Well Ryanâs translation and Japanese butchery went about as well as one could expect, since the woman appeared to get the gist of what he was trying to convey anyways. Now that he got a decent look at the woman, he could see that she wasnât one hundred percent Japanese, or at least that wasnât his impression. She reminded him of American Japanese population back home. Mixed heritage perhaps? He was overanalyzing things and had to mentally stop himself from doing so. Luckily his thoughts and maybe overlong staring were interrupted by the woman finally responded to his horribly mangled question. Unfortunately, she answered in her understandably flawless Japanese, leaving Ryan staring at her with one of the most clueless looks of his relatively short life. It took a moment for him to start flipping through the book, mouthing the words she stated in hopes that he would stumble upon something that would help him in figuring out what she had just said. That was it, when he got the time he was downloading a translator app onto his phone. This book thing was murder on just about every facet of his life. Luckily she either must have realized this or simply switched languages on a whim as she answered him in broken English a second time around.
It wasnât the worst English he had ever heard spoken, even if she did mispronounce one of the words, but Ryan wasnât going to say anything about it. After all, he had come up to her with the basic equivalent of slobber dribbling down his chin in the language department. Instead, he simply gave a smile as she introduced herself and held out a hand. Ryan took the hand in a firm shake, opting to stay within the English language if she could understand him. It would be easier that way, at least he thought so, since he wouldnât have to flip through a book every time he wanted to say a word. âNice to meet you, Iâm Ryan Prosker.â Ryan stated, before giving her a bit more of a once over. A dizzy spell shouldnât be common, especially in one as young as herself. âAre you sure youâre ok? I can go get you some water, food, help maybe?â
Ryan Prosker⊠This guy has got to be American, Shiori offered the stranger a smile and a nod.
âNo, itâs okay. Iâm fine, really.â
How could I not be? All Iâm suffering from are traumatic flashbacks of a time that left me with the magical ability to see the ghosts of the recently deceased⊠Fine. Just dandy.
She hadnât spoken, but regardless, Shiori was shocked by herself. Had she always been this bitter? Perhaps she had. Perhaps sheâd just grown accustomed to her own undeviating resentfulness.
Perhaps.
Acerbity aside, Shiori spoke in a friendly tone to the stranger -Ryan Prosker, the undoubtedly American stranger- as she tried her best to speak in a language that she was only semi-familiar with.
âIs it your first time here?â
She nodded her head slightly in vague gesture towards the cherry blossom trees.
Ryan gave a somewhat sheepish smile, coughing slightly as he tried to bypass the very obvious âIâm a touristâ vibe he was giving. It would have helped if he knew someone in this country that could actually spend some time with him during the day, but such was the way of life. âYeah, not exactly good at fitting into a place where the culture is practically alien to me.â Ryan stated, taking a small bite out of his yakitori trying to shake off the âfish out of waterâ vibe he was getting even as Ikeda was attempting to converse in English. He felt somewhat guilty, practically forcing her into a language she was not fluent in in order to have a conversation. âBeen wandering around, butchering your language and trying some new things to get a better feel for your country and the festival.â
Shiori had to smirk at that, for even from the brief glimpse into the manâs attempt at Japanese, âbutcheringâ had proved a fairly adequate description.
In a way, this could work for him. He didnât like the idea of simply leaving her, because he had seen one too many proud people decline help when they could really use it because they were simply too independent for their own good. âTo be honest, if youâre willing, I could use someone to guide me around and translate some of the harder words for me.â It was a bit forward maybe, but sometimes it was best to simply go for something rather than attempt to beat around the bush.
Shiori paused, slightly surprised by the forwardness of the request. Or perhaps impressed, knowing that she, in his position, would take years of aimless wandering before deigning to ask for help.
She glanced back at the man that had thrown her, and met his gaze as a breath caught in her throat. But then he looked away just as quickly, and the alien pull in her chest twinged once more. No familiarity from his end⊠she couldnât decide if she was relieved or disappointed.
Or maybe she was just going mad.
Regardless, she forced herself to bring her attention back to the young tourist in front of her, and nodded with as friendly a smile as she could muster considering her tumultuous state.
âBuy me a yakitori, and youâve got yourself a deal.â
âDone.â Ryan stated without any sort of hesitation. He slipped the dictionary back into his jacket pocket and beckoned her to follow him. He continued munching on what was left of his own yakitori. He lead them both back to the stall where he had originally gotten the food to begin with, rapidly finishing his own food before ordering a couple more from the man who didnât bother saying anything in Japanese, remembering Ryan from just a few short moments ago. As he handed over the sticks, Ryan passed him the money and gave one of them to Ikeda. âAre there many festivals like this here in Tokyo?â Ryan asked, launching right into the questions. He was hoping to keep the answers to something she would easily know without any research, but as a side objective he was also trying to keep her talking and somewhat focused. Even if he didnât know the cause or particulars about whatever that little episode was, he could at least try to make the most out of meeting someone new.
His attempt at small talk neither irritated nor shocked Shiori, despite the fact that she was wont to avoid it every other day. She hated when people thought it necessary to fill every silence with useless babble for the sake of the noise. And yet, she also acknowledged exactly how damn antisocial and morbid that sounded, even in her head. Christ, I need to lighten up.
Not to mention that he wasnât awkward about it. And his conversation seemed to stem from legitimate curiosity as opposed to forced interest. Plus, it actually felt quite nice, this feeling of a potential friendship blooming, so she replied in earnest.
âOh, yeah. Weâve got a thing for festivals.â She thought for a moment, âYouâve got the Kanda Festival, or the Sanja Festival, if youâre the rager type.â She smiled, tucking her hands into her pockets as she glanced over at him, âThey both happen in May, though. Are you sticking around until then?â
âI might be.â Ryan stated as they simply started walking in a direction, munching on their respective foods. âIâm on leave from my job for the month, with the promise of extension if I need it.â Ryan stated, not bothering to go into specifics. He had just met this woman, there was no need to explain his slightly complicated reason for even being in this country. Shiori, in turn, nodded slowly, resisting the urge to interrupt as to acquire about his particular job. Perhaps it was the cop in her, but she was prone to turning conversations into interrogations if she wasnât trying otherwise.
âBut regardless, I love social affairs, so if Iâm around for either or both chances are Iâll show up at some point.â Ryan said with a genuine smile on his face, taking in the Cherry Blossom trees with a somewhat serene feeling about him. He hadnât spent much time feeling âat peaceâ lately, so this was a nice change of pace.
âSo were you born in Tokyo then?â Ryan asked, getting straight to the point before raising his hands slightly in an almost âsurrenderingâ posture. âI donât mean to pry, but if youâll forgive my bluntness, you donât look one hundred percent Japanese.â
Unoffended, Shiori shrugged blithely, âNo, youâre not prying. I was born in Kyoto; Japanese mom, white dad.â She smiled nonchalantly as she took a bite into her yakitori, âHe went back to the US before I was born. He knows I exist, but we havenât met.â
Maybe a blessing in disguise, you never know, Ryan thought to himself as they continued walking through the festival. âAh, back to the land of the âFree and the Braveââ Ryan commented dryly, doing his best air quotes with his fingers while holding onto his food. He gave a smile at his almost inside joke, knowing full well the stereotype of Americans felt around the world. He sort of wanted to continue down this line of questioning, see if she ever bothered to try and get into contact with him, but felt it was a bit too personal for him to ask, seeing as they just met. Instead, he decided to switch the topic slightly. âSo youâve lived here your whole life then? Tell me, whatâs a native of Kyoto do to keep herself afloat? Whatâs your business?â Ryan made slightly exaggerated hand movements to signify he was trying to be light about this, but he did have an issue where he didnât realize he had entered âpersonalâ territory until it was too late. Hopefully he wasnât pushing into topics she didnât want to talk about or coming across as the creepy dude who asked too many questions...Oh man, now that was going to be in the back of his mind the rest of the trip.
And yet, it soon became clear that the question didnât bother Shiori in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to puff up with pride as she replied. Nothing too obvious, just a slight rise of the chin, a small roll of the shoulders, a little curve to her lips. Body language aside, however, she responded in a casual tone, âIâm a cop, actually.â
âNo shit? Does that mean I shouldnât reveal where Iâve stashed all the cocaine I have?â Ryan smirked a bit, taking yet another bite from his stick food. âBut seriously, thatâs pretty damn cool...you must have some cop stories, so câmon, dish!â Like a little boy in a toy store, Ryanâs face lit up with more than a little excitement and anticipation. He lived for learning about people, and being a cop opened the conversation path to so many different and new experiences that he couldnât help but relish the opportunity to pick the memories of someone who had lived through them.
âWell, I think so.â His compliments only bolstered her job-related pride, but she waved her hand modestly, a touch embarrassed. âStories?â She thought for a moment, before smiling. âWell, there is one Iâm pretty proud o-â
Her words caught in her throat as she caught sight of a girl a small way ahead of them. Or, at least, she looked like a girl. Shiori, however, knew better. As the ghost raised her bloody hand to an unsuspecting festival-goers chest, he staggered and fell, much to the ghostâs apparent delight.
One day. Can I just have one day without some malevolent spirit fucking it up?
She glanced back to Ryan, âOne sec-,â before running over to where the man had collapsed. Kneeling down beside him, she reached for his shoulder, speaking once again in her more comfortable tongue, âSir, are you alright?â
A shadow in her peripheral vision, and she looked up. Dragging her tongue across her bloody fingers, the ghost grinned at her, eyes wide behind the streaks of raven that fell across her pale face. Meanwhile, Shioriâs own expression wasnât fearful, instead, it was darkened by a cold hostility.
But the soul wasnât deterred. If anything, it was riveted.
Things took a turn for the unexpectedly worse as someone in front of them seemed to drop from what Ryan could only think was a heart attack. He was clutching his chest and collapsed to the ground, almost instinctually Shiori had rushed to the manâs aid and Ryan felt himself pulled towards him as well. Despite the general chatter having switched back to the native Japanese, Ryan got a feel for what was being said. âAre you alright?â, âHow are you feeling?â, etc etc etc. Ryan didnât bother to ask anything, knowing that with Shiori there, a cop none the less, that the situation was well in hand without him butting in. So there he stood, like a lump on a log unsure as to what exactly he was supposed to be doing, but was surprised when he looked back down at Shiori and the man who collapsed to find her staring at him with an icy glare cold enough enough to melt the sun.
âUhhhhh...did I do something wrong?â Ryan asked, genuinely perplexed as to this rapid shift in her demeanor towards him.
Shiori did not break away from the soulâs stare, and as the soulâs smile widened, she flexed her jaw in frustration. As Ryanâs voice broke the balloon of silence between the two, the soulâs eyes dragged towards to mortal. The malevolence in her (its?) gaze was palpable, and she looked him over a moment before glimpsing back to Shiori. In an act of apparent spice, she reached a pale, sharp-fingered hand towards Ryan.
Moving at a speed she didnât realize she had, Shiori was on her feet and pushing Ryan out of the way. As she stepped forward, she felt an icy hand drag itself across her back, and almost immediately afterwards, a scorching agony broke out between her shoulderblades. Gritting her teeth, she managed to stay on her feet, and wrapped her fingers around Ryanâs wrist.
âWe need to go. Now.â