[center]Kyle[/center]

[i]"Christ you're not kidding..."[/i]

This guy really didn't know when to stop talking, then again Kyle had a penchant for not having a swear filter so he could somewhat relate. While hearing someone flap their gums would normally be annoying, for some reason in this instance it wasn't. Maybe it was the familiar language in a foreign land that made it more tolerable. Maybe it was for that same reason Kyle was able to speak his problems. Whatever the case Kyle didn't tell the whole story, and this guy want pressing questions, just voicing mild opinions, reassuring ones at that. In the back of his mind Kyle imagined his similar instance with Ami and feared this thing would go south like last time. The exact opposite happened, Kyle felt as he kept listening to this guy, his anger subsiding, to the point when the guy offered for them to watch a movie...

As they finished cleaning up the last bits of food, the broom and dust pan put away, Kyle turned to his new companion and said [b]"you know what man, that sounds pretty fucking cool, "[/b] he gave a bit of a smile, extended his left hand, [b]"name's Kyle Parker." [/b]
---
[center]"Trader Toke"[/center]

Toke could count on one hand how many times Ueda had gone off on rants like this. The first time it happened Toke was taken aback, not because it happened, but because up to that point he thought he had Ueda figured out.

Toke always had a knack for hiding his true intentions from others, some were smart enough to figure it out, Ueda was one such person. Ueda also has that same skill but applied to different uses, Toke could respect him for that, but he never really considered Ueda to be his equal until that first incident. It was because of that, Toke realized Ueda had beaten him at his own game. Toke would even go far enough to call Ueda his friend, though he wouldn't let the bastard know that.

This incident Toke could surmise was caused by the couple of students walking into their respective dorms. For all his intelligence, his class, his sarcasm, Ueda was still just a struggling little boy playing his terrible lot in life. A creature of the light, succumbed to the dark, for whatever reason, even Toke knew not to press that subject. And then the question was asked. Toke could write a novel, wreath a soliloquy, use every fancy damn word he knew, but he knew Ueda wanted the truth, a simple answer. He knew it too, it was the same reason why Toke had long term goals, why he used an electronic cigarette instead of a real one, why he only drank to get buzzed and not black out drunk, why he only sold the hard drugs and never used them. Ueda was just as smart if not smarter than Toke himself, but he was also his complete opposite.

Toke sighed, taking a small drag from his cigarette, he pocketed it and said, "because not everyone is as nihilistic as you are Ueda."