An unfamiliar voice was to blame for the interruption of his scheming.

"They shoved you off too, huh?"

Kyoya had to thank his stars for not getting whiplash from turning so quickly. Upon looking to his right, he caught sight of his company.

Standing with her back to a sturdy oak, a girl eyed him with a sort of indifferent curiosity; a gaze that inspired both insecurity and anticipation. She was only a hair shorter than him at around 5'11", with light crème skin occasionally dotted with darker brown freckles. She didn't look any older than eighteen, likely more towards mid-seventeen.

The girl sported cinnamon-auburn locks that flowed in gentle waves down just past her lower back, then transitioning to cascading blonde curls near the ends. Above her left brow, a monarch butterfly bow with an amber gemstone positioned at the tie allowed a windswept tuft to curve outward and then back up toward the clip, ending in a lighter blonde. Her face was fair, somewhat lean and sharing those freckles near her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

Piercing amber eyes offered him no choice but to meet them, shimmering in what afternoon sunlight managed to penetrate the canopy, and sending that radiant gleam right back where it came -- magnified tenfold. Her framework was well defined, shapely enough to be called of above-average athletic build, and yet still managing to retain a curve or two about her.

No complaints arose from the Miscreant, though: he was all for a gal that could throw punches and catch eyes all at once.

She wore a sleeveless, silvery grey bolero-cardigan top on a teal and black v-neck tee, leaving snippet of her stomach exposed. An inch or so down from the end of the shirt, the girl fashioned herself in a skirt of identical design to the tee, with dark grey knee-high socks extending above grey, black, and white dyed leather running shoes. Her cardigan's collar reached all the way around her neck and opened wide at the front, too far to be buttoned closed, so he assumed this to be exclusively for style.

It would have been entirely possible for him to continue staring if she hadn't spoken up again.

The girl raised a brow. "You there?"

Kyoya ran a double take and stood with a jolt, composure all but leaving in the moment. "Everything alright?" She laughed a little, that humor doing a bit to ease his nerves.

It took him a moment to speak comfortably.

"Yeah, no sweat. Made me jump, is all." He returned the gesture with as genuine of a chuckle as he could give, at least mostly leveling out whatever tension had come over him. "They just told me something about needing to be checked, and then didn't really follow up with anything, so I up and left. Same with you?" His head tilted slightly.

"Just about sums it up. I watched those guys turn you away like that, so I take it you also came here to hatch some plan to get in?" She nodded.

This girl's intuition was right on the mark.

Though, so far, he didn't feel there to be any threat posed by being transparent, as even if they were strangers, there was a very clear common goal in mind. He'd always been one in favor of cooperation where it could be applied, especially if gain went his way.

"Right on the money. I don't know what their deal is, but something about all that doesn't settle right. At least, to me, anyway."

"No, I'm right with you on that one. Dunno why a gal can't just enjoy a festival, buuuuut-" She trailed off, peeking through some of the underbrush, presumably back towards the gate. "Now I've got a mystery to solve... Still planning on getting in there, though."

"You must pretty interested in all that Legend stuff, to be that dead set on getting in." The boy observed, absentmindedly kicking around leaves while they talked.

"I've got my reasons, I'm sure you've got yours..." She shrugged lightly. Though, afterward, he noticed a slight hesitance in her face, as though she'd stopped herself from mentioning something. He didn't have long to think on that, though.

"...Y'know," The girl began, "I actually can't help but feel like I recognize that wacky hairdo from somewhere... Have we met?"

"WACKY?!" Kyoya recoiled, instantly crossing his arms in defense. "It's not wacky at all!" Any and all insecurities about his appearance flooded back in a flash, and now all he could think about was if he really looked so outlandish.

"Calm down, I never said it looked bad. Unique for sure, but just call it a fashion statement and you're safe." The girl seemed to be able to tell that her humor did something to keep him less tense, offering another brief giggle before continuing. "Really, though. I could swear I've seen somebody that looks a helluva lot like you at some point before."

The gal leaned in front of the tree again, adopting that same thinking pose as Kyoya had earlier. After a few moments, she shook her head and sighed. "I'll just worry about that later. I've got a contact on the way to get me in; figure I could use the good juju from helping you out anyway, so consider it breaking even for taking the time to chat."

If for no other reason, he felt inclined to accept because he also felt a tinge of familiarity somewhere. It was fainter than faint, but present nonetheless.

Could she have known him from his time in Teleo?

Kyoya had never stopped anywhere on his journey to the Shrine, nor remembered ever meeting anyone during that period. Not once did he stay in the capitol for longer than was absolutely necessary, and as such, he definitely didn't meet her there.

Despite the origin eventually being deemed as unknown to him, it's being there at all was enough to get him thinking: an unfortunately all-too-common trend.

Albeit a bit cautiously, he prodded the offer.

"What's the timeframe like?"

"Ten minutes tops. Called 'em in a good minute ago; we shouldn't be waiting long."

That caution fading, Kyoya ultimately settled on this gal being trustworthy. Whether it was because he genuinely felt so, or he simply didn't have it in him to think much further, the boy had no clue. Any newfound acquaintance would be of some benefit, some way or another.

The Miscreant even thought about how Reika and Guran would have felt, seeing him already having encountered, as well as held a friendly, two-way conversation with someone completely new, for the first time in years.

Deep down, he hoped they really were watching.

He hoped they were proud.