Fresh Air For A Fresh Start

[Sotashi Kani]

Kani was happily singing to herself while sitting at one of the tables in the plaza. She had a notebook out and was scrawling away at what appeared to be a long list of things. She scratched off number two hundred and fifty six, which read get into the Academy.

With a big smile on her face she closed her book, turned around in her seat, and leaned back against the table. She was starting her path now, and with that she'd have a lot of hard times ahead but for now, she was moving in the right direction. Who knows, maybe she'd make some friends. All though, was there even room for friends in this sort of thing? Or were attachments like that something to avoid now..

Her face looked puzzled as she dipped her tea and looked up at the statue. I guess it could be worse, she thought. I could be trying to be a shop keep or something.

(Wc 161. Mft)

 

[Akane Kiseki]

"Excuse me," it came soft, quiet. The rustling of snow off a branch - the same level of careful, intent motion that led a pale hand to rest on the girl's table-edge. It was properly spaced across from her, non-threatening, trailing sight up the arm giving way to a small child of stark white and sparkling blue. That blue blinked once, twice, a gentle gaze, the only spot of color beneath a wintry exterior. He could be a corpse if he didn't speak - if his eyes, telling and focused, didn't speak for him. His free hand brushed up and gripped the edges of a quilted scarf that hid the greater sum of his face, pulling it politely down to free lips that fared no better for their lack of blush. He spoke again, trying to be just a little louder, forcing it from his lungs to the point of a gasp.

"Would you know which way it is to Rosette's? I got myself - uhm, I seem to be - th, that is to say, I think I'm a little bit ...," his shoulders sunk down, threatening to drag him beneath his scarf. White tufts remained outside the cloth, like the ears of prey buried in a snowdrift. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be grocery shopping. If you could just point me in a direction ... ?"

 

[Sotashi Kani]

"Oh hey, Ya I know that one" she thought for a second and pointed the direction of Rosette's, "It's right down there on the left.. You okay?" While her question was not pointed in a direction of concern, it was clear to her that something was up as this boy seemed more than just a little confused. It might have been the body language, or the stumbling through their words, but either way Kani wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"You need any help shopping? suggestions? or just a extra pair of hands maybe?" As soon as the words left their mouth Kani thought to herself, 'Shit shit shit, come on Kani. Don't hammer the guy with questions just be nice, stop talking, oh my god why are you still talking, stop!' "I also do know how to find the fresher fruit and veggies there, oh and sometime I find that if you ask really nice they add a little extra on the weight of the meats." She couldn't stop herself from rambling, this was the first time in a while that she talked to anyone not in her immediate family and it was becoming a little obvious she was excited to do so. 'Kani! shut up! stop, he just wanted directions!' she thought to herself once again, having a completely different train of thought than what was spewing out of her mouth.

(WC 234 mft)

 

[Akane Kiseki]

There was this dragging, chilling feeling just under Kise's skin any time he needed to speak up for help: as if he was proving his parents, bless them, right. It took so much to get them to allow him to even shop on his own. It took so much to be treated as the budding Shinobi he was trying so hard to prove he could be. It bore no animosity, just this crippling sense of shame and earnestness about his lack of strength and his need to make sure that wasn't a problem for the people around him. He could do this, he knew that. He could be more than that outcast on the farm porch, watching the first snowfall highlight excitable children in their snowball fights. He could be the kind of person that would tell himself 'go, it's okay. You can play, too. You don't have to worry. I've made the world softer for people like you.'

And yet, he was here. Lost in his city. Practically shaking under the shelter of his scarf and haphazard white shading oceanic eyes. A frozen lake. He could almost cry, not from his helplessness but the feeling of it.

And yet, he didn't.

There was something about the way the girl clamored to help - the eager, genuine way her words of advice, assistance, endearment seemed to spill from her lips faster than she could say them. It was the memory of sunlight, cracking the lake. She was just like Ichika. She was warmth. That's all it took for his fears to melt into gentle waves, his next breath even and calmer. Bum, bum, bum. It was morning again. "Thank you so much," he started, his voice bellsong without the uncontrollable wavering. "You're very nice. I'm Kiseki Akane - I'm an Academy Student. I think - I think I might have seen you onboarding? Are you coming to school here, too?" It was so much more natural in a natural presence.

"I, uhm, I don't know if I need the help, but --," he couldn't need the help, but -- " - it could be fun to shop together, anyway, if you needed something. Or if you just wanted to talk!"

 

[Sotashi Kani]

'Nailed it hell yeah' her thought was almost exactly what her facial expression showed in that moment, 'now dont mess this up and say something stupid, just agree and hang out.' She smiled warmly and nodded as she spoke, "Oh ya that sounds awesome, I'd love to!" She was thrilled to have the opportunity to hang out with someone her age, she was quite literally bouncing in place with excitement. "Oh and I'm Sotashi Kani, future Shinobi extraordinaire!" She did a small pose as if she had won a triumphant battle, but then quickly went back to standing correctly.

The rosy coloration of her cheeks became all too clear as the embarrassment of her striking a pose in front of someone new set in. 'Dang it Kani..' was playing on repeat in her head like a broken skipping record, 'You blew it, you said five whole things and most of them sucked'. She adjusted her hair to behind her ear and then looked back to the shop, "I could come hang.. if that's cool. If you'd rather not that's.. totally cool too I'd get it." Her words were genuine, always genuine. It was odd how even while arguing mentally with herself, she never said anything she didn't actually mean.

She placed her arms behind her back and rocked on her feet as she waited for the boy to answer. The excitement mixed with an overwhelming fear that she had blown her first chance to make a friend her own age. Her mom was her friend, which was fine, but it wasn't the same as having an actual friend.. Especially someone going through the same experience as her.

(WC 277)

 

[Akane Kiseki]

For all intents and purposes, this level of energy should have the squirrely child scampering for the treetops - at least, he looked the type to bolt at sudden loud noises. It was just too familiar. It had become a second home to him; a quiet beneath the fireworks above. They were always just so pretty to watch. He was smiling, a genuine if sheltered break in his deathly complexion as a light rose brushed his cheeks. There was always an exertion to being social, but thankfully the other party seemed to shoulder most of that cost: as evidenced with the girl's own embarrassment.

It was unexpected to him when his laugh rung out, practically a giggle in the way it bounced up on every sound wave to drift into the cloudy sky above. It was obvious he wasn't laughing at her, if only because there was no direction to the laughter at all. If you could sigh simply because you were burdened, you could laugh if only from exhilaration. There was just something so light about the interaction. He found it precious, in that way only a bright-eyed observer could. "You're funny, Sotashi-chan! If you're a Shinobi extraor-di-naire, this is even better! I'm sure there's a lot you could teach me. I hope we get class together sometime." He grinned further, shuffled almost fully out of the hidey-hole his scarf had become and instead stepping forward to gently place his hands on her arm.

He was going to lead her out, onto the streets, but it was more guidance than pulling. "I'd really like that. You seem really cool, Sotashi-chan. It's really a favor for me, honest. Did you just move into this area? What's your favorite type of deli meat?" There was always that same underlying sense of nerves - as if he, too, thought he could say the wrong thing and have her lose interest in accompanying him - but he knew the best thing to do here was match that interest earnestly. There was nothing for either of them to worry about. The world could be soft, too.

 

[Sotashi Kani]

Her face lit up with an exuberant joy as he approached, she had done it - or at least it had seemed that way to her. "You can call me Kani if you'd like" the invitation of familiarance was something she strived for herself, having been a sheltered child as well it wasn't something she'd often had the chance to do. She allowed his guidance to start their walk as she thought for a moment about his questions.

Neither question was relative to the other, but she figured it was a funny way to move the conversation forward and thus she'd play along. "Well no, I just wasn't around much when I was younger. I was in my house mostly, well shop.. my mom runs a robatayaki here in the plaza." She pointed off toward a grill shop, the smell of ahso based sauces and pork frying would immediately wash over the pair. "As for your other question.. I actually dont have a favorite, I like them all but my favorite sandwhich is Tamago Sando.. and unless egg counts, then none of the above.. final answer." She laughed a little too long at her own joke, before looking down at the hands guiding her.

"So then.. What is it you need from Rosette's? Got a list?" Her eyes lit up with curiosity, the ring of green in her left eye catching all the light bouncing from the lanterns outside the shops. She had always hated that slight difference in her eyes, as asymmetry had a tendency to be highlighted in the mirror, but at times like this that same flaw in her mind was something that shined in the grey of the day. She would once again start to fiddle with her hair in a nervous fashion, abscentmindedly tucking strands far to short to stay put behind her ear over and over.

 

[Akane Kiseki]

"Kacchan," he spoke, automatically, the thought crossing his lips before he could examine it further. A nervous chitter, chin burrowing down beneath quilt as if he could muzzle himself with his scarf. "K-kani-chan. It's a nice name. You can -- you can call me Kiseki! If you want." There was something so dizzying about young friendships; the stress of innocence, of being unable to proceed in any way that wasn't earnest. Children had no choice but to wear their hearts on their sleeves. They weren't big enough to hide it anywhere else.

He breathed in with a blissful sigh, an obvious shiver of hunger to the way he lingered on the scent of the shop. "A robatayaki here ... ? Ah, I love scallops! I haven't had for awhile. Maybe we could stop by if --", and he stalled, ruffling the back of his head as if frost could be shaken from white tresses. That was silly. She probably wouldn't want to introduce a new friend to her mom so quickly, especially during her work hours. "Ah, I wouldn't want to bother her, actually ... I should focus on my chores ... heheh."

An awkward moment, letting it lift away with the sound of her voice. His eyes remain practically alight, drinking in the interaction with continued excitement despite the feeling of burdening her. "I love Tamago Sando! I - uhm - I actually, my family - we live on a farm, I practically grew up on eggs. It's like with your shop ... I didn't get out much until recently, either. Mostly spent my time on the farm with the animals. Do you like working at the robatayaki?" A stride for a stride. It helped, he thought, to bridge conversation from one topic to the next - as if he was following instructions from a "how-to" guide on conversations with peers. "Oh!"

His hand had long since fallen from her arm, diving into the pockets of cargo shorts that looked slightly too big for him. He pulled out a slip of neatly folded paper, undoing it to gently clear his throat and read aloud. "Fish sauce. Ginger. S-sichuan," he tumbled over the word, "peppercorns. Bird chili peppers, one. They're just some things Pa wanted for dinner and that we were missing around the house. They wouldn't usually let me go alone, but ... I'm a Shinobi now. So I get to do the grocery shopping."

A slightly dorky smile, accentuated by a soft laughing breath. "It's like a mission for me."

 

[Sotashi Kani]

"Well mission accepted Kiseki!" She smiled brightly at his statement. His word choice was certainly interesting to her, but his actions spoke far louder. She saw this potential friend burrowing themselves, being awkward and shy, but in the same breath chasing the next part of the conversation. In that moment she knew that the pair of them were going to be thick as thieves before too long. "All of that is pretty easy to find, I usually get sent out to get stuff for the shop at least three times a week."

She thought for a long minute about the other question he had asked, it was a more complicated answer than she had thought it would be. "Uhh.. I suppose I don't like it all that much really. I think I should.. But it's really not for me you know?" She tucked her hair once more behind her ear and looked up to the clouds. She was clearly weighing that, maybe it was the fact she'd never actually put this much thought into it, or maybe it was just the new found life she was being called to, either way it was clearly something she had not put through the rat race that was her mind.

She perked up though, as pushing down things like that were second nature. Turning her face back to him, "You should totally come by sometime! It's so good, she makes some of the most delicious Takoyaki.. I'm sitting here drooling just thinking about it!"

 

[Akane Kiseki]

A light dusting of red met his ears, little twitchy things that they were, just barely visible outside of his tufts of white and multi-colored quilt. He laughed, soft, beaming with eyes alone over Kani's inherent kindness and the casual way they had fallen in with each other. "I've been doing this more lately - going out on my own away from home for little chores - but this is the first time I've gotten so turned around, hahaha ... I'm really gla - I'm really grateful, Kanichi. I know it's silly. I'm a Ninja now! ... Almost! I'm just not too good at this part yet. Ah - but I will be! We're going to be make great Shinobi. One big step at a time," a little step for someone else, maybe, but his pawprint had something bigger in the snow to fill.

He let her response hang in there for a moment's respect, mulling it over in his head with a sluggish roll of his tongue against the inside of his cheek. He breathed out a sigh, conspiratory. "I get that, I think. You don't have to like something just because your parents do. I didn't really like the farm, either ... I don't think ... I liked, uhm, being there, but I also didn't like ... not being anywhere else? You know?" He glanced over, nervously thumbing across one of his ears the same way she'd fret over tucking her hair back. There was something to say about the beauty of a wingspan - and how little birds such as they would look, just magnificent, when allowed to fly it all.

"Oh, wow, I haven't had Takoyaki in a really long time ... ! I'd love that! I probably shouldn't take too long today ... but I'd really like to, sometime, Kanichi. You're really nice. Uhm -," and he stalled, briefly, as they approached Rosette's; tapping his toes against the sidewalk at a nervous tempo. "I can just run in and grab what I need, unless you needed anything too ... ?" Please need something. I'm not ready to tuck my wings back in. It feels so nice just gliding here.

 

[Sotashi Kani]

Kani looked to the store then back the way they had come, it was getting close now to the dinner rush and she knew her mom was going to need an extra hand. This had been so nice, even though she was about to cut it short she felt that it wouldn't be the last time they hung out. "I.. I really need to get back to the restaurant.. But, if you want we can meet up for class or to hang out sometime? I really am grateful to have met you today Kiseki." She smiled brightly offered a silly salute to him, "you know where to find me" she said as she spun on her heels waving goodbye.

'That, was nice. He, was nice. I know that much at least. but.. I just.. Need to focus' her thoughts were cutting off the bright warm face she had put on for Kiseki. She was now back to what she was on the day to day, just a blank slate in a blank city. She returned to the resteraunt to help set up for the rush.

[leaving topic unless stopped]

 

[Akane Kiseki]

A hand held out, soft blue eyes melting away to a trembling warmth that he quickly masked with a short sniff and the draw of that hand back across his face. "Have a nice day, Kacchan. Thanks again." He stood at the precipice of his destination, wobbling at the step into the grocery store, and watched the red-head scamper off. It wasn't her fault for leaving. It wasn't his, that she needed to go. Still, he felt a pang in his chest once he adjusted to the new status quo - or the old one, all over again. Alone in the city.

Ah, it was getting colder still.

He shuffled his nose back into his scarf and returned to slow movements through throngs of his peers, slipping quietly into the store. It had been a nice afternoon.

[ Topic Exit ]