Despite his promise, another week went by before Kinson received a chance to talk with Luthier. That day, Kinson dropped by the grocery store for his weekly shopping. The trade district was relatively far from his apartment, even further than the BPI. The passages were larger, noisier, and generally had more traffic. It almost reminded him of life at the university before the summer started.
He liked to shop at smaller stores, instead of the massive supermarkets packed with middle-aged women. This particular place was called First Stop on the Horizon, and specialized in cheap food for cheap people. As he browsed the snack aisle, he saw a shape come flying out of the corner of his eye, and a person smacked into him. Kinson stumbled, but managed to catch himself. The offender, who looked like a young teenage girl, rebounded off him, landing on the floor with a crash.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he quickly apologized and offered a hand to the one who had hit him.
"It's like hitting a rock," the girl complained listlessly.
"Haha yeah, I guess I've been working out a bit," Kinson continued to hold his hand out, until she finally regained her composure. A glint of recognition flashed in her eye, and she quickly snatched his hand. He pulled her up with ease, another result of his hard work.
She had short brown hair and wore a stylish white dress, decorated with blue ribbons. Some expensive-looking earrings adorned her ears, and a silver necklace hung around her neck. Several jewels sparkled from the silver pieces. Her nails and hair were immaculate, and the makeup on her face was so well done he might have sworn her face was all natural. Although hardly tongue-tied, Kinson spent half a second appreciating her beauty.
"Aina, watch where you're…" a familiar voice appeared and began to chastise the girl, but it abruptly cut off. "Oh, it's you. Never mind, carry on. Just make sure to knock him down next time."
"Luthier! I didn't expect to see you here!" Kinson's eyes widened in excitement. "I've been looking for a chance to talk to you!"
"About what, the deathdream? Hah, not a chance. Aina, Let's go," he grabbed the girl's hand and began to drag her off.
"Wait, do you know this guy? What's with the attitude?" Aina protested.
"He's a nobody. Simply a selfish, stuck-up brat. Hopefully, you won't grow up to be like him…" Luthier said, glancing over his shoulder at her.
"That's not fair. He seemed like a nice guy!"
Kinson smiled faintly, watching the two as they finally disappeared around a corner. On the inside, however, he was seething. That guy pushed the boundaries of rudeness to new, unexplored depths! Just as he was about to stalk off, he glanced down and saw something on the ground. It was a bracelet, of extremely high quality. Curious, he reached down and picked it up, sliding his fingers over the crystalline face of the gems set within the thin, woven silver strands. First an emerald, then a sapphire, then a ruby.
He hurriedly looked about, but no one seemed to be interested in it. A flash of inspiration struck him as he recalled Aina's attire. It would have perfectly matched her earrings and necklace. He checked his pocket for holes, then stored it away and continued shopping.
Although disappointed, Kinson refused to allow that to dampen his spirits. If anything, his motivation soared, and he redoubled his efforts over the next few days. He kept an eye out for Luthier, but the other man had switched his schedule some time ago, preventing them from meeting. Unfortunately, Kinson couldn't stay late, for he had promised to religiously attend his training sessions with Griffon. Finally, he asked Andres for Luthier's number.
"Hey, is this Luthier?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, but I don't recognize this number. Who is this?" Luthier's voice echoed from the other side, sounding polite, of all things.
"Hey, it's Kinson. I got your number from…" Kinson broke off, stunned, as the call abruptly ended.
Kinson stared at the ceiling. "Okay, I get he doesn't like me, but isn't that too much?" he asked no one in particular.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He glanced down at the number, and was shocked to see it was Luthier. He sat as it rang a few times, then answered. He didn't want to play easy to get, after all.
"Hello?" Kinson asked skeptically.
"..." no one answered.
The line was quiet for a second, then he faintly heard talking in the background. He strained his ears and managed to make out two voices. The first was Luthier, then Aina, who he had learned was his sister.
"...give that back!" Luthier said roughly.
"Not until you promise to talk to him," Aina said seriously. The phone jostled around, a bit, and he imagined the two fighting over it.
"Look what you've done," Luthier panted, "You somehow hit the redial!"
"Why don't you at least hear what he has to say? He was really kind when I ran into him, so it's the least we can do to pay him back," Aina argued.
"It was a front! On the inside, that guy only cares about doing what he wants, with no regard to the cost of others around him," Luthier nearly spat.
"Just for a minute. For me?" Aina pleaded.
Luthier was quiet for a time. "Fine, but just this once. I can't promise I'll do more than listen."
"Thank you," Aina sounded relieved, for some reason.
"Hello?" Luthier asked into his phone.
"Oh, hello! I picked up when you redialed, but was about to hang up. You must have accidentally hung up earlier," Kinson gave himself a thumbs up for his voice-acting skills.
He could faintly hear Luthier's teeth grinding on the other side, and his mirth disappeared. He facepalmed silently. Talk about counterproductive.
"Look, I wanted to call about the other day," Kinson began.
"Didn't Aina already apologize? Just because we're rich doesn't mean you can extort money from us," Luthier interrupted him.
"..." Kinson blinked. "What? That's not it at all! I found a bracelet where she bumped into me, and I think it's hers."
He heard a gasp from Aina on the other side. Apparently, it was on speakerphone.
"Really? I've been looking all over for it!" she cried excitedly.
"Please, let me handle this," Luthier pushed her away. "How much do you want for us?" he asked, reluctantly.
"Uh, nothing? Just meet me at the BPI tomorrow, and I'll pass it off to you," Kinson said wryly.
"Thank you!" Aina pushed back to the phone, "It was a present from Luthier, so I've been going crazy over it."
"You're welcome. But it really isn't a big thing, anyone would do it." Kinson said.
"No, really. It means the world to me," Aina refused to let it go.
"I'm glad I can help, then. See you tomorrow, Luthier," Kinson hung up.
"Talk about a lucky break!" he said out loud. There couldn't have been a better icebreaker between them. It was almost too perfect in fact. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and let himself enjoy success.
Sure enough, Luthier showed up midway through Kinson's shift at the BPI. He was surprisingly accompanied by Aina herself. He nearly laughed at the contrast. Luthier's frown was as deep as Aina's smile was wide. Andres, with whom Kinson had been discussing walking in a deathdream, looked between the two and shook his head.
"Kinson!" Aina called, stepping up to them with gusto.
"Aina, calm down. I've talked to you about professional settings before," Luthier frowned.
She stuck her tongue out but then managed to suppress some of her excitement. "Do you have the package?" she asked in a serious tone.
"Indeed," Kinson mimicked her voice. "My lady," he presents the bracelet with a flourish.
"Childish," Luthier rolled his eyes, but it was anyone's guess who that was directed at. Probably both of them.
Aina snatched the bracelet from his hands and slipped it over her left wrist. Sure enough, it matched her other trinkets perfectly.
"Now then, I heard you had something to discuss with me?" Luthier asked, not looking at Kinson.
"Yeah, but it's nothing too big. I mostly wanted to return the bracelet," he shrugged.
"Then we'll be going," Luthier said, turning about.
"Wait! He's not done," Aina said, grabbing his hand to prevent him from leaving.
"It's alright. If Luthier doesn't want to talk, he doesn't have to," Kinson soothed her.
"You promised!" Aina said, looking at Luthier with wide eyes.
Luthier clenched his jaw, but then relaxed. He sat down and faced Kinson. His eyes were much calmer than before. "Very well, I'll listen."
"Thanks, Aina," Kinson winked at Aina, who mimed dropping her bracelet when Luthier wasn't looking.
'Why don't we give these two a second to chat," Andres said, pulling Aina along after him. "I'll show you the isolation room. It's pretty neat to look at."
"Is that where you keep the dead people? Is it like a morgue?" Aina asked curiously.
"You'll see," Andres said, and then they were gone.