うでどけい。

❀   It was another beautiful snowy evening for Makoto. She’d spent the day exploring the city, searching for a suitable job and was eager to return home to relax. When she stepped through the door of her house, she snuck past her roommates, not wanting to disturb them, and hurried on to her room. Surprised, she found herself face-to-face with a small box. It was decorated lavishly in black and silver, and attached to a sparkling ribbon was a tag with her name. 筱喬

      Her eyes went wide as she carefully opened the box, and inside, all she found was a simple note. 我在你身边。一切都会变好的。 I’m here for you. Everything will be alright. Who..? Who could have left this for her? She looked around, but her roommates were nowhere to be seen, and she certainly hadn’t gotten any messages from any of her friends here in the city... Well, there really was only one thing to do.

      Makoto stepped into her room and turned the light on, unsure of what to expect. What she saw brought tears to her eyes and such a tremble to her hands that she dropped both the box and her phone. Before she could fall with the objects, he’d stood and moved toward her, steadying her by her shoulders. One of his hands was rougher than the other, it didn’t curl around her upper arm like the other, but it didn’t bother her. 

      Before long, both of her arms had wrapped tightly around him, and the pair stood in near silence, other than the sound of Makoto’s soft sobs, as they held each other. “Brother... I’m home...” She’d said it once, all those years ago. Cried into his warm chest, holding a brother who she’d searched so long for only to find too late. But this time... this time, he answered her. ‘Welcome home, sister. I missed you so much. I’m sorry you suffered so much by yourself. You really have grown up to be a strong, beautiful person. I’m proud of you, Xiao Qiao.’ His voice was as gentle and comforting as she’d remembered it from her childhood, and the way his hand found its way to smooth down her hair made her feel like a child again. 

He shouldn’t question what she means by customers. Maybe that means courtesan? Or some other business. Its not his way to judge others unless their either from Shu or Wei. mostly wei. 

 “Am I really? I feel that I’m plain as well. Thats why I put on my best cloths everyday.” it seems he lacks a awareness of how good looking he really is, judging by the desiring stares a few of the ladies in the area give him from time to time. The way his fore arms are exposed showing how erotic they look…never mind!!!

 “I never expected to fall in love though. My home had a war going on.” he looks at where they stop , the bus stop. “this place? I never quiet understand how it works here yet.”

It was faux pass to make a comment to a married women. But Sheng is like that in that as long as both stay quiet, no one will get hurt or their pride will take a blow. After all he’s a passionate lover and sometimes he gets carried away. 

But only if he finds someone to love with. 

  “You … underestimate yourself. Put yourself down too much . But yes, lets go. I am interested to know why it is called little Tokyo.”

 “Little … Tokyo? What part of it is … little?” In all honesty everything seems to be so big here. Even the modern two story building seems to be bigger then the palace of Jiangye. It was all so overwhelming that it was only a middle class building instead of a royalty or noble. 

“但是谢谢你。我很高兴和一个像你一样漂亮的人去。” 

“你能告诉我中国在哪里吗？建业在哪里？“ Its not like he has any other person to depend on? “我非常想家“

“我伤心“

Well at least there was some familiarity he finds within the city. 

 “我想回家”

 “拉屎”

❀   It may only be the 3rd, but Christmas really was just around the corner - as was evident by all the decorations. People were out with signs and samples in abundance, and Makoto being the gentle soul that she was couldn’t turn any of them down. That’s how she ended up slipping and dropping an armful of everything from mini-sized lotions to carefully packaged snack samples. 

Today’s a good day! No, good day is an understatement. Today is a FANTABULOUS day. Ah, yes. A word that one of her friends back at the orphanage loved using that word. Fantabulous. Since she’s done such a good job in helping around and such, she figured it would be a good idea to go out and treat herself. That’s how she ended up on the bench with ALL the takoyaki the man not too far cooked up for her. She even paid him extra for his hard work, and also, seeing as how that man had been worried if she would be able to finish all that food, she even reassured that she would be able to finish and none of his deliciously made takoyaki would go to waste.

Oh yeah, she’s going to finish these alright!

One, two, Five, six, of the takoyaki are in her mouth. Just before she can chew and swallow, a woman approaches her. Red eyes looks up at the other woman, her head tilt just a light bit. She’s asking if she could have some, massages to her feet? Payment? 

“yshou dsjn’t hab tsssszoo….” No, talking with that many takoyaki was harder than she expected, so she finishes chewing, and then she swallows. 

Laughing, she shakes her head, “You don’t have to do any of that, because I won’t share Takoyaki with you!” There’s a moment of a short, short silence before another laugh, “JUST KIDDING.” KACHINA! 

Patting the bench right beside her, she’s moving some takoyaki (enough for the other to enjoy) in a separate paper plate. “Here you go! You must really want some of this to go so far as to pay me or even massage my feet. It’s okay though. You don’t have to worry about any of that.”

❀   Makoto was more than a little worried at first. What was one girl going to do with all that takoyaki? Would she really not share? Kids these days surely weren’t that cruel. But then she laughed and Makoto sighed softly in relief, a gentle smile making its way to her lips as she moved to sit beside the playful stranger.

Perhaps he should get a bigger coat or at least cover himself up more. Although he had nothing to prove in this place, he was still too stubborn to change anything. If he had to be a little chilly from the weather then so be it. It wasn’t too bad yet. Maybe if it snowed then he’d actually layer up a bit. As one shiver passed through him, he had closed his eye for a second and almost lost balance when he bumped into someone. Initially he figured it was his own fault and he felt bad when he heard a woman’s voice, but it didn’t take him long to recognize it. Not only that, but the music playing from her watch. He instantly knew before even looking at her.

“Uh…” Well nothing he could do would stop the awkwardness, as well as the feeling that something fell into his gut. “It… It was nothin’ really, jus’…” Ouch, he felt like he was just stabbed in the chest or something, but he wasn’t going to let that show. After all, Makoto was married and stuff and after Majima had his own issues with his previous marriage he felt he would just give up and live life without having anyone get hurt because of his lifestyle. 

“Yer not hurt ‘cause of me, are ya?” Not that he was a big guy, but he had to ask. On top of that he was still trying to gather himself mentally. “When did ya get ‘ere? If it’d been a long time ago then I’d…” Majima wasn’t sure what he would’ve done honestly. He’d feel bad that he couldn’t help, but also him keeping his distance was one of the main reasons he would never go to Osaka except work purposes. Luckily his job and reputation wasn’t a thing anymore where they were, but he couldn’t help that feeling that she’d still be unsafe around him… yet also didn’t want her getting to a mess with some assholes. It was complicated. 

❀   He was avoiding answering her question, asking if it was him. Avoiding eye contact. He did that both times they’d met since she regained her sight. Makoto had come to realize that after the last time she met him. What she hadn’t figured out was why. Was he embarrassed? Was he scared? Did she bring up bad memories for him? She had half a mind to wrap her arms around him, hold him close, and tell him that she missed him every day. But who knew how he’d react to something like that.

      So instead, she smiled for him. The least she could do was silently reassure him that everything he’d been through hadn’t been in vain.

❀   Winter had already arrived in this city, but that wasn’t what sent chills down her spine. Even through her pea coat and scarf, Makoto felt cold. She’d lost her family again, hadn’t she? After the Empty Lot incident, after her marriage, Makoto had thought that she could put all of that behind her. And then she found herself here. The city had welcomed her, and Sotenbori - even her and her family’s destination - had left her behind. A few snowflakes fell, and she lifted a hand, watching the frozen petals melt on her palm red from cold. 

      Suddenly, without any warning, she missed Lee. Kiryu. Her brother. Nishikiyama. Even Sera, after the kindness he’d shown her. But more than any of them, she missed him. He’d shown up out of nowhere to be the light to guide her through the dark once before, so it was selfish to think he’d do it again. He probably wasn’t even here. Makoto would just... be alone again. In the cold, and in the dark.

      As those thoughts crawled into the forefront of her mind, the time on her wristwatch hit 7, and a gentle song started playing. Her gaze shifted to that watch, from the spinning gears to the band itself, he’d taken something precious to her and made it even more precious. Her reminder that she would never be alone as long as she had that watch. Makoto held it close to her heart, closing her eyes to better appreciate the tune as it soothed her fears. And as soon as it was over, she turned sharply on her heel and began walking. Eager to face the rest of her day with gumption and purpose.

      Only, instead, she simply bumped into someone.

❀   「 No、 I’m sorry、 Takoyaki. Ta ko ya ki. Do you have it here? Fried octopus? ...No? 」 She couldn’t help but sigh.  「 It’s alright. Have a nice day anyway! 」 What a shame... she’d really been looking forward to some, but it seemed the stand she’d stopped at had sold out. Makoto closed her eyes and tilted her head to the sky, taking in the rush of city sounds and the smell of street food... like this, she could pretend she was back in Sotenbori. The smell of Takoyaki and the season’s change reminded her of all those years ago with him. The smell of Takoyaki... wait. Wait!

❀   Her first stop would be the Cotes ward. Maybe she’d find her family somewhere familiar, and from what she’d heard, it was similar to modern-day Japan. It wasn’t Sotenbori or Kamurocho, but... she should be able to find her way around easily and safely enough.

      Or so she thought, until she found herself cornered by a group of men who seemed far from pleasant. The way that they looked at her... the way that they closed in... she wanted nothing to do with them. 

❀   Where... was she? Sure, she’d taken the taxi and listen to the overall explanation, but it didn’t do much to clear up her confusion. The city welcomed her, which was a nice change considering the last time she’d been new to a city, most of the locals were trying to kill her. But then... something about the way travel outside the city may result in unpleasant side effects sounded made her uneasy. Where was her husband? Her child? The taxi driver didn’t have an answer for her, only that he was simply doing his job. She didn’t want to make things difficult for him, and of course, she had her family’s phone numbers memorized, but... she couldn’t get a hold of either of them.

       She entered her new lodgings with little fuss and a hopeful smile, but she didn’t stay long. No, she wanted to explore, to get to know her surroundings. Perhaps she’d hear word of her family soon, but until then, she wanted to make an effort all her own.