If You Help Me, I Help You [ Nao X Veritas]

This was a bad part of town.

It had to be because she could feel it and taste it in the air. This wasn't a good idea. It all started with the idea that maybe she should venture out and explore downtown rather than waste time sitting around in the forest for someone who may not be there anymore. Nao needed to find something to do or possibly someone to connect with. School was just...school and like everywhere else, students parted around her as if they would catch her condition too. Either that, or they pitied her and Nao Megumi did not need nor want pity.

She didn't want to be here either. It was grimy and gross and all she was looking for was the restaurants and everything else that she heard people talking about. There was a curry shop she wanted to try, but she hadn't smelled it in a long time. Most likely those guys she talked to earlier for directions pointed her in the wrong direction because they didn't have a clue either...

Or that's what she hoped for.

She went down another dirty alley and cursed under her breath as her foot plunged into a deep puddle. Oh god, that's nasty... she grimaced and pulled her foot free, shaking out as much excess water as possible. squish. Screw it. She couldn't find it and by the time she did, it was probably going to be closed or something. Besides, it...felt like she was being watched for quite sometime. It gave her the chills, and she picked up the pace. Hopefully she could make it back in one piece. It just didn't feel good around this area.

She frowned and picked up her pace. This was a horrible idea. She should have asked someone on campus where she could have gone or possibly have an escort. Clang! The end of her staff struck a trash can and she was careful to maneuver around it with an irritable sigh. She was getting closer towards the main streets. She could sense it! Just one more street over and--

Suddenly, there was a gust of air, the smell of gas and rubber, and sound of someone's voice. Obviously, there was something blocking her way and judging from the sounds and smells, it was some kind of vehicle. Something big...Big enough for the stranger talking to possibly throw her inside. She involuntarily took a step back. It was tempting to bolt in the other direction, but what kept her there was what he said. He sounded so confident in his analysis of her. He knew exactly what was 'wrong' with her without even attempting to try and take a peek at her face or talked to her enough to know. It was...kind of disturbing. " How'd you--" He was looking for an employee...and this deal felt really familiar. Just like the last guy who proposed to her...

Her brows furrowed behind thick bangs. What bothered her even more about this stranger was the fact that she had an extremely hard time sensing him. Normal people and creatures alike always radiated with some form of mana. This felt...animated...Like it wasn't real, yet he was talking to her. She...couldn't sense him like she could sense others. Why?

No. The real question was...Why was he watching her? She wasn't anything special...Unless... "Bullshit," she spat. He was watching her! How? She didn't know, but he said he was and... "I don't have anything to offer you so quit following me," What was this guy even doing here anyway? Looking for employees? H-He probably thinks i'm some... a flash of red tainted her cheeks. Then again, she was wearing a typical school girl uniform...and she was caught in a place that smelled like money and shame. Couldn't really blame him,but still..."Besides, the last guy said that to me...and he didn't do anything."

There was a strange buzzing sound shortly after the snap of fingers. What the hell was that? Something wasn't right with this guy. She wanted to run, but where could she run to? Nowhere. This guy basically had her cornered and--

"Ahh!"

Somehow, something got into her eyes. It sure didn't feel like dust. Infact, it stung like hell. Nao yelped and hands immediately went to rub at her eyes as her staff clattered against the wet pavement. "What did you do!?" It had to be his fault! He somehow got something in her eyes. She rubbed and blinked. Colors were messy and blurry shapes assaulted her. The lights from the street past the van were so bright and speaking of the van, there was the culprit who sat patiently in the drivers seat. She glared at him and pointed, "You--" She...could see herself pointing a finger at him. In fact, she could see more than just him. Nao could see the man, his van, the street lights, and so...much more. Oh my god...

For the first time in her life, Nao Megumi could actually see.

She looked down at her hands as he spoke. He wasn't kidding... He was definitely a man of his word even if this effect was only temporary. The man had made the impossible possible and made it sound so easy. She looked down at her reflection in the puddles. Huh, so they were supposed to be green... How in the world could she repay him? Oh, right. He wanted to employ her for something. Even if it was a strange request, that was easily doable. No harm done, right? Her attention returned to the stranger and his outstretched hand.

"Yes," she took his hand in a firm shake, "We have a deal, but..." she bit her lip. It was awkward and she was honestly embarassed to be caught in this particular district. "Could you...Take me home, please? I live on campus and...I got lost so--" wait a second. How could she even ask when she didn't even know his name? Ah, well she could blame it on the shock. "I'm sorry. My name's Nao Megumi...Figured you would like to know my name since i'll be working with you."

Nao accepted his hand and got into the van without a fuss. It was warmer in the van at least and it wasn't dirty at all. Nor did it look like it contained anything suspicious. Leaving her staff in the back, she climbed into the passenger seat and took a moment to figure out where the seat belt was. Buckling it in was an interesting moment as he spoke. She grumbled under her breath as she finally put two and two together with a click.

"Giant ...Robots?" She didn't even...Know what one looked like. Judging from his tone of disgust, he didn't seem to particularly like those either. Well, whenever people talked about robots, they made them sound like robots were mechanical...and uh, the term giant meant it had to be big...No, really, really big. Something like that had to stick out like a sore thumb and as far as she knew, there wasn't anything like that on campus. "No, I haven't heard anything about robots," she shook her head and that answer seemed to satisfy him. "...But, um. I'll let you know if I see one."

What is he up to?... Nao watched her new boss as they made it out of the grimy district. His gaze was filled with determination. It looked like he was slowly starting to map things out in his head. Plans? She wondered what they were. Why did he want to know about people with mind-altering abilities? Why were giant robots bad? He was a strange, but he was a man of his word. He had given her something that nobody else could and that was enough for her. He even promised to make her sight permanent somehow. She had no idea how he had done what he did in the first place, but she wasn't complaining.

Apparently her sight was not the only thing he was willing to give. He was going to help her with...Pretty much everything. She was going to be more versatile with weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, and much more. According to him, she was average. Sadly, that was correct. The family thought of her as a lost cause. Majority of her skills were things she learned on her own. "Okay, I can do that, Mr. Veritas..." At least she knew how to get here this time. "What're you....planning to do, if you don't mind me asking?"

...What?

She just...nodded. That was...Ahem, well. It was one hell of a personal goal to achieve. So did that mean...She was apart of his ...army? "Yeah, I guess so..." He definitely was a determined individual. Nao wasn't about to judge. After all, he did what he said he was going to do with her and he did it within a matter of minutes. Doctors said her condition was incurable and others were just...awful. Nobody--Not even her family ever bothered to help her until he came along. The least she could do was help him as much as she could.

Suddenly, the armor disappeared, startling her for just a second. He looked...Normal. Sort of. Hell, she didn't know what was considered as normal. She honestly thought he was going to have some scary face underneath the helmet. But...What was considered...scary? She sank into the seat and put a hand to her head. Oh wow... It dawned on her that she was going to have to learn how to get used to this whole 'seeing' thing now that she could. Reading and writing were going to be something interesting to do. Braile would have to do for now but... What about the list he wanted? How-- This...is harder than I thought... There was a lot to be done and just thinking about it made her exhausted.

He eventually spoke up after a while. "Not that I know of, no. I mostly keep to myself. Sorry I can't be much of help with that," she actually felt bad that she couldn't tell him much. Maybe he was expecting that and just wanted to ask anyway? All she had been telling him was 'no' which made it sound like I'm stupid I have no idea what's going on. She sighed. He was probably going to think of her useless at some point and-- There was an intimidating amount of cash thrusted into her hands. Nao babbled 'what, 'but', and 'hey' as he rattled off instructions to her. All she had was a lousy flip ph-- she searched her pockets briefly for the little phone. It wasn't there. So much for having it.

So being the good little minion she was, she nodded and kept the phone number memorized. With not being able to see before, she had an extremely good memory. As long as she considered it important, she remembered it. However, she had absolutely zero experience with technology...and...Oh god, she was probably going to have to set everything up herself. "Um, okay..." she put away the cash and decided not to question how he was going to show up in her dorm from a computer. "I'll get all that stuff done and...see you tomorrow," she climbed out of the van and shut the door. Hopefully he didn't expect her in the morning because that was a lot of shit he asked her to do.

Tomorrow's gonna be a looong day...