blossoms scatter, leaves fall.

oh, so the newbie could fire back. this got more interesting. it wasn’t anything that he said, but she could tell he was irked. good, now she had something to play with. she could feel sheer judgement surrounding him, so she had a reason to fire back anyway.

”you just get here too then? what year are you from, the jurassic era?”

"Jurassi—" He audibly scoffed this time.

Now his patience was being tested. From this point on, he knew that she wasn't trying to help him at all. She was just here to make fun of him, and whatever her reason was didn't matter. Shunsou's eyebrows furrowed, turning to look at her. "Yes, I did just get here," he says with a bit more force. "I don't really know what you'd get from learning from where I am, considering we're both here now. Look, I don't want you to waste my time and I don't want to waste yours. 

           While the young woman had her assigned housing in the Fibonacci Ward, the Cotes Ward is where she felt most at home. It looked most like her own home and time period, of course, but the calming atmosphere drew her in completely. While the architecture had been modernized in some areas ( Little Tokyo especially ) there were still enough remnants of old Japan for her to feel at ease.

Her most recent hobby was exploring the Ward as much as she could, traveling from place to place ( avoiding the Red Light District, however ) and taking in the atmosphere or participating in activities offered. Today she wandered the fox village, beloved by tourists. It was relatively quiet that day, bipedal foxes going about their business whilst a few sight seers snapped photos on their smartphones.

Kayo sat at one of the small tables provided for visitors, quietly observing the going-ons whilst sipping tea, complimentary for the guests of the village. She is soon taken out of her reverie by the arrival of a stranger, attire very reminiscent of home. Surprisingly few people in Cotes wore traditional clothing, opting to wear modernized outfits and ensembles.

Golden hues flutter shut once, twice, before words come to her, surprise melting away into a gentle smile. Porcelain countenance relaxes as she puts her cup down softly, greeting the other with honeyed voice.

            ❝   It’s quite alright, it’s not often that I see anyone who looks…well,                  anything like anyone from my time. Are you from…the past, as well?   ❞

Shunsou's shoulders relaxes itself as he received warmth reassurance from the girl. At least she wasn't completely deterred from his odd behaviour; even Shunsou knows that approaching a stranger for any reason was anything but appropriate. But he found himself drawn to her; the familiarity was something he yearned for in a strange place like this. For what it's worth, this was also a perfect opportunity to find out answers from somebody— somebody who could possibly share the same thoughts as he did. 

From the past, as well, she says. The possibility that he was transported somewhere to the future was a thought that lingered in his head for awhile, but actually seeing someone casually bring it up gave him half of an answer to his question of existence. 

old man

”oh, nothing. just trying to remember what year it was when i last saw someone dressed like…that.”

she walked slowly towards the stranger she picked out, eyeing him over. once more. he wasn’t too much taller than she was, on the younger side. extremely stiff, too tense, his back was probably so rigid it would snap like toothpicks if he moved too fast. probably just arrived, like her. she couldn’t help but give a small smile. guys who were clearly trying hard not to display how clueless they were amused her.

”you look confused…let me guess. never seen a skyscraper before, have you?”

The girl was quick to insult him. Shunsou could only scoff at her snarky remark, staying quiet with a stoic expression on his face. Funny she mentions the way he dressed; at least it wasn’t anywhere near as indecent to whatever she was wearing, or lack thereof.

      “Ten feet is too far.” she whines. “How about five? Any further away and it’ll look like I’m following you like a stalker. You’re the one walking me home, not me following you to your home.”

       She’s honestly never been walked home in such a weird manner. Usually the glasses would hold her arm or walk behind her. Not the other way around of her trailing after this guy. Well, he was foreign so it’s not like she could fully blame him. Different cultures sure, but even then isn’t this a little too cruel? She wonders if he even has any experience with any girls if hes this cold. Sure, he had a really cute face but that can’t save a personality.

        “You’re a very quiet guy, huh?” she mused, mostly to herself. If she had to carry this conversation to make this walk anymore awkward than it had to be, so be it. She was thankfully an excellent talker. Years of sweet talking boys really came in handy for situations like this. “What district are you housed in? I can tell you how to get back if you’d like since you’re new and all.”

Shunsou breathes a heavy sigh. Who was he kidding? He literally attempted to walk away from this girl and she somehow insisted to stay. Why did he even try to tell her to do something that would make him comfortable? Literally anything at all?

Even then, Shunsou was pretty good at keeping his cool. This was bothersome, of course, but even he knew how to handle his mental priorities and put his mind to where it matters most. Bothering with her, complaining about her... It was for naught. The walk was quiet for awhile, until she began to prod for his attention by asking him questions; Shunsou, while initially reluctant, decided it was okay to at least answer her. The more he feigned conversation, the more she’d just attempt pry for his attention.

“First question, yes,” he responded. “Second question, Cotes Ward.”

He kept his head forward, refusing to turn to look at her. “If I knew how to get to where I am now, I’d know how to get back to where I came from.”

Being mindful of his steps, Shunsou walked the streets as he carefully examined each and every landmark. It was only about a day of his stay that he's admitted defeat to ever really finding out what or where he is. He was probably just somewhere he's never been before—the technological advances of those in the West were noticeably different than it was back at home in Tokyo; electricity was one of technology that Japan has yet to adapt. His situation was probably just something similar to that. But even then, he can't shake the lingering feeling that maybe this place was too advanced.

Perhaps somewhere in delving into his own thoughts, he must’ve stopped paying attention to where he was going. Seemingly bumping into someone, he takes a step back to recollect himself and quickly apologize. But his eyes were faster than his mouth—that university uniform. That style of gakuran was... exactly what he's wearing, actually.

      A name to the face, perfect. She smiles up at him, finally releasing her grasp on him. Rosetta got what she wanted now, and she knew if she kept bothering him it wouldn’t be the outcome she would want. If he came to completely hate her it wouldn’t be so fun afterall, right? 

      “Shunsou…” she tested out the name on her tongue. It was syllables she wasn’t used to. Definitely foreign. Not that she minded, it made him more interesting. “What a pretty name.”

        “Are you new? If you are I can show you around? A little apology for mistaking you for someone else is in order.”

Not really... He whispers to himself in response to the unexpected compliment to his name. With her unusual name and odd pronunciation of his, there was no doubt she’s a foreigner, if her blonde hair and blue eyes didn’t give that away already. Foreigners like her weren’t an unusual sight for him; Tokyo was populated with a considerable amount of them.

Guess now that he thinks about it, she’s not that foreign, after all.

But, I digress. His stay with her was getting too long for comfort, and he seized the opportunity of escape.

     Well,  he didn’t shake her off which was a good sign. But he did seem definitely confused, which was a fair reaction. Rosetta chose to ignore the disgust in his eyes and settled on clinging tighter onto his arm. He was probably the cutest boy shes seen thus far during her torturous stay here. One can’t just simply let them go when they’re such a premium find. She wanted him.

        “Oh how rude of me, my apologies. My name is Rosetta! Now we’re no longer strangers, right? So you can tell me your name right?”

They’re no longer strangers. Great. It wasn’t that difficult to decipher her body language that she wasn’t going to just leave. It was his first day here at this place, and it’s already getting weirder by the minute. Surely this lack of personal space isn’t the norm here, right?

His arm slowly felt heavier pressure—she held on tighter. You know what, what the hell. It’s not like he had a choice at this point, anyway.

There was a small pause before Shunsou could finally answer.

His eyes surveyed the new area around him. Nothing seemed familiar at all, not the air, not the place... not the people. His loose hakama paired with his haori was a stark contrast to most of the inhabitants here, and Shunsou immediately felt rather out of place.

But the anxiety quickly let itself go as his eyes caught something rather familiar. Those clothes, that style, the mannerisms... Ah, so he isn’t alone after all. Not realizing his feet had begun to move on its own, he soon found himself in front of her. Wait. Now what?

“...”

Yeah. Randomly approaching a stranger doesn’t look too good. Lacking the words and will to make up an excuse, Shunsou resorted to the truth.