[Closed] Death City's Sublime Green Beast of Prey

[underspinning]

Characters: Guy, Karkat, Kuroro, Fran, Auron, Mello, Shuurei, and Aion
Location: Various Places
Rating: PG
Time: January 3rd, Early morning to noon.
Description: Guy goes on a scavenger hunt!

Comments

Either action or prose is fine!

[flowering_tea]

Completely oblivious of the note that Tenten had slipped into her abacus bag at the office last night and of the fact that her abacus has been included in a scavenger hunt, Shuurei is out food shopping this morning while the abacus sits on a table in her apartment.

There’s already a whole chicken and a variety of vegetables in her basket and Shuurei is currently examining some discounted oranges.

Okeydokey!

[spandexisyouth]

As he'd spoken with Shuurei before, Gai knew who he was looking for. It was just a matter of tracking her down, which was harder when he didn't know her all that well. He's searched for a good bit before finally spotting her.

"Ah! Shuurei!" Gai calls her name to try to get her attention. He's on the other side of a booth, which means that while he gets around he might have lost her and this way it's easier. "May I bother you for a time, please?"

[flowering_tea]

Shuurei was surprised to hear someone calling her name in the produce aisle at the grocery store and the orange she had been holding, slipped from her hand and rolled across the floor. The voice sounded somewhat familiar although she couldn’t place it at first. Looking around, she saw Gai some distance away and remembered him as that enthusiastic man on the Watch.

“Oh, good morning, Gai.” She waved and then went after the escaping fruit.

[spandexisyouth]

He followed her, bowing when she got the orange back. "How are you today? I have a favor to ask of you, if possible. I do not want to be a burden, especially when we have just met, but I am on a mission today. A quest. A challenge! And part of it relies upon you."

[flowering_tea]

“I’m fine but… A mission?” She tucked the orange into her basket and looked a bit confused since the word brought to mind those trapped and panicked shoppers from before Christmas. “Is there trouble somewhere?”

[spandexisyouth]

"Oh! No! I am sorry. I did not mean to concern you. It is nothing like that." This day was not going as smoothly as he'd hoped. But he would still win! "I have been set a challenge. I am supposed to gather a few objects before my Rival does, and one of them is something that you own. It will be treated with great care, you have my word!"

[flowering_tea]

"Your rival?" She thought briefly of her own rival back home; she didn't lose her temper often but her colleague Seiga inspired such rage that she would take her frustrations out in the kitchen, furiously beating lumps of dough until they were paper thin and attacking vegetables with sharp knives.

"But why does this involve one of my things?" She wasn't sure why she would be connected to such a challenge. "And what is it?"

[spandexisyouth]

"My Eternal Rival. We perform many challenges to improve ourselves and each other!"

He might not be explaining things well. Gai had a habit of that. "One of my students, Tenten, set us both on a challege of gathering items from specific people and bringing them to her in a sort of race. You have an abacus? That is what my list says." Scrolling through the messages on the network, Gai showed her the one from Tenten. "I will promise that no harm will come to it!"

[flowering_tea]

Shuurei recalled meeting Tenten once when she had gone to observe morning training. "The girl with all the weapons? She's your student?"

She's still a bit puzzled as she looks at the message on Gai's communicator and wonders why Tenten included her on the list. “Yes, I have an abacus. But it’s at my lodgings and I need it for work tonight. I use it to calculate the accounts at the office and make sure everyone gets the correct pay.”

[spandexisyouth]

"She is, back home and here. I have trained her for a few years!" Tenten was a topic he could talk on for quite a while, but right now he didn't have the time.

He nodded, understanding. "I will take care of it and get it back to you before tonight, if you let me borrow it? What time do you need it by? I will make certain that it is returned by then."

[flowering_tea]

"Well, okay. I start work in the office at 6 so I'll need it back then." She shifted the shopping basket from one hand to the other as she added a tangerine. "But I don't have the abacus with me and I need to finish my food shopping first." She was about done but still needed to go to the cashier.

[spandexisyouth]

"By six it shall be!" Gai frowned. He was in a bit of a rush. "What do you still need to gather? I can run and get it! This will be the fastest shopping trip you have ever had! Or I can carry you on my shoulders and we will go through the store at great speeds! Let us make this a shopping trip to remember!"

[flowering_tea]

"No, that's not really necessary! I just wanted a couple more tangerines." She thought Gai's suggestion of carrying her a bit outlandish and put her hands up in protest. Unfortunately, the gesture caused the shopping basket to crash into a stack of oranges, sending brightly colored fruit rolling all over the floor. "Aaaah!"

[spandexisyouth]

That was one of the worst things that oculd happen. But Gai was prepared. "Go ahead and get your tangerines! I will pick up all of these in two minutes and meet you at checkout, and if I am not done in two minutes I will walk back to your place with you on my hands!"

True to his word, he began hastily scooping up the fruit, stopping the ones that were rolling around and stacking them as quickly as possible while still taking some care. He didn't want them to fall over again.

[flowering_tea]

"I'm sorry!" She felt bad about leaving Gai to clean up this mess but he seemed to be in a great hurry so she grabbed the tangerines and hurried over to the checkout area, where another delay waited. Only one cashier was on duty so she was forced to get into line behind two other shoppers with very full carts.

[spandexisyouth]

"It will be fine!" Though really, it would have been easier if they were bananas instead of things that liked to roll. No matter. This whole thing was a challenge, and Gai would deal with whatever added difficulties came his way. The oranges got stacked with a speed that was probably surprising to anyone who didn't know him, and then he was dashing... to get in line.

Gai focused and stayed calm. He didn't need to put any more pressure on Shuurei; it was hardly her fault that there was a line. All he could do was hope Kakashi was hitting snags along the way as he gathered the items on his list. They finally got to checkout, and Gai carefully bagged the items so as to speed up the process.