13: Fake gold
Amon walked towards a familiar brown-haired guy who was muttering something to himself. He was looking at his communicator, muttering something to himself. He did not notice Amon approaching him.
Amon called out, "Hey". The brown-haired youth looked up from his communicator with a jolt. When he saw Amon, the guy looked panicked. He saw Amon approaching him with a cigarette in hand and a slight, smug but friendly-looking smile on his face. Then he heard Amon call out to him again, "What's up, bro?"
He panicked even more. He thought Amon was here to beat him up for what he had said this morning. If he had seen him earlier, he would have run away. Amon was someone with a True Name. Someone who was already important.
The youth spoke, "I... I am sososorry" His panicked look and nervous way of speaking took Amon off guard. Amon, still maintaining his friendly nature, spoke, "Haha, Lol, bro, no need to apologise. I found it funny." Amon's friendly nature did not ease his nervousness. The brown-haired youth remembered the unfriendly gaze he got from others this morning after he had made that comment about Amon.
Amon, looking at the brown-haired man's nervous expression, decided to take it slow and introduce himself first. "My name is Amon. What's yours?" The brown-haired youth looked nervous, but introduced himself too. "My my name is Medichi".
To be frank, Amon was disappointed at Medichi. He thought Medichi had the same type of humour as him. Amon had found the people here very boring. It was like the gatherings his parents forced him to attend when he was young. The children there knew only to brag about their academic success or their parents' wealth. Well, he can't judge them too harshly since he was like them too, but they were the type of people who were boring and tiring at the same time. Remembering those moments, Amon couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Seeing Amon sigh, Medichi couldn't help but panic more. It was the same type of sigh people around him had given him all his life. A sigh that tells a person they are fed up with something. He panicked and spoke, "Did I do-do something wrong?" Amon looked at him and answered, " No, no its nothing, I just remembered something" As he said that, he sat beside Medichi, who grew even more nervous. Amon inhaled a deep puff of cigarette and blew it out. Amon could feel the bizarreness of what happened to him creeping up. He had been trying to keep himself steady, but he couldn't help but think about what had happened to him.
The Klient method he had banked on would not work with him because, at the end of the day, Klient was from a novel; even if he had managed to return home, he himself would return to another world in the novel. Not the real world. This was the thought he came up with during today's morning class. Amon had also thought that this was the real world, and he was schizophrenic or was suffering from DID, but at the same time, he did not have most of the memories from this body; he only knew the general knowledge about the world. He had clearer memories of the world he had come from. And this Amon was very different from him in personality.
Though he thought this much only a moment had passed. This was thanks to his attribute, which allows him to think really fast. Amon searched his pocket for another cigarette and offered it to Medichi. Though he knew Medichi was not a smoker from his personality, he still offered it. This was so that he could bond with him more easily. Amon's plan was that if he denied it, he wouldn't force it, but if he took it, which Amon was certain of because of Medichi's timid personality and lack of any sign of discomfort from smoking around him, he would laugh and discourage him from smoking when he took his puff and coughed.
And just as Amon had planned, Medichi took the cigarette. Amon took out his lighter and gave it to him. Medichi took some time to light the cigarette, which only confirmed Amon's assumptions. And just as he thought, Medichi took a puff and started coughing.
Amon chuckled and laughed, tears forming in his eyes. Though all this was planned, Amon still found it funny, so his laugh was genuine. "You don't need to force yourself, I thought you smoked", between his laugh as he pats Medichi on the back. Though it would not be a compliment for most, it would surely be one for a teenager. That's why Amon said it. Medichi felt his nervousness go down a bit, looking at Amon's friendly nature.
"I am really sorry, I really didn't mean to say it" Medichi apologises again, this time feeling more assured. Amon, with a laugh, said, "You really don't need to apologise, I really thought it was funny, and I don't really mind".
Amon then asked, "So, how long have you been in this place?"
Medichi, now appearing a bit more confident, answered, " About two months"
Amon asked another question, "What classes have you taken? Are they fun?"
Medichi answered, " Well, I have only taken the non-combat classes"
A thin layer of snow had formed above Amon's head, which made his hair damp.
"I am going for a run at the gym, you wanna join?" Amon offered.
Medichi looked as if he was contemplating something, then he agreed.
Amon stood up and dusted snow off himself. Medichi did the same.
Amon had wanted to go alone, but simply saying bye seemed counterintuitive to his persona. Maintaining a friendly persona, though he was one, he did not like people all the time. He just asked Medichi just to seem polite, not expecting him to actually agree.
Medichi had agreed because he wanted to see how Amon trained, or at least know more about him or how he had gotten his True Name in the first nightmare.