Ueno Jun's Story

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4am - Wednesday, July 29th, 2015 - Yokokawa, Japan

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Yokokawa was asleep. The island, full of hustle and bustle during the day, now had grown quiet. It was at this hour that most could hear the ocean waves smacking against the shore over anything else in the city, the whole world seeming to be in some sort of peaceful state. Takeshita Toshikuni would have been able to hear these waves as well, were he not wearing his headphones. Any reasonable person would have been asleep at this hour, but Take had gotten absorbed in a drawing he'd been working on and had completely lost track of time. As he didn't want his dad to know that he was still awake, though he doubted the man would really care, he worked under the light of his newly purchased lava lamp, the rest of his room dark. He felt a bit weird about having it, as he was sure it would qualify as a nightlight, and felt that owning a nightlight would be a bit emasculating. However, it was convenient for situations such as this one. He would, at least admit that.

Absorbed in his work, Take had almost not noticed the fact that the lava lamp was slowly growing brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. "Eh?" he grumbled as he looked over at the lamp. What the heck was this? "I guess I bought a stupid, defective lamp," he thought, bitterly. That would have explained why it had been priced so cheaply. Frustrated by the fact that it was already broken, though he'd only owned it for a matter of hours, he reached to unplug it. But doing so didn't change a thing. His brow furrowed, staring at the lamp which just continued to glow, and glow, and glow, until....

CRASH! The lamp exploded shards of glass and colorful gunk flying all over Takeshita's desk. He leapt out of the way, falling onto his bedroom floor with a thump, and stared bewildered at the scene in front of him. A figure had appeared across from him, seated in the remains of his lamp. It was a girl, one he'd never seen before. She had bright green eyes, and her long blonde hair was pulled back into two identical ponytails. He, at that point, began to wonder whether or not he had fallen asleep while working. It would make much more sense to him if this was all just a dream.

"Er... who are you?" he asked, blinking. He nearly questioned her about how she got in his house at well, but decided not to press the matter too much so early on. This had to be some sort of misunderstanding. So, after he allowed her a moment to speak, he stood up and dusted himself off. "I think you're lost or something," he said as he walked over to his drawing. It now seemed to be covered in the remains of his lava lamp, so he crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash bin. Once done with that, he turned his attention back to the strange girl. Could she have come out of the lamp? He toyed with the idea for a minute before deciding that it was nonsense. That wasn't possible. There had to be a better explanation...

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---

The sun trickled in and hit Isao's face, he winced and groaned as he shifted in bed. Last night had been weird, that's for sure, now he had a woman in his bedroom. Not like it mattered much though, Isao had women over all the time. Friends of course, not one for romance. With a sigh he glared up at the window and muttered something about how one day the sun would regret this outrage.

Standing up and grabbing his button-up shirt, he looked around his room and looking for Elise. He could've sworn she was in here. Maybe she got fed up and stormed out or something. He supposed she could have gotten bored or decided maybe she didn't wanna be his genie or whatever. Isao didn't really care either way.

"Hey, so Elise? If you're hiding somewhere I'm just gonna warn you. I am a champion at hide and seek and I shall not be defeated by an amateur such as yourself. Although on the off-chance you ditched me, I hope you have safe travels and such. Oh or if you're in my bathroom, don't use all my bubble-bath. That is expensive." Isao whipped out his cell and scrolled through his contacts to his friend Jun.

[I'm bored. Entertain me.] Hitting send he tossed his cell over onto a pillow and walked over to his closet. He yawned, it was 10:30 am, but it was too early. Most people would be freaking out, asking the genie all sorts of unimportant questions. Trying to find a loophole to get more useless wishes and such, all of which was just wasteful of his time. Instead he figured he'd just go on as usual, or maybe try to return Elise to the shop, sounded good to him.

"Hey Elise, we're going out, come out so I can cling on you while we walk cause I'm scared of the outdoors." Isao said in his better little boy voice. Boredom led him to do strange things, he thought maybe he'd just try to mess with Elise and who knows on their way to the shop to return her, he might change his mind about the whole deal.

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It is dark enough outside that one can still see the stars and the moon, presenting Jun's favorite sort of night sky, had she been awake. For the moment, however, she is fast asleep, as she usually is at this time, and everything about her is very much the same as well. Save, of course, for a new addition to her small library of reference books, purchased from an antique shop that was strange to the girl, who knows the rest of the town like a sailor knows the constellations. That, and another item acquired from the same store, one which stands out quite a bit more than the book: an old lava lamp on her bedside table. Were Jun a lighter sleeper, the gradual brightening of the lamp might have awoken her. However, she has inherited her father's sleeping habits in that nothing short of a passing train can wake the girl up, and remains blissfully unaware of the bizarre changes of the lamp. That is, until a steadily growing crack in the lamp finally brings the entire thing to shatter, and a piece of glass slices past the girl's cheek. Even she must be disturbed by a something that stings so much. In an immediate jerky movement, she is upright, looking at the glass all over her floor and bed. Perhaps the small cut on her face is far more minor than the alternative could have been.

Silence and darkness. Those were the main two focal points of his existence. It was almost as if he didn't exist, for all the good it did him. If he hadn't had some semblance of consciousness, then indeed the lava lamp might have been just that- a lava lamp. It wasn't entire silence, no, it just seemed like silence as he was accustomed to the noise of the blobs within the ooze of the lamp popping and splurching together in dull sound. So it was quite the shock when that normal existence was suddenly disturbed by a growing chill within, though externally it was simply the lamp growing in brightness. And then there was the loud crack, slowly zigzagging up the base of the glass in muted slashes- much like an iceburg slowly deconstructing and splitting into different pieces.

In a magnificent crescendo that would go unnoticed by those within the room, the glass finally lost its integrity, shattering loudly into a thousand different pieces, glass flying this way and that from the force of a genie being created. The wall that was mere inches from the disaster received the brunt of the blow. Sharp little fragments stuck into the wall, though only half a centimeter deep. It would be easy enough to remove them. A mysterious silhouette had appeared with this event, appearance and person rather hidden by the darkness that surrounded the room. A sharp pain resonated within his head, and a hand quickly shot up to cradle the side of it. Minomake groaned, his body automatically trying to shift to prop up the upper half of his body. He was the essence of what had just occurred. Strangely enough though, with the mini disaster that now lay splattered against the floor, glass shards and ooze everywhere, not a single bit seemed to cling to Amino's form.

The young man --he seems about her age?-- before Jun may be busy dealing with some apparent pain caused by the explosion and his appearance, but Jun is quite free to stare at him with no small amount of confusion. At first, her jaw drops open, giving her the stupid expression of some of the fish that live in the ocean only a mile or so from her home. This seems to indicate that a scream is on the horizon, but the girl manages, with clear difficulty, to swallow it. Did he just come- "From the lamp?" disorganized as her mind currently is, as it often is to be honest, Jun's thoughts become vocalized words midway through. Her physical gestures make clear her confliction on the matter, as she leans forward from the bed to get a better look, but her hands grip the side of it so that she cannot be pulled away. Perhaps growing up roughhousing with her elder brothers gives her the confidence not to immediately call the authorities, but more likely it is that she is still half stupid with shock.

With the silence following the explosion, Jun can't help but to feel as though this strange entrance is lacking somewhat. The lack of action makes it seem entirely, well, anticlimactic. This allows her to relax by a few degrees, though she does not move from her position of perceived safety on the bed. "Quite an entrance-- who are you?"



Mino may not have been paying attention at first- too occupied by his own appearance to give a thought towards anyone else possibly being there as well. It should have occurred to him, as he was a genie and had some basic knowledge, but he was too sluggish and disoriented at that moment- but he was not so absorbed with his current dilemma as to miss the words that broke the silence of the room. His head jerked up, eyes suddenly flashing open and hand dropping to the ground to form a fist with his other one. A hostile appearance flickered across his face, though it was probably missed as the girl across the room would most likely be rather consumed with the notion of his eyes. His right eye, a dull gold, provided a slight luminescence to the room- but ever so dim and hardly a remarkable thing, at least when compared to his left one. A blood red orb, glowing brightly in the darkness except for the center of it, the pupil, which was a black darker than the surrounding area, took center stage and thus demanded all attention.

But the range of light was diminished quickly, as Minomake's eyes narrowed harshly. He quickly shuffled backwards until his back hit the wall, palms scuffing over sharp glass shards and creating small cuts and gashes as he went. Confused, disoriented, and feeling as though there were a threat to his person, thus was the reason he reacted in this way. He didn't really seem to notice the pain in his hand, as he was so focused on the figure of the girl on the bed. Her question as to who he was resulted in a deep frown and he was about to answer in a sharp, sarcastic manner when he remembered his purpose.

There was a light grunt of frustration before he answered her, eyes still narrowed and facial expression altogether none too happy. "Minomake," His tone was short and rough, obviously displeased about this whole situation and grudging every second of it, "A being of magical properties, a genie if you will, apparently." He did not deign to even look at her as he spoke, rather glaring down at the floor and the globs of lava lamp that lay scattered about, digging his nails into the floorboard. This was strange, even he could admit it, and none of it was pleasant. Well hey, maybe he had gotten a reasonable master who wouldn't drag him about and perhaps they would leave him completely alone. Bloody Likely. He thought sourly to himself, now looking up to analyze the girl sitting atop the bed and leaning towards him with interest. Things could probably be worse- at least he wasn't naked.

"I'm here to grant three wishes of yours," He grit his teeth, his voice grudging, "Though nothing as dirt stupid as love, life, or more wishes." Amino did not rise from his position against the wall, simply staring at the girl with a slight hint of contempt. "So, who the hell are you?"



A genie? Never one for tales of fantasy, despite her great love for exploration, all Jun is left to assume is that this man is not quite all there in the head. Her confusion softens somewhat, with her decision that this must be the case, but still her mouth is dropped open as is the girl's habit when thinking. Then again, where would he have come from? Why would the lamp have broken? Already the girl is convincing herself of the smallest possibility that his strange claim is, in fact, reality. Slowly, Jun stands up and takes a few steps closer to this Minomake person, studying his face, which is none too inviting. His mention of her not being able to wish for love, life, or more wishes she accepts readily. The girl does not wish for immortality and thinks love is better built naturally. Besides, she's seen the American cartoon, Aladdin, before.

To those who know of her complete lack of sense of personal space, the fact that she immediately gets so close to this strange boy is unsurprising. For anyone else it might be quite jarring, for already she has crossed the room and is standing hardly a foot away from him. Jun figures that if he is a threat, she can take it (likely a case of slight overconfidence), and if not she might as well figure out all the details of what is happening. Jun is very close to being nosy in her curiosity, actually, the line being one she treads somewhat shakily. She then remembers his question, phrased a bit more harshly than hers had been. "The person who lives in this house. Ueno Jun. Are you really a genie? Is that why your eye is red? It looks so cool." she tacks the last part onto the end with the remains of her skepticism, not entirely swept away. As she speaks, Jun is searching through the pocket of her pajama pants for a hair tie. The young woman very rarely has her hair down outside of the house, and feels practically naked with it down now. The small cut on her face, having not bled too much, is already forgotten. "Do you belong to the old man at the antique shop-- I mean not belong I suppose because you're a person-- well maybe not a human person but that is to say--" Jun bites down hard on the inside of her cheek to put a quick end to her rambling.

"Um. Would you like a drink?" she asks brightly, hoping to sweep away her previous verbal mishap.

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Minute did not move as she finally clambered off of her bed, taking an inquisitive step towards him. He simply watched her, eyes narrowing further as he silently willed for her not to come too close. But as was his fortune, no such luck. It seemed she had practically made leaps and bounds across the room to near him, to which he responded with a slight growl and pulling his legs closer to his chest, fists clenching and head tilting away from her. She was only a foot away from him- and this was a fact the he did not like. Very much one for personal space, and even moreso on the premise of being touched, Minomake was no doubt growing more and more uncomfortable by the millisecond. His appearance nor countenance changed with her answering of his question- it had been a formality, and a poorly phrased on at that. So her name was Jun, if he guessed name order correctly.

However, with mention of his eye, he visibly tensed, his body language taking on a display of threateningness and his hand quickly moving to cover it. "That's not any of your bloody business." He practically snarled, not believing for a second that she was sincere in her awe of it. That was another touchy subject- the eye and the touching. She'd already crossed the line on one, but perhaps there might be a bit of saving grace should she remain in her own respective areas. With her movement of fishing something out of her pocket, Amino is now the one who is a bit skeptic- unsure as to what she was doing. When she simply produced a hair band, he ignored whatever else it was that she was doing, now having confirmed that there was no threat to be held there.

He didn't even deign to re-answer her somewhat rhetorical question of whether or not he was in fact a genie. He had already stated it once, and with how little he liked the fact on its own, he was not too eager to restate it. To his horror, she began blubbering a whole bunch of different words at him, asking of the antique shop and an old man he didn't really have much of an idea about, and then getting confused on the technicalities of his ownership. He eased up in his posture, dropping his hand to the floor once more, but nothing spoke 'relaxed' in his appearance. "Tch." Was all that came from his lips when she had cut herself off for a moment, Amino looking to the side to glare at the far wall.

With her question of whether or not he would like to have something to drink, he turned back to peer up at her. "Fine," His tone was gruff, but in this case not directly mean. "And to answer your prior question, I suppose I was, but now I belong to you." The way he said this, however, made it very clear that he was not happy about the fact.



Jun seems, for the most part, unfazed by his snarl, perhaps because she is too engaged in her own curiosities to even hear it. Her hair now completely up, she feels more comfortable. Realizing that they are still in the dark though, she leans past Amino, perhaps getting a bit too close once more, and turns on the light switch to illuminate the room. Narrowing her eyes to adjust to the sudden light, Jun looks back to Amino. She hadn't really processed his odd position, one reminding her of some wild animal's defensive posture. In fact, now that she thinks of it, this 'genie' has more than one thing in common with a frightened wild animal. The harsh glint in his eye, the posture, the way in which he snarls when perhaps feeling threatened. It's rather strange.

He's certainly making an immediate impression, if nothing else. So he'll just be here and then POOF- gone? Jun wonders, the thought strangely refreshing. On her little home island, things so often remain the same that the prospect of someone so temporary is almost freeing. Perhaps she shouldn't be getting excited in such a way so soon, but Jun does tend to be an excitable person. It's merely an inevitable facet of her energetic nature. By the look of it, he already dislikes her anyway-- another thing that she finds more hopeful than she ought to. I suppose I don't have to worry about him coming to dislike me, then.

As he stated that he belonged to her, Jun was once again brought back to the subject at hand. She found this phrasing incredibly jarring, that he immediately refers to himself as something that might belong to another person. Like an object, as though he is nothing more than the broken lamp on the ground. It's an incredibly sad thing, although his dislike for it makes it somehow less so. Had he been more dejected in saying it, more resigned, the thought would have been all the more miserable. "Belong to me? That's ridiculous. Are you a slave or something?" she responds dismissively, making it half a joke because very heavy topics do tend to make Jun a tad bit uncomfortable. She is much better with getting a group to smile than with giving bad news.

"Anyway, what would you like to drink? Water? Milk? Hot tea?" the last option comes more from her wanting some herself than thinking that Amino might fancy a cup. She's quite partial to tea, perhaps because her parents always prepared it with breakfast in the morning. Jun glances towards her door. Her parents are pretty heavy sleepers, and it's nearly 4am so they shouldn't be awake for another two or three hours. Would it be safe to just bring him to the kitchen so he can pick out what he wants? Or maybe down to the bakery-- this confusion is making Jun crave one of her mom's pastries, even though they're now day old. "Just, erm, follow me, please."



With Jun nearing ever closer, Amino grit his teeth with narrowed eyes, shifting away from her. Her intentions were not, however, to purposefully near him or touch him. Suddenly light drowned out the darkness, flashing into existence and overwhelming his senses. Minute winced, bringing up an arm to his eyes to shield them from the offending light, pupils narrowed from the sudden assault. It took a few moments for them to adjust, but once they did and he lowered his arm, he took in the sights of the bedroom. It was kinda cute, in that obviously girly way. It wasn't unpleasant, he could say that much. His musings were interrupted when his eyes landed on Jun's form once more. She was looking at him, examining him. He didn't like it one bit. Glaring at her the entire time with a reserved, unpleased look to his face, he waited patiently for her to stop ogling at him as if he were some freak in a cage.

He was one, of course, in the sense of a freak. But that wasn’t the point. When she finally spoke up, commenting on his wording on ‘belonging’ to her, and making the comment of a slave, Minomake snapped at her harshly. ”Hell no. That’s just in the user’s manual- you’re technically my master, but don’t think for a second I’m doing a damn thing you ask me to other than the wishes.”

Her tone may have been joking, attempting to make it seem less of a reality, but Mino didn’t care to respond in that similar manner. He made it very clear where he stood in this sort of screwed up relationship. She changed the topic quickly, and for that Mino was glad. With her question of what it was he wanted to drink and listing several options, he had already figured what he desired beforehand. When she mentioned tea, he immediately knew that was nothing he would ever want. He was beginning to learn more and more about himself by the second. That was good, he supposed. Sure, he remembered quite a few things, but likes and dislikes he hadn’t really dwelled on yet. Some he knew of, some he would learn of.

”Just water is fine.” He spoke bluntly and without formalities. He wasn’t in a particularly friendly mood, and perhaps understandably so. When she asked him to follow after her, Mino shot her an unconvinced, suspicious look-over. But he rose from his spot on the floor, noting with little feeling as to the mess that was splattered all over the floor, it sparkling occasionally whenever the light caught the small shards of glass.

As he stood, he lifted his hand to brush aside his bangs, though when he had finished the action, small streaks of dull red remained behind. On his hands, from scrambling backwards through broken glass, were pinpricks of blood, lightly oozing from the open wounds down his palms. They stopped shortly after, as the cuts were not deep. Another thing that was noticeable now that he was standing and his knees weren’t hiding it, was a dim crimson shade staining his otherwise white shirt above his hip and below his stomach on the right side. ”Where exactly are you taking me?” He asked, tone a bit more quiet but still on high alert, as if there was a possibility that she were leading him to some sort of slaughter.



Jun flinches, although in a motion so small it is nearly undetectable thanks to years of practice, when he snaps back at her over the mention of him belonging to her. Her intention had been to make clear that she thought that ownership of a person was ludicrous, but now she worries he thinks she condones slavery. It is best that they have moved on, for the girl, sociable as she is, doesn't quite know how to best express the fact that there has been a miscommunication. The idea of him being temporary had given her some sense of relief, and yet she still is held back by old habits of deference. Subtle deference, phrased in such a way that no one who knows her would accuse Jun of being a doormat or a pushover-- just an agreeable person who goes with the flow. That's how she much prefers to be thought of.

"Water, excellent, you're probably thirsty from, er, poofing," she throws a look around at the mess still in her room. It'll have to be cleaned up, although the fact that her parents don't often enter her room will give her more time to do that later on in the day. Perhaps after her jog, although to be honest she is doubting whether she will be able to take a jog this morning given the events of the past fifteen or so minutes. It feels already as though it has been an hour, yet the hour hand of the clock is still closer to the four. Strange, how time slows down like that. There are times where she appreciates it of course, the way father time drags his feet while she is watching the clouds, but right now it feels too long of a lifetime.

An interesting one, at least. Already Jun is wondering if this new person would like to see different parts of the island, and whether her three wishes can make for an excellent adventure. Perhaps she ought to save the last one to free the miserable looking boy-- would that work out like it did in Aladdin? "We're going to the kitchen for water," she finally responds, voice fading into a hush as she opens the door. She takes a look back at him while walking, as softly as she can manage, down the hallway. The blood on his body takes her by surprise, but of course it shouldn't she supposes. After all, he did just break out of a glass bottle. It is fortunate the young woman is not weak of stomach, for otherwise she might have had a problem with trembling knees.

Some small degree of a mother hen, though she has little of the caution often present in such types, rushes back to him to grab his hand. She is gentle about it, scanning over his cuts and frowning before looking again at the blood on his shirt and beginning to force it up to view the cut, which is somewhat more severe than those on his hands had been. "Crap, are you okay? I think we have some first aid stuff in the kitchen as well," she whispers, not thinking about the fact that she has just pulled up the shirt of a strange man. A member of the track and Aikido teams, she's accustomed to immediately rushing in to check energies, and her teammates are all close enough that most don't have a problem with it. Or if they do, they just hide their injuries well to avoid such contact, because Jun is well known for a lack of shame in such things. Her male teammates have often accused her of being uncute for this very reason.



Minomake quirked an eyebrow at her wording of his appearing, but he found it to be fine enough. It may even have been cute, were Amino conscious of such things other than being a fuzzy little ball of terror. He blinks, turning his attention back to her when she finally gets around to answering his previous question. Mino still looked somewhat unconvinced, but that was just his paranoia. Water sounded really good in either case, certainly enough to overcome any real hesitations on his part. As Jun quiets in accordance to opening the door, Amino lapses into silence as well- not a hard thing for him to do at all. He hadn't been talking much in the first place. But yes, this was, what, a sixteen year old girl? Still lived with her parents of course. Minomake may be a bit unversed in the dealings of the world, at least so far, but he wasn't that stupid. No one would be happy to find a complete stranger in their home, least of all with their little girl. With her footfalls painfully attempting to be concealed, Minute seems to have no problem with such- being a genie most likely helped, but he was also quiet on his feet to begin with.

Jun peered back at him, though, and the sudden look of concern on her face confused him greatly. Was there something on his own? Then Jun was moving, quicker than he expected, and suddenly had his larger hand in her smaller one. A look of horrified shock flickered across his face, and he immediately took a step back with a sharp gasp, attempting to immediately wrench it free from the touch. But Jun seemed to have an iron grip- another surprise to him- and did not let him go in the slightest. While she's completely preoccupied with scanning over his palms, a bit of an eye twitch and trembling lips begin to play across his face. He didn't even know this person, to hell if she was his master or not. He did not want to be touched. He definitely looked uncomfortable, but with the fact that he could do nothing about his predicament since Jun was so hellbent on her dealings, he tried his absolute best not to yell, curse, or snap at her. Instead those emotions played confusedly across his face- a twitching frown and gritted teeth.

It was just his hands- he could deal with that. Not like she was encompassing him or getting touchy feely with the rest of his person. Orrrrr not. She was quick, and constantly catching him off guard to boot, as now her fingers brushed against the skin of his lower abdomen, sending a small tickle up his body but forcing his teeth to grind harder together. She practically ripped his shirt from its rather comfortable position laying freely over his hips, ushering it up over the somewhat bloody spot it clung to. It stung a bit, that was for sure. He glanced down for a split second to see just what it was she was doing, and saw the wound there. Before it had just been a dull ache he had not noticed, but now he realized that it was more serious than that. Not serious in a dangerous way, per say, but worse than the little dull, throbbing irritation he had simply shrugged it off as.

A slight chill raided his sides despite the fact that it wasn't that cold in the house, simply a reaction to his abdomen now being completely put on display. Not that it wasn't a sight to see or anything- toned muscle and a light hint of abs and whatnot, but that was completely besides the point. Minomake's hand shot down, closing around Jun's in a somewhat harsh manner, attempting to wrench it off of his shirt and away from his body. "What the h-" He had parted his lips to hiss at her, but she seemed to beat him to it, albeit it a much gentler tone- one he was not expecting.

She adressed the issue, making it clear that all she was concerned about was the wound. Wasn't an excuse for her invading his personal space, but it was a good enough reason. Though Jun knew him as well as he knew her, which was hardly at all. The fact that she would simply jump into action without actually thinking of consequences definitely made him uneasy. She mentioned first aid, and Mino let his words slip into a simple, incoherent grumble.

"Fine, whatever. ...It's not that big of a deal." He added lamely. He was rather relieved when Jun finally got away from him and started to head off towards the kitchen. He hesitantly followed after her, but he was definitely not happy about it.