Her smile twitched just the slightest. Names and identities, right. She had to try and remember what name she had been using for the past while, needing to make a split second decision on if it was safe to use the same alias or pick a new one. There was never really any guarantee that the stranger wouldn’t connect the dots.
The somewhat short pause was covered as she pulled on the seatbelt. Pretending to be unable to multi-task was something she had picked up over the last few months.
“Izumi would be the name, pleasure to meet you,” a split second decision to use a name she hadn’t used in a long time, coupled with a smile that hopefully seemed friendly enough. “Ah, there is an apartment complex a little ways from here. That’s where I’m headed, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, Izumi-san. Really, it’s my pleasure to be of assistance. Dreadful business, being caught in the rain."
Hakuba was speaking in circles, but he hadn’t exactly prepared for this meeting, or the decidedly off feeling that it had about it… Not that he could really place what was strange; it just was.
Regardless, once seat belts were securely fastened, he pulled away from the curb and into the rain, driving down the street at a reasonable speed.
"So, ah…” he struggled for pleasant small chat topics to cover the silence. “Which school do you attend?” This was typically a safe question to ask; if she were willing to give the information, it would enable him to get a ballpark age range for her. If not, he’d know not to ask any further personal questions at all.