moment to answer any of them.

He opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly there was a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hiroshi! Hiroshi....."

Ki spun around, and came face to face with Naoki, his older brother.

Hiroshi? Ki thought to himself, puzzled. Why does Naoki always give me that fake name?

Naoki was panting, like he had run quite far to catch up to Ki. "What....what are you doing...running from home like that? You've got Mom worried...At least....tell her...before you...take off. She sent me to....get you."

Naoki looked at the stranger and shook his head. "Sorry about the collision..." He sighed. "Hiroshi's kind of...crazy...sometimes..."

So Naoki had seen the collision too? Man, that was embarrassing. Ki looked away from his brother and back at the stranger, suddenly feeling a bit bolder now that his brother was here. Then again, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it once they got home, considering he'd left without telling anyone. He had just wanted to be alone, that was all.

Sighing, Ki looked from the other guy to his brother. He gestured to Naoki. "This is my older brother...Goro." Just to tease his brother a little, he gave him one of the Japanese names he knew Naoki hated most.

Ignoring his brother's reaction, he smiled at the other and held out a hand. "And you are?"

Yup. He was back to his old self now.

Naoki had to confess....Ki's seemingly nonchalant nature about his sudden appearance was really convincing. If Naoki didn't know his brother well enough, he might seriously have fallen for it himself. In fact, it was the younger guy Ki was talking to who seemed most surprised, though he was being pretty polite about it, all things considered.

"It's really nothing. No harm done."

Naoki feigned finally catching his breath just so he could smile back. He was thinking the same thing....No harm done if their act went over smoothly and this guy didn't suspect anything, though Naoki wasn't getting any bad vibes from him. In fact, taking a closer look at the other boy, Naoki actually felt like in another time, in another place, they might have been able to be good friends. There was something seemingly good-natured about the guy.

But then came his introduction...

Ki started speaking and held out his hand for the other boy to shake. "This is my older brother...Goro. And you are?"

Naoki momentarily considered tackling his brother.

Goro!? What the hell kind of name was that? Then again, Naoki was aware Ki was probably a tad ticked that his brother had been stalking him all this time, and he tried to shrug away the annoyance. Maybe being called Goro was better than anything else Ki might have had up his sleeves.

Goro....Naoki shook his head, but offered his hand to the other boy he didn't know anyway. He'd just have to play along.

The other Asian didn't seem too phased by the names anyway. In fact, he looked pretty happy with the introductions...was he Japanese too? Naoki guessed so. He looked it.

"Salem, from the clinic a few miles North. It's nice to meet you Hiroshi, and you too, Goro."

"Yeah, it's Goro....It's a pleasure." Naoki refrained from rolling his eyes. The name sounded even worse coming out of his mouth. Then he rethought the words of the boy he now knew as "Salem". He came from a clinic nearby? "Ano......you work at a clinic, you said?"

Naoki was thinking about the terrible doctor he and his adopted family often had to go to. She was hardly convenient in that her office was located just as far from their home as any other decent one might be, so with the prospect of there being another clinic to go to.......

Naoki opened his mouth to inquire further about Salem's words, but Salem beat him to the chase.

"I'm sorry, I thought you might have been lost, but I see I was mistaken. It's just not everyday I see someone dressed like...Well, dressed like me."

Naoki actually grinned at that one. He took a look down at his outfit--yeah, he hadn't dressed all that snazzily. It'd been a quick pick just so he could get out the damn door and after his brother. "You've got a point....but I always thought that Capitol style jazz had a bit too much going on anyway." He shrugged. "If all you're looking at is a faceful of makeup and a bunch of blinding colors, it's like you can never really meet the actual person underneath that whole mess." He laughed. "Uh....yeah, not to turn philosophical about it or anything..."

"You should probably get back home to your mother soon, Hiroshi. "It sounds like she's worried about you." Salem actually sounded semi-concerned now, and Naoki felt a little guilty. He reached up a hand to scratch the back of his neck. He felt a little bad...This guy really didn't seem all that troublesome at all.

As if sensing Naoki's thoughts, Salem turned his way. "And you might want to take a breather. You sound exhausted."

Naoki realized he'd slowly let the charade of "being tired" pass away, and gasped, quickly reverting back to his tired state. "Oh yeah....yeah yeah....Whew! Yeah, I need to....get back in shape."

He gave his brother the most subtle awkward side- glance he could manage. Maybe the one he needed to be more concerned about here was himself...It was so early in the day, he didn't seem as prepared for his usual tricks.

Sometime during their introductions to each other, Ki decided he liked this guy--Salem, that was his name. And now it was confirmed, that Salem worked in a clinic somewhere in District 2. So he was an upper-class guy, as expected. And yet, unlike in any ordinary situation, that knowledge didn't make Ki dislike Salem in the slightest.

Ki could sense Naoki's annoyance at the name he had been dubbed with. But Ki watched with a satisfied smirk as the older boy put a big smile on his face anyway and shook hands with Salem, repeating, "Yeah, it's Goro".

"I'm sorry, I thought you might have been lost, but I see I was mistaken. It's just not everyday I see someone dressed like..." Salem paused and glanced down at his own fairly modest outfit before finishing with a note of humor in his voice, "Well, dressed like me."

That's right, Ki thought. He hadn't realized it right away, but now that Salem had pointed it out, it became blaringly obvious to him. That was another thing that seemed to make Salem different from all the other upper-class people. He, like Ki's family, didn't dress as flamboyantly as most Capitolite people did. Ki and his family had always considered it was much better to dress conservatively, unless they were going out to do some mock-whoring. In which case they usually wore the most elaborate things they could. But as their regular selves, they generally wore clothes that Ki considered normal, not as intense as the popular style these days.

And simply because dressing flamboyantly was the style these days, it was really strange that Salem wasn't following the trend, as an upper-class guy.

Ki was suddenly staring at the older boy with some new-found admiration. He'd never felt any sort of feeling like that for someone who came from the upper districts. But evidently, this guy was a little different than the others, something Ki had picked up on right from the moment he'd met. It felt strange to not harbor a grudge against someone from District 2, but suddenly Ki felt himself wanting to get to know Salem better.

He realized a moment later that he'd been so lost in thought, he'd missed much of the conversation. He was lucky that he came back to reality just in time for when Salem was addressing him by his fake name.

"You should probably get back home to your mother soon, Hiroshi," Salem said, turning his attention back on the boy. For moment he thought about his own parents, and how they probably wouldn't know or care if he ever went missing... and what about his brothers? Would they be like Goro, or too caught up in themselves to notice? Without realizing it, his pleasant smile dropped ever-so-slightly, no longer reaching his eyes. Salem wrapped his arms around himself from the chill he felt, though it was only partially due to the cold air. "It sounds like she's worried about you."

For a moment, Ki wrinkled his nose. He was sixteen years old, after all! Even if his mother were still alive...well, he felt silly being treated like a child. Even if he looked a lot younger.

But he didn't want to leave yet anyway, even if Nao--Goro wanted to. They'd only just met Salem. It would seem a shame to leave so suddenly.

"It's fine," Ki assured Salem. "She worries all the time. Sometimes I think she's more of a kid than I am." He was thinking of his orphan sister/mother, Nozomi, the only girl who lived with him and Naoki and their "family". She could be quite childish when she wanted, even though she was three years older than Ki. He smiled as added emphasis.

When Salem later mentioned that Goro looked tired, the other boy began exaggerating his previously breathless state. "Oh yeah....yeah yeah...." Goro gasped. "Whew! Yeah, I need to....get back in shape."

The concern on Salem's face faded slightly. "At least you got a bit of a start on your exercise today," he said with a touch of humor in his voice.

Ki smirked. Evidently, Salem wasn't falling for that one. "Yeah, nice going, Goro," Ki teased his older brother, sticking his tongue out at his older brother.

He returned his gaze back to Salem now, wanting to think of something else to ask him. Salem really had him genuinely intrigued. This was the first time he'd ever wanted to get-to-know an upper-class person before, and he didn't want the experience to end. Who knew when he'd meet another District 2 person like Salem?

"So..." Ki began, thinking of something that probably wasn't something he should ask, given his disguise, but that he was curious to know anyway. "What's it like living here? Being in a doctor's family and everything?" He'd always wondered that kind of thing, but had never found a person he actually wanted to ask. But as the words came out of his mouth, he realized this might also be interpreted as rude. "I mean, if you don't mind answering," he added cooly, not wanting Salem to feel pressured.

ooc: WOW. That post failed. >< I hope it's not as bad as it felt. Please let me know if you need more to work with!

ooc: I just realized that Google actually wrongly translates Tomo's name to Hiroshi...Irony. ;D

ic:
Ki hadn't really thought anything about his comment, although it made him smile thinking of Nozomi as their mother. Yuki...was kinda like that too, boy or not. The mother of their strange, little family. But what made him feel even better about it was the way Salem returned his grin.

Until it slowly started to fade. "But it's nice, having someone care enough to worry over you?"

He'd been enjoying himself so much that he'd almost missed the strange look on Salem's face, the one that slowly replaced the grin from a moment before. Ki felt himself frown at Salem's words. What did he mean? But now that Ki thought about it, Salem was right. They really did have someone to care for them--Katsuo, and Nozomi, and Yuki...Naoki cared for him too. Even if they weren't his real parents, he still had them. He wondered what was up with Salem. He didn't have parents? But...if he was a District 2 citizen, shouldn't he have a family? Everyone here was over-privileged like that, right? (Because yes, at this point, Ki had come to see having parents as a "privilege".)

Ki bit his lip, wanting to ask but knowing it wasn't proper to do so. Instead, he nodded in response to Salem's comment, unsure of what else he could possibly say. But now he was curious. He wanted to know more about the older guy. And he sure as heck was regretting that Naoki had used aliases for them. Because for whatever reason, he felt he could trust Salem with their real names.

Which was why he asked what he asked next--without quite thinking what saying such a thing would do to his cover. He mistook the look on Salem's face for him concentrating on some sort of answer, and he waited patiently, wanting to know more about the other guy.

"It's... not as easy as other people like to think," Salem said, thinking back on all the sleepless nights spent either working or studying, or even doing both at the same time. "I mean, you don't just suddenly become a doctor. It takes a lot of hard work to get to that point, and even more to stay there. You have to be able to exceed expectations to treat everyone properly."

From the way he was speaking, Ki thought he seemed nervous. Or maybe uncomfortable, talking about this. He couldn't be sure. But it was interesting to listen to, at least. Especially because Ki really had been one of those people who thought it was "easy" to get a job as a doctor, at least if you lived in D2 and had the money. He figured it was just passed down from family to family, that kinda thing--no experience necessary. That, at least, was the case with his family's current doctor. But Salem...things seemed different with him. Ki could see it in his eyes.

"And you never know what's going to happen. You have to stay on top of everything, and you have to be able to react at any time, no matter what you're doing."

Ki nodded, understanding what he was saying. It must be hard, to be a real doctor, doing your job right. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle a job like that either, seeing all the sick people and maybe not being able to help them sometimes. Ki was usually pretty strong, but he knew that was something he could just never be good at.

He was feeling some sympathy for Salem, but at that moment, Salem seemed to come back to his senses, and he smiled. "It's not often I get to enjoy a day like this. But I think I'm starting to ramble. I hope that answers your question at least a little?" he said, trying to finish his description on a lighter note.

Ki, also having become lost in thought, quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts, and then nodded enthusiastically. He gave Salem a thumbs-up. "Perfect," he told him, smiling. "Sounds like a tough job though--that's pretty admirable of you!"

"What is it that you do, if you don't mind me asking? Or..." something dawned on Salem; it would explain a few things, including why Hiroshi was wondering what it was like working with a family of doctors. "Are you still in school?"

Ki was slightly taken aback by Salem's question, although it wasn't all that out of the ordinary. He should have expected that the other would wonder about him. And it was his fault anyway, for asking about Salem first. But he couldn't pretend he wasn't in school. After all, he was still 16, still young enough to be torn from his family to be forced into the games.

He nodded to Salem. "Yeah, I'm still in school. Although, I really can't stand it. I feel like I'm not learning anything there." He wrinkled his nose, not only from having to lie to Salem, but also from thinking back to when he'd actually gone to school. It had been boring, and it hadn't lasted long. His family had needed his help on the farm anyway, so he'd been allowed to quit, in exchange for home-schooling and helping out at home. He'd take that any day, over sitting in a stuffy classroom with other bored kids and not absorbing a single thing. School was for people like Salem, who would get jobs where they could actually put what they learned to good use. Not for lowly farmers, and now runaways and thiefs, like him and Naoki.

He was slightly tempted to tell Salem that Naoki was also in school, that he had stayed back a year and was forced to retake his senior year, but he decided that now wasn't the time to tease Naoki any further. He'd let Naoki do the talking for himself.