Contemplating ((Open))

[Jade]

Jade sat in an over stuffed chair her, hair was getting longer, she could tell by the way that it tickled the base of her neck. She didn't care she liked it long. Though short with the red streaks was pretty cool too.

Billy always liked her hair long. Billy, she missed him greatly. She often wished she could go back to his grave, but she knew that he father was looking for her. She got on the computer sometimes and checked to see. Apparently he was more fond of her than she thought. This thought sent a shiver of terror and disgust up her spine, and made her want to scrub herself with a brillo pad.

She sighed and pulled the ratty black sweat shirt over her hands, staring blankly down at the floor. She had another bad night. She honestly felt completely alone. This was a nice place, and she was certian no one would be able to find her, but she just felt like she was alone. The girls in her dorm seemed nice, but she felt like they didn't understand her.

Of course to be fair, she hadn't never really opened up to them. She supposed she should try. Maybe they had the same problems that she had once had. Maybe they understood where she was coming from. She was much to pessamistic to believe that, but she figured her life could have always been worse, at least her father hadn't been a creep all the time.

He was 6'3" and weighed close to 250 pounds, and not all of that was fat. The times when he did go for her, he was thankfully very drunk and very top heavy. One good push was all it usually took, and the Weeble wobbled and fell right down. Usually into something hard and sharp if Jade could manage it. Ganted the lascerations to his skull put him in an even fouler mood, but he usually didn't remember what happed.

"Not that he would have given a damn," She murmured and began to pick lint off of her shirt.

'It could have been worse, but it also could have been better too,'She murmured darkly.

[Mei Atsuki]

Entering quietly into the common room, Mei looked around for someone, anyone, to talk to. She didn't know anyone in her new home, and she was quickly getting lonely. At least in Japan she had never been alone. She shivered in her halter top at the thought of that time, the new tattoo brushing painfully against the straps. She winced and rubbed it thoughtfully, glancing around the room.

Only seeing one person, a girl in a chair in one of the corners, she went over. The girl was very quiet, even as Mei approached, making her wonder if the girl was even aware of her presence. It didn't seem like she would notice even if Mei sat on top of her, not that Mei would ever do that. She knew what it was like to have her intimate space destroyed, and it had taken her over a year to get used to the violation her once-profession had brought with it.

"Sumimasen...no...excuse me," she said, as loudly as she thought she could without startling the girl. "Something is wrong? You look sad...would you speak with me?"

Suddenly embarrassed at her, in her opinion, rude question, Mei stepped back ashamed. This girl would not possibly wish to speak to someone so stupid as her.

"I am sorry," she whispered, and turned around thinking it might be best if she went back to her dorm. There, she could not make a fool of herself in this new place. If she were to make herself look like a fool, she might be forced to leave, and she would have to return to her old life.

[Jade]

Jade looked startled as she heard the girl speak. She blinked with a wide eyes look for a moment, before letting a small shy grin grace her lips.

"Konnichi wa!" She said softly to the girl. She remember fragments of Japanese that Elisabeth had taught them on their way to California. She paused for a moment and then grinned very softly.

"I'm sorry I don't speak Japanese very fluidly, my...friend," she sighed,"taught some of it to me."

"Would you like to sit down?" she said motioning to another chair to her left.

"This is a very cozy place, very safe too," she added quietly her eyes dark, but her voice relieved and calm.

[Mei Atsuki]

Mei eyed the chair the girl gestured to nervously before sliding quietly into it. She was confused by this strange girl who called people friends because she did not know what else to call them. She talked about how safe this place was, but she didn't look to Mei like she felt very safe.

"Thank you," Mei murmured. "I was told that it was better here...by the person who took me."

She shuddered at the memories of the strange man who had taken what little life she had left. "My name is Mei." She bowed slightly, habitually, before straightening and holding out her hand. "It is nice to have met you."

[Jade]

Jade looked at the girl, she seemed skittish almost.
'Poor thing,'She thought as she looked her over. She was very cute and seemed very sweet.

"Yeah," She remembering her father and his drunken rages,"Yeah it's a whole lot better, at least for me I know it is. One of the best things about this place is the fact that no one can really find you. That's really good too."

She sighed and flopped back against the chair and smiled ever so faintly again,"Besides, it's just nice to be able to be almost kinda on your own, but still have some one kinda taking care of you."

Jade figured if this girl was anything like she was, then no one had ever really bothered to take care of her, or if they did they always wanted something in return.

She sighed again and ran her hand through her hair, tucking it behind her head and resting it on her arm.

"It's just nice not to owe anybody anything."

[Mei Atsuki]

Mei took a moment to translate the girl's words inside her head, contemplating their meaning. Obviously, there was more to her than met the eye. Some of the things she had said made Mei wonder what had been done to her. Already, Mei felt protective of the only person she knew here. This girl, whose name she didn't even know, was able to communicate with Mei on some subconscious level.

"It is better to have someone who cares a small piece than no one who cares at all," she spoke slowly, hoping that her broken English got her message across. From experience with the various American and English tourists in Japan, it probably wouldn't. Of course, they had not cared at all what she was saying. This girl seemed to have taken at least a small amount of interest in what she had to say.

Unsure of how to say some of the other things she wanted to, she stared at the upholstery of a nearby sofa for a while. She wanted to ask this girl if they would be friends, or at least study together, but she wasn't sure if she would ever be confident or competent enough to ask. Just to fill the silence that had followed her last awkwardly phrased comment, she started to hum softly to herself. The tune was a familiar one. It was the song that had been hers and Misa's before her father had discovered them. Unable to help herself, she sang the words softly in Japanese, to remind her of why she could never go back. Unable to stop it, the song made a tear drop form in the corner of her eye and run slowly down the bridge of her nose.

The last line of the song fell from her lips louder than the others, audible to probably anyone in the room, "Itsumo aishiteru..." Then, forgetting anyone else was in the room, she whispered an oath to the girl she'll always miss, "Itsumo aishiteru, Misa-chan..."

{OOC: That means I love you, forever}

[Jade]

{OOC: Thanks ^ _ ^}

Jade drew in a sharp intake of breath. She looked at the girl with her head cocked to the side. She was fast growing fond of this girl. She seemed so sweet, and she also seemed liked she had been through something.

'I suppose it must be in our eyes,'Jade mused quietly as she listened to the girl humming softly, and then sing. The girls voice was very pretty. Jade has often wished she could carry a tune in a bucket, but alas that was one of the many things that she did not have.

She sat in silence after the girl was done and waiting a few moments before tentatively reaching a hand out. She didn't touch the girl, figuring that maybe she wouldn't want to be touched by anyone in such a personal moment.

"I'm Jade,," She said in a soft unobtrusive voice, and for the first time in what felt like eons, and small bright friendly graced her lips.

[Mei Atsuki]

Shaken from her reverie, Mei blinked the tears from her eyes and looked straight into Jade's smiling face. It looked as if she hadn't been smiling much lately, but from what Mei had seen of the others at the hostel, smiling was for the lucky ones. It fit her, though, like a well-worn pair of shorts taken out after a long winter. Mei suspected that that winter had been many years long and had held many snows. Hopefully, both of their summers were coming. The thought of an approaching summer, combined with Jade's contagious grin, made Mei smile. Something about Jade reminded her of Misa-chan, although hopefully, it would not end up the same. Determined not to make a bad impression with this girl so like the one she loved, Mei forced her thoughts to happier things, like the new friend she had just made.

"Jade," Mei repeated, and shook the girl's outstretched hand. "An attractive name. Mine is Mei."

[Jade]

"Thank you, I don't really know where it came from," She said and rolled her eyes good naturedly,"I like yours, it's very pretty. If you ya know ever need one to talk to; I'm here, and I'm a pretty good listener."

Sighed, and streached her arms above her head, her back cracked in the process. She grinned.

"My friend used to say that I sounded like a bowl of rice crispies in the morning. So which dorm are you in?" She asked cocking hre head to the side a bit.

[Mei Atsuki]

Jade was very confusing to Mei. Her last statement had been something about a bowl of some kind of food, probably one eaten at breakfast. Perhaps it was some kind of western delicacy, but Mei had absolutely no idea what it was.

"I am in dorm for girls two. Rice crispies?" she asked, baffled. "What are rice crispies?"

Maybe Mei would need to go to the supermarket to look at all the foods these people would be talking about. Just a few hours ago, she had eaten something called tacos for lunch. It was beginning to send her into a culture-shock. She wondered sadly if anyone ever ate her favourite foods.

"Do you eat okonomiyaki? It is like pancakes, but also like pizza," She explained, hoping the girl would say yes. Okonomiyaki was her favourite food, and if Jade had eaten it, maybe she knew of a place where she could buy some, or at least the ingredients to make it.

[Jade]

Jade smiled at her, "Rice cripsies is a cereal we eat, it makes these noises 'Snap, crackle, and pop'. They are actually pretty good if you put a tone of sugar on them."

She paused for moment, "I've eaten them a couple of times before. Unfortunately, the girl who made them never did bother to give us the recipe or anything."

She sneered very faintly. Elisabeth had always been that way. Like it was her duty to culture all of them, but only she could be the one to have access to the culture.

"From what I remember they were pretty good. If you know how to make them maybe we could find the ingredients and make them now."

Jade was having fun, she couldn't really cook all that well but at least it would give her a chance to spend more time with Mei.

[Mei Atsuki]

"Oh! Cereal! I have not had many kinds of cereal." That was a bit of an understatement. She had only ever had cornflakes. The concept of putting sugar on cereal was strange to her. Putting sugar on pretty much anything seemed rather odd.

So Jade had had okonomiyaki before! "I can make okonomiyaki. I do not know if the ingredients will be available here, but we can search."

Mei sincerely doubted that the okonomiyaki sauce would be there, but she supposed that it wasn't completely necessary. Hopefully, there would be the seaweed. That was the best part of okonomiyaki. It reminded her of Misa, who would eat the seaweed plain long after the okonomiyaki was gone.

"We should go to supermarket. There we can buy ingredients. Maybe, we can make okonomiyaki for everyone in hostel." This prospect excited Mei very much, and a large, bright smile erupted. Okonomiyaki was a banquet food, and having a party to eat it would be a lot of fun. She was so excited that she was almost dancing with joy. Being the clumsy person she was, this led her to trip over a small coffee table nearby and fall with a crash back into the chair she had been sitting in.

Giddy with the silliness of her fall, she chanted softly "Okonomiyaki, okonomiyaki...Maybe, can we make other food from Japan, too?"

[Jade]

Jade grinned at the girl's silliness.

"Are you OK?" She said standing up and extending her hand to Me; as she did the sleeve of her shirt came up a bit ,and the faintest bit of a dark red line showed.

Jade did not notice this however. She was too busy grinning down at the girl very affectionately. She was really beginning to adore her.

"Hmmmm what else would go good with it? I can make sushi, and I know there is a store here that carries Pocky, they also carry soba noodles too! Oh and Miso! I need to learn to cook, She said rolling her eyes at herself amusedly.

[Mei Atsuki]

{OOC: I think we need to get a new thread, maybe at the foods libraries}

Mei looked up at Jade's outstretched hand, noticing a scar emerging from the edge of her sleeve. After a moment's deliberation, she decided not to comment on it for two reasons. Her classical reasons: it would be rude, and she had no idea how. She accepted the waiting hand, accidentally-on-purpose brushing her fingers against the mark. Looking up into the smiling face, she contemplated once again on how similar Jade was to Misa.

"We can have dango! That is dough with bean paste. Miso soup also sounds good. Pocky is candy. For party food, it would be expensive. It is ok that you cannot cook. Misa-chan could never cook either."

She sighed slightly at the thought of Misa, but Jade's happiness was so contagious that she couldn't help being excited at the idea of making miso soup and okonomiyaki.

"How many people will be eating?" she asked, curiously. The amount of food they bought would never be enough if she didn't have an idea. From experience, it probably wouldn't be anyway.

[Jade]

{ooc:Ok how about we move after this post?}

When Mei's fingers brushed the cut, she half flinched half shivered. She decided to ignore it. It was just a little mark, a little make made for salvation. They were having so much fun no need to get all whiny or anything.

"I have no clue. I say we make a whole bunch and see who shows up!" She said in an overtly bright voice.

"I can cook if it involves no more than two steps and a microwave," She laughed remembering when she nearly set the hotel room on fire with the hot plate.

"So...I'm guessing we are going to the market then?" She said arching an eyebrow at Mei,"Or would we go to the Mall, hmmm?"

She shook her head her black and red tresses flying every where,"Never mind we'll figure it out when we get there!"