Leap of Faith?

Ai Kazuma slowly made his way along the sidewalk street in silence as he had been doing for some time. The activity in the streets was on and off. Nothing alive aside from things he didn't want knowing he was alive. He kept a hand in one pocket while the other swayed at the side. He made it a point to keep to the side of buildings to keep from being seen.

It was not the best of places now in the world so he would rather keep himself alive and out of harms way now that the reasons for putting himself in it were few and far between.

Ai continued on his path as the thought of turning around to head back to his make-shift home. But as he looked to the skies to see it before heading back into the darker city landscape, something caught his eye. It was more than something, someone. He held up his hand as his cross manifestated into a bow and arrow, ready to fire.

He was about to shoot the figure in the thought he had been seen but as it jumped, it became clear...it was a woman! Without a second thought, he fired "Schalter Arrow."

As he did this, he quickly and repeatedly fired arrow after arrow as they pierced the building in a straight line going to the bottom. He then disappeared as he appeared standing on the first arrow and took hold of the girl's waist but disappeared once more to the next arrow and repeated the process to slow the girl.

Once slow enough, he stood on an arrow but this time, he held his arms out to catch the girl in his arms. He was sure to have a grateful female on his hands and willing to appease him. He smiled kindly with his eyes closed as he spoke to her

"Why hello there, I'm Mr. Ai -" He stopped speaking as he finally opened his eyes to see just whom it was he saved.

Ai stood firmly atop the arrow that now supported him and his new findings. The female quincy in his arms was not someone that he had planned on meeting...meeting anyone at this point that wasn't trying to kill him was too far off in the distance for him to ever think about it. But it was nice to see a familiar face.

"Well let's not jump to far ahead of ourselves...which it seems you have already tried to do once. The world might be apocalyptic but formality is still rudimentary. So miss Nakano...can you tell me the reason I'm here right now, stopping you from trying to break your nose on the pavement after falling off a rooftop?"

Ai listened to Hotaru as she broke down in his arms and poured out the truth along with tears. He looked down at her with pity but it wasn't the time to be giving in to sad thoughts and bad dreams. “No one ever finds life worth living...one has to make it worth living”

He then looked out of the ruined landscape and nodded his head firmly and somehow threw a smile on his face “Have the courage to live. Anyone can die. I intend to live forever, or die trying.”

Ai continued to smile through and through and there were times, few and far between, where he wasn't. No woman liked a man that couldn't smile and look happy. So you had to think positive if you ever had a chance with any woman if you couldn't smile because then, who would make them smile, that was always the best thing for a female to wear.

He slowly opened his eyes as she spoke and he nodded his head slowly as he slowly looked out over the city as the ruined buildings and street-ways. "I plan on trying because if I don't, what kind of man does that make me? It's only right to be stubborn and go against it all for what you believe in. And I believe that once you hit bottom, the only way you can go is up."

Ai nodded his head to Hotaru as she spoke of his optimism and he laughed lightly and replied as she thanked him "Oh, you just needed a nice reminder and a pick me up, both of which I just so happened to be giving out today for free." He smiled as he took a small leap out and gracefully landed on another of his arrows and repeated this until they were on solid ground, ground.

He placed her on her feet as he then put his hands on his sides and then nodded his head "There, safe and sound and on the ground."

Ai chuckled lightly at the fact of her saying that she owned him anything. Wasn't it right to make sure a student knew right from wrong, correct the mistakes they would make so they can do better in the future? He continued to stand firm as she spoke to him, another question and he was more than happy to answer "Yes miss Nakano?"

Ai listened as Hotaru came forth with her question as he gave him a quizzical look. He slowly took in a deep breath as he really was not to sure on how it was he was going to answer the question but lying wasn't going to help anyone's situation.

"No, I haven't but that doesn't mean there not out there. I'm sure you didn't think I'd make it but..." He gave his shoulders a shrug "...here I am. I'm not sure on who is left and who isn't but if your here, and I'm here, then there has to be others."

Ai watched as she smiled and he nodded his head and then listened as she spoke about heading out to find more Quincy. He slowly let out a sigh as he then turned around and pointed into the city "Hotaru, If you ever need to find me again, look for the Karaoke Karaoke ladies club in town. You don't have to go but I wont stop you. If you have any trouble, shoot an arrow into the sky."

Ai watched as the girl gave him a bow and he smiled kindly at the girl. He took in a deep breath as he placed one hand onto the back of his head while the other placed another hand on his hip "I try and keep myself under the radar but still got the presence."

He then watched as she started to walk away. He let out a sigh as he raised his hand up and turned around himself. He waved lightly in the air and then went on his own way.