10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Aug 22 - Late Evenings

The rain bucketed down, slamming onto the streets in a powerful deluge. Thankfully, he was stood under a bus shelter, watching it go by harmlessly. He sighed as the weather grew still worse, checking his watch.

"Jeez, midnight already..." he grumbled, looking out to the road beyond. He couldn't see much of the city, but he knew it was definitely miserable. He sighed again, looking at the timetable. The next bus that could take him home wasn't due for another ten minutes. "Okay, could be worse... least I'm dry." he looked around when a figure caught his eye. It - no, she - was running to the bus stop, panting desperately. He looked away again as she slid to a stop, panting for breath. "Horrible night, huh?"

"Yeah... washed me Ink off and everythin'..." she agreed. Her accent wasn't typical for the city, and he looked over again. He could see something was... different about her. He squinted a little.

"What ink? You mean tattoos?" he questioned. She blinked and looked over. Her eyes widened when she realised she didn't know him.

"Y-yeah, but, uh, a temporary one!" she chuckled awkwardly, looking at anything except him. He frowned, a little suspicious.

"What kind of tattoo was it, anyway?"

"It, uh, it was... it was a nekomata!" she grinned naively. Her answer caught his attention, though.

"A nekomata? What, from Disgaea?"

"No, the, uh, the real one! The whole two-tails thing?"

"Oh, the Japanese style?"

"Yeah, that's it!" she grinned, positively beaming despite being so worried a moment ago. "It's my lucky symbol."

"Weird." he frowned. "Most people see it as bad luck."

"More fool them." she huffed, folding her arms again. She couldn't seem to make her mind up about what mood to be in. "Hey, any idea when the bus is gonna be here?"

"Huh?" he looked again. "Uh... about five minutes now."

"Brilliant!" she replied. Her voice sounded... different. He looked again, and was even more confused. Her outfit had changed! He hadn't paid attention to what it was before, but now it was a simple pair of blue shorts and a nondescript white t-shirt, with a black leather jacket over it.

"... uh..." he blinked, still confused.

"What?" she asked, defensive again. "Never seen a girl in leather?"

"I've never seen a girl change outfits that quickly, silently, in the middle of the city." he frowned now. He was suspicious, alright. "Who are you, really?"

"Isn't it rude to demand a person's name?"

"It's rude to change with someone so nearby, right?" he raised an eyebrow. "Your name, please."

"Since you asked so nicely." she grinned. "The name's Nyatalie."

"Natalie?" he repeated. Had he misheard it?

"No, Nyatalie. Nyyyyyyyatalie." she grinned cockily, annoying him a little. "Gotta pronounce it right or it's one of your names."

"One of my names?" he asked again. Her grin vanished.

"Nothing, I... oh, hey, bus!" she pointed down the road. Sure enough, it was rolling along quietly. He'd never even heard it coming. He dug into his bag and brought out his wallet. It had the pattern of an anime-style cat, though he had forgotten which anime it had come from. She looked over and saw this wallet.

"... cute wallet." she grinned. It seemed more... sincere this time.