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Post by Ninmast on Oct 25, 2013 12:50:05 GMT -5
"An old friend?" Sonra repeated, not so much questioning his honesty as confused by the statement. "You knew someone from Japan?" Then her face lit up as it occurred to her. "Oh! Is the businessman who was letting you use his house back?"
Of course, on the heels of that, she realized the problem that would cause. "Oh. Does that mean you're out of a place to stay while staying in the country? If you need a place, I'm sure you could continue to use our guest room until you could get something closer to school."
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Alex-065
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Post by Alex-065 on Nov 13, 2013 10:21:12 GMT -5
"Well, not exactly," Ian managed to say at first. Then, “Oh, no! It’s nothing like that. It’d just that, uh…”
Temptation tugged at Ian and he hesitated at the plan it spun for him. He could lie, say that he really was without a place to stay, and then he’d get to spend even more time close to Sonra. Never mind Zach’s warnings. Never mind Zach, for that matter. What did he know? Why should Ian have to listen to such an egotistical prick, especially one that got in the way of what he wanted?
Ian’s mouth twisted in a micro expression of contempt. Zach was jealous, wasn’t he? Yes, of course.
But then, why had he saved him? The boy’s expression softened and he remembered how close he had come to being drowned by those overzealous water nymphs. Zach wasn’t such a bad guy, he told himself. He was just…
“He’s an enemy. He’s mocking you…”
Ian recoiled at the thought, which seemed somehow outside himself. In fact, just for an instant he thought he’d heard someone telling him so, whispering, and he reflexively turned to see… But there was no one, save the passing shoppers, all unconcerned with him. And yet Ian was touch by the creeping suspicion that someone was watching him and Sonra.
Sonra! Ian came to his senses and saw the way she was looking at him. “Oh, sorry! I shouldn’t get so distracted all the time. But, see…” He thought again and honesty prevailed, for the most part. “It was just a guy I’ve seen before. A chance meeting is divine karma, right? It just lasted longer than I thought.”
Ian smiled, relived he hadn’t lied. He walked with Sonra and steered them towards the food court’s colorful row of eateries. “You must be hungry after waiting for so long. Have anything you want, it’ll be my treat.” He laughed a little, innocently enough, but only to try comforting himself. It didn’t work. When Sonra wasn’t looking, he glanced behind him.
He saw nothing, but still felt something …
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Post by Ninmast on Dec 11, 2013 16:55:46 GMT -5
"Well, I suppose ..." she replied thoughtfully, looking over things and wondering what to get. She was kind of hungry.
"Oh!" Sonra chirped as she thought of something and eyed a particular stand. "Americans are always eating hot dogs, yes? Perhaps I should try one of those?" But she noticed his attention was once again elsewhere, and her face turned down in worry. "Ian? Are you sure everything is alright? You are acting very strange."
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Post by Alex-065 on Nov 9, 2014 21:22:41 GMT -5
Ian came back to himself and saw his date frowning at him with a look that pained him for his distraction. "Huh? Oh no, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I've been getting enough sleep lately, heh. But it's not of your friends' fault! They've been good to me." Some more than others, the boy reflected. "I just need a big cup of coke to help me wake up. Perfect thing to wash down a hotdog, too, so let's have at it!"
He knew his devil-tailed mentor would do something terrible to him if she knew he'd lied to Sonra, but it was too late. And it was only a white lie, wasn't it? No harm done, and no trace left of whatever had spooked him a moment before. Just my nerves, Ian supposed. How can any guy keep his cool dating a princes? A demon princess?
Indeed, Sonra's otherworldly nature was easier to overlook compared to her status as royalty. She didn't act like any princess Ian had ever known - not that he ever had. But still, the daughter of any being that commanded the respect and loyalty of Japan's spirits was not to be taken lightly. Ian feared offending her, and more than that, he down right dreaded disappointing her. So he smiled, and did his best to get their outing back on track.
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Post by Ninmast on Mar 11, 2015 22:18:46 GMT -5
"Well, if you're sure," she replied. Her tone was still colored with a bit of concern for him, but she had reached the hot dog booth and she was confronted with all the myriad choices. No less than half a dozen different kinds of dogs - Beef, Turkey, Polish Sausage, Hot Sausage, Vegetarian (a pale thing that was probably either made from soybeans or tofu), and one marked "Classic" that Ian was fairly sure was the traditional "all in" approach to hot dog meat selection - sat alongside three times as many toppings. Onions, shredded cheese, nacho cheese sauce, jalapenos, sauerkraut, ketchup, mustard, dill spears and more lined the rest of the cart, along with a selection of buns. They had found, Ian might amuse himself by thinking, the Subway of hot dog stands.
The man behind the booth was fairly typical of an Asian man running an American themed place. Everything was overdone. He was wearing a baseball cap with a football pin and a garish red white and blue shirt and a flawed flag rested in the toothpick cup. Still, he was all grins as they approached. "Welcome!" he greeted them. "Lunch sale going on! Two hot dogs, two drinks, three toppings, 1500 yen!" That was ... actually rather steep, or would have been back in the States. But, Ian might have reasoned, if the shoe was on the other foot, how often back home had he ever considered eight bucks too much for a cardboard cup of fried noodles?
Sonra, meanwhile, was entranced by the selection. "Oh wow, so many toppings!" She turned to him, eyes alight at the prospect of trying something new. "Ian, what should I pick?"
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Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2015 0:48:27 GMT -5
It was quite a stand alright. Clearly, the guy running it had studied hotdogs abroad in America. Just the sort go-getter attitude Ian had learned to expect from the Japanese people. Clearly Sonra was no exception. Her enthusiasm made Ian laugh despite himself.
“Well, I usually just get beef with ketchup and mustard, but that might be a little plain…”
An idea. Ian smiled.
“What if we both get a polish frank with everything on it, just to see which one of us can handle it?”
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Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2015 0:54:01 GMT -5
Sonra's eyes widened at that suggestion. "Everything? I'm not sure I could get my mouth around that much ... And would we be able to taste any of it?" She turned her attention to the vendor. "Ian says it's supposed to be eaten with ketchup and mustard, so that's what I'll have!"
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Post by Alex-065 on Mar 12, 2015 17:19:18 GMT -5
Ian still couldn't help but smile, and chided her a little. "I thought you were all for trying new things?" It wasn't often he teased girls, but felt safe enough with Sonra to try. "That's okay. A hot dog with everything would make a huge mess, huh? And your grandma would pound me into a tortilla if I forced you into anything - especially if it ruined your dress. Well, no fear." He turned to the vendor and cheerily relayed their order for a pair of franks with ketchup and mustard with coke to drink. "You mom allows you to have soda, doesn't she?"
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Post by Ninmast on Mar 12, 2015 17:25:13 GMT -5
But Sonra only scoffed at that as she accepted her food - Ian would notice that a Large drink in Japan was only a Medium by American standards. "Mother would not be caught dead eating public food like this, but if she took issue with me doing it, then she would not have permitted me to attend a public school. If my body can endure four years of that, I am sure it can handle one hot dog."
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Post by Alex-065 on Mar 15, 2015 1:59:42 GMT -5
"A bit smaller," Ian quipped at his coke with a smirk. Eyes on Sonra, he finished the first bite of his frank and remarked. "That's good. About you mom, I mean." He guided her to a close, clean table in sight of a nearby arcade. A moment for another bite, scowling in thought as he chewed. "I've known girls," he said. "Girls in important families, like yours. Their parents managed them everything they did, and told them most of that to do in the first place. They hardly ever let them get out and enjoy life, you know?" Ian gestured to the mall and all the people surrounding them.
"I'm glad I got to meet your mom," he said with an anxious smile. "I don't know if she was really glad to meet me, but I think it's so good of her to let you venture out like this."
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Post by Ninmast on Mar 15, 2015 14:29:15 GMT -5
But the girl just grinned sardonically back over at him. "Maybe you didn't meet the same woman I thought you did last night. My mother is everything you just described. The truth of the matter is, before high school, I wasn't allowed off the estate. The relenting to allow me into a public high school was due to the rare occasion of my mother listening to Grandmother Yatsuha's advice. She told her I couldn't be a good heiress to the family name if I never received exposure to the rest of the world."
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Post by Alex-065 on Mar 23, 2015 20:59:18 GMT -5
Ian thoughtfully munched on his dog, and nodded to concede to Sonra's point. His smile had faded at the thought of being cooped up as she had. Human or otherwise, a gilded cage was still a cage - even if one was kept there out of love. At least, Ian hoped it was love. Then again, would a truly loving mother be so over-protective as to keep her child locked away? The question was very troubling, and much too grim to decide over hotdogs. Ian kept it to himself, chuckling genuinely at the mention of the woman who, if anything, had been less pleased to meet him then Sonra's mother.
"Granny Yatsuha is a real fireball, no doubt about that," he said. "Her old armor is so cool! But yeah, she and your mom, they're kind of like yin and yang, don't you think? They both love you to the moon and back, but they really do seem to balance each other out. Kind of," It occurred to him then that, if anything, Sonra's mother - yin, the passive, negative force - seemed to have the majority influence over her life. Yatsuha's - yang, active and positive - seemed much smaller. "Well, you gotta listen to your mom, but she could probably stand to listen to your grandma more often, for your sake. Just not too much. Can you imagine what you'd be like if Ol' Fireball always had her way?"
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Post by Ninmast on Mar 23, 2015 21:20:41 GMT -5
"Ian!" she scolded, though the girl was chuckling all the same. "That's a terribly disrespectful way to speak of her!"
She took a moment to regather her wits, taking a drink from her soda as she did so, then focused her attention on Ian again. "So we've had my family to talk about for the last twenty-four hours. What about yours? You don't talk about them much."
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Post by Alex-065 on May 26, 2016 0:24:01 GMT -5
A moment's blush an a quick apology. The boy didn't want to get on the bad side of anyone in Sonra's family. Especially Sonra herself. Questioned on his own family, Ian's mouth made a hard line that quickly turned into a smirk. "Well, they're out there," he said with a fake laugh. Hearing it made his supposedly smile fade. "Well, yeah... Dad's a district attorney. He has alot of friends who are successful business types. One is letting me stay at his place here in Japan while he's overseas, so that way I can attend school here without my mom having to pay for anything." Ian figeted, absently drawing lines across the condensation on his soda with one finger.
"Mom really wanted me to have the opportunity to come out here. Normally she dosn't take any kind of help from dad. Not even child support. She's a dentist, so it's not like she's strapped for cash, right? So... Here I am. Heh, my family's kind of mixed up but it's not a big deal."
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Post by Ninmast on May 28, 2016 21:26:09 GMT -5
Sonra's expression grew sympathetic at that, her large, dark eyes watching him mournfully over the top of her coke. "Oh, your parents are separated? I'm so sorry, I didn't know."
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