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 Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 4:18 pm
((I can't give a very good summary...but I can tell yiu everything else.
Currently posting are Myself (Ciel) Long Time no Sea (Yuki) and KawaiiNekoYoukai (Rina)
They could probably give you a summary they've been here longer than me.))
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Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 6:06 pm
((Ah, I see, so we've been low on numbers, it looks like.
It's fine; I actually read all but maybe 5 pages (which I plan to finish), and I also plan to try and twist the plot as to bring it back to life. If my profile goes through, you'll be stuck with (literally) a little problem. xd ))
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:41 pm
((Good news is that your profile went through 4laugh You may now post if you wish! ))
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:39 pm
((Yay, thanks!
Oh, and just to clarify, the italics in BOLD is her speaking aloud in Japanese. I know a bit, but no where near enough to use here. xd ))
*bump bump squeak bump*
*bump bump squeak bump*
This was the sound of a small child’s wagon, battling to continue through the snow and ice-covered grounds. The rattling of a few items made a nice rhythm of ba-bump, ba-bump ba-ba-bump bump, over and over again as the owner pulled it carefully as not to spill her belongings. The wind began to pick up a bit as a radio sitting at a convince store covered the weather: “Well, folks, unfortunately the snow storms are getting a LOT worse for a few hours; if you can find a way to get inside for a bit, it would be best to prevent hypothermia and from mainly freezing your bottom off in this snow! As of weather advisory warning, please find some shelter within the next hour to hour and a half. And now, back to the sports report from Bob….”
A young girl had passed this store and heard this a hour earlier, just as she entered town and had pulled her bright pink unmatching scarf up against her neck as the wind had picked up for a moment. This young girl’s dress was fitting, but the sweater under it so large that it was probably made for one three times her age (but it was warm). Her long brown hair was dirty and hadn’t seen soap for quite awhile, various twigs and snow-covered leaves in it‘s wake. Her shoes were worn out to the bone, and that was an understatement; the feet were probably blistered and possibly infected already. Her bright blue eyes scanned the area about her, but something about them showed loss of feeling, or just emptiness in general. It was hard for one to explain, but one could certainly feel the sadness click as one would stare into the eyes of Miki Takara.
As she had just entered, she happened to pass a playground, and out of curiosity and inner child she had stopped at the gate to watch; no matter what her IQ was for her age, nothing apparently could rid one that young of a child‘s stare of awe. Many happy children were on a slide, swing sets….one had even used the sandbox for making snow castles! There was a snowball fight going on, as well as the making of snow angels. Something about it made her steer of her intended path; pulling the squeaky wagon with her, she opened the gate and shut it behind her. She’d never leave her wagon ever; after all, it had saved her life once, and was a very useful tool in keeping everything in place.
She parked her luggage next to a swing and took out a medium-sized doll from the sea of old items; a large blanket, a old dress, some undergarments, a bit of old string, a broken hairbrush, various pieces of dirty cloth, and a old children’s book, old and worn, lay underneath the blanket mentioned before, that covered it all. Her dolly, or “Ami”, was a gorgeous thing in her eyes; having the dress (and once the hairstyle) of her original Japanese culture, it’s face was painted white and a smile of warmth on it’s face. She began to swing on the swing set, holding on to the doll with one had as she talked to it quietly in her native language.
“We’re going to get through this together, Ami; I have a feeling that this town is what Takashi showed me in a dream. Not just America, but this town. If only I can find the landmark he showed me before. The land of the free……..will it ever show the promise it once claimed to all of us from afar?”
But she focused on the swing as she went higher and higher, and finally, a smile of joy was upon her face. She hadn’t had this much fun in as long as she could remember in the past two to three years. Was it really that long ago? Strange; it seemed shorter. She felt soon that she was one with the sky, the birds flying overhead seemed so close that she could almost touch them. She reached out her hand-
Suddenly, as soon as she flew, she felt something jolt on the swing and she made a hard face plant in the snow; something had interfered. And that something……or some things, was laughing at her.
As she got up (and was now FREEZING), she looked to see a group of boys all eyeing her funny. The tallest one spoke first. “Hey, kid, this is Jerry’s swing. No one gets on Jerry‘s swing without speaking to ME first, got it?”
The girl was startled; who was this Jerry?
“Mi…uh, Mo-”
“What the ‘eck is wrong with you; can’t you speak. SPEAK girl, SPEAK!” the boy began mocking her, but another stopped him. This boy was shorter, and wore glasses and had blond hair.
“Easy, Mike, easy; she looks new……..although NOT so new, in a way. Sorry if my FRIEND here is so rude; where ya from?” another boy said, looking at her as if examining her with his hand on his chin in thought, but trying to act kind, but seeming like it was new to him as well, for he sounded uneasy.
“Hey, look at this heap of junk! What a bunch of crap; Princess Arisa? What kinda dumb book is that?”
Miki was about to answer, but let out a cry of surprise as one of the boys began kicking the wagon, another going through her stuff. She grabbed her stuff from the boy and pulled the wagon away from the group, accidentally yelling at them in Japanese, in a long run of words that pretty much stated "ask before looking at my stuff, its common curtosey". This caught them all off guard.
“Dude; she’s foreign! SO not American.”
“Well, THAT explains a lot. Now we know why her English is so bad.”
“She just needs some work…….and by the look of it, some food; she’s as thin as a stick, those clothes are hanging off her!” The blond boy said, now looking very concerned.
“Ten bucks says her mom works at a strip club; how else would this mixed kid had hap-ARGH!”
But the tall one didn’t finish as the girl suddenly jumped ontop of him and began pulling his hair, shouting again in Japanese as she sat rather comfy on his shoulders.
“Is this how you treat all of your newcomers, or am I just so special that you had to add to it? What is this country, America, that you speak of? The Land of the Free? HA, not from what I’ve seen! All you people do is ridicule and make fun of those you think are below you; in my opinion, you are lower than dirt.
NEVER insult my family again, or it will cost you more than some pulled hair. I understand more than you think, perhaps more than you do.”
She let go, a clump of hair in her hand as the boy clutched his head in pain. A couple parents (one actually Japanese, meaning her speech was not unheard), motioned for her to leave before it was too late; nodding her thanks, she grabbed all her stuff, put it in hte wagon and ran like heck while towing it, crying…….for her small paradise also had bullies that were predjuice. Even if the parents were on her side, they weren’t the one with muscle power and intimidation. Such fools were boys, children in general; what a hideous generation she was! And alone again she was, just her and Ami as she wandered lost in the streets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fast forward to the blizzard now; Miki was now hugging herself as she trudged along basically barefoot. Her feet were red and in fact did have some blisters, and her face was red and indicated fever. The little girl was shivering uncontrollably, now very ill. She had been out here for over an hour, and was losing feeling in all her limbs. She also held the wagon a small touch, for the first time her hand nearly stuck to it out of sheer cold.
“I’m in circles; lost. So cold…………so very cold……..I need house. Where is good house? So cold…” she murmured to herself. A gust of wind blew at her, and she had to put her hand on her head to keep it up there.
Suddenly, she saw a house with the light on, a café sign above it lit.
“ ‘Café?’ What is-oh wait! Ah, food!” she said happily, but also with a sigh; Miki knew she hadn’t eaten in over a week, for she had used that fare for this sweater. She was always on a low budget, and food went out first. Perhaps that was why she was sick. She felt so………awful, like she was going to puke. The little girl was actually crying as she made it up the porch and to the front door. After all, she was still no more than a child, and a lost one at that.
Here, she shivered and mumbled some English lines as she pulled out a small packet from within her sweater; she could see her super thin ribs as she fiddled with opening it and counting money. She never left the bag in her wagon, and the boys had proven why.
Shuddering still, she stepped forward towards the door, and slipped on a patch of ice. She cried out in pain, her wit nearly gone as she looked at her deeply bleeding knee. “C-Cmon…….stay strong, Miki….” she told herself aloud, and using all courage, knocked on the door, clutching to Ami tightly to ease the pain from the whole day. BUt she kept her face determined; dont' give up now, for Takashi!
She waited silently for an answer, thinking her correct terms as she notice there was heat in there (for it could be felt via under door), and people. More than one, actually.
((Dramatic enough? xd ))
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 3:05 pm
((Welcome. What a long post ><))
Ciel looked at Rina. 'She worked at cafe too? I wonder where--' Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. "Um, ...I'll get it Yuki"
'Who can be out in this blizzard?" Ciel mumbled walking to the door. She was shocked when she opened the door. A young was standing in the storm. The girl was thin and looked as if she had a fever.
Ciel was surprised she could even stand. With no hint of shyness in her voice she said "You shouldn't be out in this cold! Hurry and come in." Ciel ushered the girl in, hardly pausing to ask Yuki. The girl didn't look like she could bear to stand out there another minute.
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:04 pm
((Thanks!
I belive that's the longest post ever...... eek . I can assure you that taht's just the sake of it being the intro post. xd ))
Upon hearing the door creak open, Miki immediately took this like a cue in a play, and began her lines. "Good evening, ma'm. I'm sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, but I was wondering if this cafe was op-? Ah! What's going on?!"
The girl let out a small squeak of surprise and spoke in Japanese as the young lady who answered the door suddenly and boldly ushered her in without question, and since her hand how now STUCK to the wagon (like she was trying to avoid), some small creaking noise was made as it was rolled in.
But at teh same time of all of this, Miki felt like she was cannoned into a rush of warm air. It was so.....soothing, and so happily thick that you could almost grab it physically like a blob of cheese.
Hearing hte door close behind her, Miki's lines were completely gone with the wind as she looked about nervously; there were other people in this room as well. She took note that she could feel the soft carpet under her pretty-much-shoeless feet as her head jerked about nervously yet at hte same time in happy interest, as she turned back to the woman for answers.
"I..........what is going on? Y-you brought me in without question." she asked in a small voice, the doll and money bag in one hand (which had really only 3 dollars), and her other hand stuck to the wagon due to the cold. She gave a feeble cough unintentionally as she was yet aware that one of the blisters on her feet had opened, and now starting to get blood on the carpet. She didn't notice because hte carpet was so comfy, like air for her overworn feet.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 4:11 am
Yuki jumped when she heard the Japanese yell. "Nani?!(what for those who know no Japanese) Who-- Oh my goodness!" she rushed over to the small gilr. "Are you okay? Where are your parents? And-- Oh my God. You're as thin as a stick!" she exclaimed to the girl. "Ceil, please get my first aid kit from the closet down the hall."
Yuki turned back to the girl. "You're gonna be okay. I'm Yuki, my mother was from Japan, so I know how the speak Japanese, wakaru?(understand?) Well, I own this Cafe` SO I'm gonna take care of you. Half of the people in this room I've helped in one way or another for free, so don't worry about that. Umm... Wait a seocnd... Where are your parents?"
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 2:23 pm
Just when Miki thought things could not possibly get any more akward, it actually.......got a bit less akward, for by some miracle from whatever regins over the earth that one of the people here actually spoke her language. Someone somewhere must have thought that she had suffered more than enough for her fair share, and decided to give her a push in a different direction; she still had no idea other than a strange dream that was what brought her to this place in the first place. She mentally took note of something being told to the girl (whose name was apparently "Ceil") that she didn't understand; what was a "first aid kit?"
It must have been Miki crying out in Japanese that gave it away, for it gained this woman's attention, and the lady began to freak out, apparently finding the girl's condition quite serious. Then this lady (who the young girl found out the girl OWNS the cafe) began to speak of a strange thing that were once promised for this country (some of it so too-good-to-be-true that it was beyond all but a heaven's way of life): she spoke of taking care of Miki. Not just giving her food, but taking care of her. For free. Which she had already done to others.
This was something the girl got, yet didn't get. How could she help all these people, yet at hte same time run a cafe? No one had that kind of money nor that kind of care. But then again, she seemed to be wrong alot lately. She took a moment to conprehend, finally ripping her hand off from the handle, making it unstuck now. She rubbed it as she began to speak; it gave her not alot of pain, for she was too concentrated on other matters.
"I do understand you, which I'm glad to realize.
Thats.............very kind of you to offer. I'm not sure what to say, really. Your ways are not one I have heard of before (well, not in this country, anyways), helping out so many people, most still in here. I take it that this must be hard on your schedule since you run this cafe at the same time.
But I dunno how comfortable that would make things mentally for you; I don't want to be a burden to you, yet I have a feeling that mainly due to my age and condition, it will come to that. It'd be unfair for me to do that to you, so...........
Just please tell me what you would like in return; I'd do anything, for this sort of kindness doesn't seem to be so common. I"ll do whatever you ask; I swear to it!
A-as for my parents.........." her bold voice during her promise suddnely withered then grew quiet for a moment before she continued.
".............my parents have been dead for quite a few years now. Actually, same with pretty much all of my family, from what I know. Since that sounds odd on it's own, I can assure you it was foul play that took part. It's.......a long story." she said, her voice nearly quiet at the end; it still hurt her, the images and memories. True, her twin brother had not died, but in fact was living the life of ultimate luxury at his adopted parents' house (sometimes she grew jealous of this, she'd admit, for she was in hell while he in a heaven of sorts). But he betrayed her, and the family, while Takashi was STILL alive and was coming to get them soon. Therefore, he was already considered dead to the Takama family.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 5:06 pm
The girl made an exclaimation in different language as Ciel pulled her in. The girl was foreign? It sounded Japanese, but Ciel wasn't really sure. She only knew a few words learned from books. She was more fluent in French than other languages.
Yuki, hearing the yell, dashed to the girl. She said a few words in Japanese to the girl ( Ciel could only understand a few words), then turned to Ciel and asked for the first aid kit. Ciel went down the hall and got the first aid kit from the closet. As she walked back to Yuki and and the girl, her thoughts wandered. What was this girl doing out there all by herself? Ciel wished she knew more Japanese as she listened to Yuki and the girl.
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 8:01 pm
(( Finally!!! *cheers* Hope has arrived! ))
Rina watched Ciel open the door, heard a few noises and settled back into the couch. When the small Japanese girl stumbled in, the only reaction Rina gave was the arching of her right eyebrow. Rina listened intently to the rushed Japanese conversation, only catching snippets from the vague Japanese she knew. But getting a small grasp of the situation the girl was in, she sighed and muttered vaguely, deep in thought, "So des ne....." (It's similar to "is that so," or "so it is")
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Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 8:40 pm
While the young lady was waiting for a response from the......well, older one, she was able to glance at the other two. The one named Ciel looked very confused, while holding a white box with a plus sign on it. Miki wondered what it was, but she'd probably find out soon enough. However, what also caught her eye was the other woman in the room, who for awhile had done nothing but raise her eyebrow. This didn't surprise Miki, but she unknowningly read it the way only she thought it as; Miki usually wasn't allowed in many places because she was a orphan, as well as a bad English speaker. Alot of people didn't seem to like foregin people.
But her first impression of the woman was changed when she also murmured in Japanese; so she was merely concentraing hard to what Miki had said before, not judging. Unfortunately, now she know what Miki really said.....Wow, this was akward. A bit more red in the face than with just a fever alone, she child merely now stared at the ground and was afraid to meet any of their eyes, and hugged her doll close to her as she waited for some sort of response from Yuki, or a larger one from one of the other two. How Miki was still awake and not seeming too sick just yet was some sort of odd miracle, but it was only because her mind was elsewhere at the moment, and her body was shoved to second place for now. Her heart was pounding in fear and nervousness as the room was overall still silent.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 1:41 pm
Yuki sighed. "Hai (yes, or yeah)" she agreed with Rina. "Okay, why don't we head into the rest-room so I can clean you up, Wakaru? I don't wish for anything in return. All I ask is that you don't go anywhere out of my sight while you're with me, until you're better. But first, this is a 'First Aid Kit'. It's like a bento, but not for food. It's for Bandages, and ointments and stuff. I am going to take your temperatue, and then clean any cut's you have. Wakaru? Now, come with me. Yo ucan bring your doll."
"Rina, please get a shirt out of my top drawer, in the room with the black mat in front of the door please?" she asked, as she led the small girl into the bathroom, carrying the first aid kit in her right hand.
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 3:16 pm
Miki stayed silent as a rock as the silence was finally rid of by the Yuki woman. Ok, so it hadn't been more than 30 seconds of silence......but it seemed so much longer to her. As she listened, she was surprised to hear that Yuki wanted no more than for her to not "go anywhere out of her site" until Miki was well again. Strange, she was sounding just like a mother figure, for Miki could definiately picture her once-living mother express somewhat of the same concern. But that was so long ago; it had been a few years of the young girl by herself, so she sort of forgot what it was like to have this kind of kindness with no pricetag on the end of the bargain.
As she nodded in understanding, she followed the woman quietly to the bathroom, leaving the wagon in the doorway of the pervious room. The "first aid kit" now made sense to her; however, this also made her nervous. Last time she had been in a doctors' office, she had hid under a table for several minutes after one look at a needle. But she had only been 4 or so, so it was natural, to a point. But it was still an unhappy memory.
But she'd do her best to keep her mind in sanity, and she focused on looking at passing rooms in this large place, although the toils of sickness were starting their toll finally. She started hearing her head pound like there were drums in her head, and she occasionaly wobbled in her steps as her vision would occasionly cross, but she continued to fight it off for as long as she could. After all, weakness wasn't a good thing to show. Her feet were leaving a small trail of various blood spots from point A to B without either woman realizing it. Miki was too focused on staying calm, hoping that this wasn't some trickery to get her into a situation she didn't want.
As they reached the bathroom, she took a seat on the lid-coevered toilet as she awaited for whatever was next. She swung her swollen feet back and forth, figiting much like a child her age, clutching to Ami as she looked about nervously.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 7:11 pm
Rina stood up. "Yeah, yeah..." She walked casually down the hall and looked for the desired room. She walked through a door, wincing a bit as one of the hinges creaked. She rummaged through the drawer, and let the shirt fold over her arm. She noted how bright the room looked, making her apartment look even more pathetic than usual. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she almost stomped out the door, leaving the door open.
She made her way to the bathroom, standing in the doorway with the shirt, watching the small girl sit helplessly on the toilet.
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:26 am
Yuki smiled. "This might sting a bit, but it shouldn't hurt too much. It's just going to kill any germs in the cuts, okay? After we're finished, you can have something to eat and then get some rest, wakaru?" She said dabbing some peroxcide on some of the girls wounds. She was quick in cleaning up the small girls arms and legs before wiping up the foam that meant dead germs. She quickly put some bandages around the girls wounds and went to start on her feet. "Oh my goodness. You must've been walking around a lot to have this many blisters and wounds. How long have you been walking exactly? Do you know?" she asked as she gingerly cleaned off the small girls feet and began wrapping them
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