At the end of a Long Shift

Speaking to Joanna, " No problem. At least you're here, right? "

He gave her a smile. Then turned to Himitsu and back to her. There was certainly some kind of tension between them. Something he was sure would go away sooner or later. Both them were going to be a big help. For some reason, he felt like things wouldn't turn out well if it continued. So after their little talk here, he was going to invite Himitsu to join them on their way back to his old neighborhood. That is, if they were all going the same way. And with some luck, he can convince her to help out sooner. Or he would have to resort to the plan he had earlier.

Himiko tilted her head at Joanna, "Really. I'd don't know why you'd think that." She spoke politely.
Frankly speaking, Himiko had no opinion of Joanna. She was quick to violence, something that did and would continue to find disagreeable and distasteful, but she otherwise knew nothing about the woman. She didn't have anything to have an opinion of.
The same rather went for the boy, whose name she still didn't know. He seemed a bit odd - walking around in the rain with an umbrella, but not opening it? - and that one look he'd had in his eyes when they first met was hauntingly familiar. She didn't like those eyes, but she did like that he seemed unphasable; he'd been completely calm through Joanna's entire temper tantrum.
He was also kind of cute - bad brain! Bad, stupid, hormonal brain!

Himiko looked between the two, but the silence stretched on. She glanced back at the school building behind her, framed by dark twisting clouds, "Why are you meeting out here, of all places, anyway?"

She raised her eyebrow on her comment. No, of course not. She never thought of her that way. But she was a girl and girls always act like this: Saying no when thinking yes. When she noticed her watching him she smiled. It seemed that she got a taste for him. They were probably the same age - at least that would fit. Their natures itself are completely different, as far as she could judge it now. But: Opposites attract.

Her attempt to break the silence wasn´t good at all. She seemed nervous. They were foreigners and a school was a perfect meeting point since it is a central point in this city you really can´t miss. Meeting in a restaurant or café would be risky since there would be always people around. She restrained herself. She wouldn´t say anything unnecessary around her.

" Well... we're looking for something. "

At one point, he noticed a change in her behavior. A thought. He wondered what it was about. Staring at her any longer wasn't helping his restraint of affection towards her. The feeling went away earlier, but there was no telling when it would come back up again.

In the meantime, he tried to avoid giving out any more information. Until he knew she could be trusted. Translating for him would bring some questions later. He was just going to hold it off for now. Lying wasn't something he enjoyed. It was better to not have her involved now.

" It's getting late. Your parents must be worried... "

Looking for... something. That said a lot. Not. "Oh-kay, I'm going to need a little bit more information than that before I agree to anything concrete." No matter how attractive a boy was, she'd played enough mind games as a child to last her a lifetime. They were both very tightlipped, and Himiko's experience - which, admittedly, was almost limited to teenage girl drama and her own poor family life - was that a lack of details meant bad things for you. The devil was in the details and all that.

Himiko couldn't restrain the brief scowl that crossed her features at the mention of her parents. But her both her tone and body language expressed casual disinterest, rather than the defensiveness she felt, "I doubt it. I don't live with them." And she would never be able to express how grateful she was that she was out from under their neglectful, overcontrolling thumbs.
Though; oops. That was a bit too much information for people she didn't know.

Their behaviour was so ... sweet. They were really flirting with each other. But just now he turned back to his normal no-more-information behaviour. Too bad. Watching them was surely fun. She wondered if something had happen after she left the restaurant earlier. When she tried to get some more information she figured that they only met by chance and that he just asked her for some help since she could do some translation work. Would he tell her more details? He don´t know her at all. She felt like she would be pissed if he would tell since he didn´t told her much more details. Not even his name.

Her thought was interrupted by her cell phone. Who on earth would call her now? She looked at it´s display. It was her boss. She knew that her exit hadn´t been too good but he could at least trust that she would come back as soon as possible. She sighed and turned off the sound.

"Enough with that chit-chat. Since there are no parents who could worry about you now ... do you want to help or not? I´ve got not the whole night and I want to start that already."

Smart. She wasn't going to give up that easily. He still wanted to keep her from knowing though. And to do that, he had to come up something to answer. A lie, or maybe telling her part of the whole story. Thanks to her, he found his opportunity. To change the subject to her parents.

He also didn't want to reveal anything about himself, but out of impulse, and those blue-grey eyes, " You don't live with your parents either?... "

Luckily, Joanna had temporarily stopped them from continuing on. If he was still lucky today, she would have to ask another time. When the opportunity presented itself. The conversation about it was starting to stray to a different one. But he still found it surprising that she was living on her own. Like him. Although they lived in different conditions.

Either? Himiko's eyes widened in surprise. While it was true she didn't talk about her situation much, she'd also never met someone who was in a similar position to hers - alone and supporting themselves at such a young age.
But... no, the circumstances must have been different. The boy was foreign, traveling to Japan by himself (unless he was traveling with the woman? But they hadn't acted that familiar before...) while she worked long hours to keep herself afloat.

She was torn between avoiding the subject - because she certainly didn't want to talk about why she lived alone - and asking questions about the boy's situation - because it was much more interesting than hers - when Joanna looked up from her phone and spoke impatiently.
The attitude rubbed Himiko the wrong way; like Joanna expected her to beg to help them, rather than acknowledging that even standing here talking to them was Himiko already going out of her way to talk.
She sighed softly, “You said you felt like I didn’t like you, Miss Joanna, but you’re the one acting like it. I don’t hurry my – well, let’s call it contract negotiation because I don’t know a better english word – for anyone and I’d be forced to question the morality of anyone who tried to make me.” She shrugged. The motion caused the box hanging from her bag to rattle, and she reached out to still it with her free hand automatically, “I’ve given my conditions, its up to you and oniisan to deliver.”

This girl was getting it wrong every time she spoke and her self-confidence was making her look more cocky than she probably knew. She had other problems to solve and couldn´t care about her being in their team or not. And since she didn´t even know his name she wasn´t too sure about definitely helping him out. He has been a help back then and she did feel happy seeing him again but she had no intention in defending herself all the time. So, she made it his choice.

"It´s not up to me. Oniisan, you should choose what´s the best for you. I´m going to decide after that. It seems that I´m pretty unnecessary here, so ..."

She don´t wanted him to choose between them but to wake him from falling for her. And ... again. He didn´t told her much about himself. If he choose to tell Himitsu more details it would be better to withdraw since he probably trusts her more then. Setting conditions was pretty smart but also pretty conceited. It ´s true that it would help but it wasn´t necessary at all.

"I´m not against you and I don´t want to annoy you but I really have not the whole night. You must know, there´s a family worrying about me and especially my boss is going insane when I´m missing. You see, it´s not about liking you or not."

This was making things more complicated. He didn't have the intention of choosing between the two, and he understood that Joanna was in hurry. So was he. They were both going to be helpful. No matter what the outcome may be.

" Wait- "

He walks to Joanna.

" You're right. We should get going... "

He turns back to Himitsu. The 'contract negotiation' can be discussed on their way to his old neighborhood. At least, that's what she would think. Like last time, he was going to switch to something else. That way, they can have a chance to... connect. By chance, her condition will end up being ignored. And he'll win this little game. But she wasn't easy to win over...

" Himitsu, you can come along. If we're going in the same direction... we can discuss this."

Well, that was... No, Himiko didn't know what that was. What the heck did she do this time, much less bad enough to make her storm off? Himiko's brow furrowed in confusion, and she found herself scratching her head at Joanna's retreating back. Huh, so her teacher was right about foreigners and manners after all. They were weird, brash and acted as though rude was polite. Unless it involved calling them out on previous, unacceptably rude statements apparently. Then rude was rude. Well, at least the the women seemed to be that way; the boy was more relaxed about everything, goodness knew if she'd somehow managed to offend him too by acting properly.
Himiko wondered who Joanna's family was, in much the same way she wondered about her coworkers and schoolmates families - all of which seemed much more ideal than her own. Parents? Siblings? Children? She couldn't be married or have a fiancee - she didn't have a ring. But she'd also said something about a boss, which was confusing. If she was gainfully employed and here for work, why was her family as well? If the woman wasn't so... spikey and aggressive, Himiko would have been tempted to ask. As it was, Joanna would probably find that offensive somehow too - she seemed to with everything else.

Himiko wasn't surprised when the boy - she really needed a name for him - chased after Joanna though. The two were clearly familiar with each other, possibly friends, while she wasn't even an acquaintance who was momentarily useful.
So she was surprised when he turned back, calling her to come along with them while he explained what it was exactly he was intending to do. That had been unexpected - truthfully, since he now knew she went to school here she'd been expecting him to show up at the building looking for her when it was convenient for him.
Himiko considered the offer. They were heading adjacent to her own path home - not on the way, but the delays were minor to a point. It would be easy to turn off when the paths diverged.
On the other hand, it was dark. She was hungry, her food was cold, she had an entire book to read, and at least a good hour's worth of maths and science homework.
Meh, she was entirely capable of working out the answers in her head as they went, anyway. There was an english saying about pennys and pounds that applied here. Himiko shrugged, feeling awkward, "I'm not sure how long we'll be heading the same way, but alright." She agreed, tucking her food deeper under her arm as she trailed behind them.

She wasn´t surprised that Himitsu was about to follow. She showed some signs of liking him and it was clear that he wanted her also to help. Well, it was a good idea, of course. But she couldn´t put up with the fact that Himitsu was always getting her wrong. She reacted cold in front of her and she wasn´t accustomed to that situation. Joanna did apologize for her rude behaviour in the restaurant but Himitsu was still acting like she was just a unadvertently nuisance she couldn´t cut off. And she really tried to be nice to her. Well, she tried but not really. Maybe she needed to think over it again and try some more.

When they walked along the street Joanna talked to her again:

"I would like you to come along. You see, I had some trouble the last few weeks and I´m still still not able to hide it completely. That´s the reason I´m being rude. That´s no excuse, I know, but I try being more polite with you ... if you try it as well. You´re pretty rude yourself, sometimes. So ..."

She stops and holds out her hand. Last try. She don´t intended to apologize and justify herself to her again. It was up to her.

" ... sorry again. Friends ... or at least peace?"

He smiles. Finally, they could settle this. Even if it was just a misunderstanding. It was a nice gesture. Looks like it came sooner than he expected.

Now it was just a matter of keeping Himitsu away for a bit. He wanted to tell Joanna his plan, since it involved her. If she really was in a rush, there's no telling when she would leave. Then he would bring Himitsu closer to talk. Like his previous plan.

He couldn't help but notice a box she was holding. For some school work, maybe. There was something odd about it for some reason.

Himiko had not expected Joanna to start talking to her; she'd gotten every impression the older woman just plain disliked her. But the more Joanna spoke, the more it seemed she had problems in life and she was just taking it out on Himiko.
She did feel irritated when Joanna accused her of being rude as well, though she tried not to scowl. Himiko mentally reviewed all her actions of the evening. She had not bowed properly once, and had twice spoken in a way that wasn't quite demure enough for a young girl in the presence of a man if it had been twenty years ago, but was perfectly polite today. Aside from that, not even her mother would have been able to find a flaw in her manners - if she'd been anymore polite, people would have needed to start calling her ojousan.

But on the other hand, Joanna wasn't... well, she didn't seem to be apologizing, because she justified her actions to. More she was explaining herself. She wasn't trying to make amends, but she was holding out a hand towards her. Himiko knew that was a greeting in the west, so perhaps Joanna wanted to start over.
Well, Himiko had no qualms with that. She didn't know where the anomosity between them had sprung from in the first place, save Joanna's own irritability. However, just shaking her hand would be merely a temporary measure. If she were to accept Joanna had problems she was pushing onto Himiko, then Himiko had to acknowledge where her difficulty with the situation was coming from as well, "Ano... I think we might have a, uh, is the term translation error? I've tried to be very polite, if a little modern." She fidgeted, not looking at Joanna, "But I think I might have been a bit, uh, I don't know the word. I've never met a gaijin before. I might have been letting what other people have told me make my judgement." Her anxiety - because admitting mistakes or apologizing wasn't something she did as a rule - came through in her voice; it had become distinctly more accented.

Confusing. Did she accept her apology? Was this her way express that she wanted to start over? She couldn´t tell since she was claiming being polite all the time. Well, polite in a different way. Her gestures meant more likely that she was also confused about her try to make some peace but it still looked like she did not really accept it though. Well, at least, she wasn´t behaving like before anymore. This was a start.

"Don´t get me wrong. I´m not taking it out on you. It´s just the fact that I don´t wanted to come to Japan, at all. And ... I´m not having any big problems ... just a few arguments with my family. That always ... you know ... is confusing me and I´m not myself then."

She went into details to show some more trust in her - and to make clear that she did not dislike her. Still holding her hand out she smiled at her. Maybe she couldn´t see it perfectly but she could notice the change in her expression. She thought that her boss would probably dislike the way she treated this girl but he surely would like the way she was trying to make up. But that wasn´t the reason she was trying to. More likely, she don´t wanted to be the "bitchy foreigner". Because that wasn´t her.

Another attempt at this. Personally, he didn't like the fact that Himitsu was still refusing to make amends with her. Yes, she thought she didn't have any fault in all of this, but as a waitress with customer service skills, it was better to resolve the problem by ending it as soon as possible to avoid any more complaints. On the other hand, she wasn't their waitress at the moment. Well, now he wouldn't consider her to be just a waitress. Wasn't it more mature to judge someone, in this case, a 'foreigner' by their actions and the relation they have with others? When you've actually had the chance to speak and be around them? You never really know people by just hearing about them. Here she was. Holding out a hand of friendship. By Himitsu's fidgeting, he could tell she was standing up for herself. Or at least what she believed to be true. And what was even more mature was admitting a mistake, rather than thinking that you're always right.

Joanna claimed that she wasn't making an excuse for her behaviour. Understandable. Still, she apologized. She had other things to work out, but that's another story.

Wanting to say something to break this up before it got worse, he looks at the direction they were heading. It was getting dark. He needed to hurry. As a patient person, he waited for them to exchange more words. All for them to sort this out. Now it was probably too late to actually look around for more clues. He sighs.

He looks at Himitsu, " Look, if you don't want to, that's your decision. If you end this, neither of you will be at fault. You can still have your opinions about each other. It won't be the end of the world if you work up the nerve to accept an apology and an offer to make things better. You can say whatever you want about her, but it doesn't change the fact that she's a friendly person. I've known her longer than you have. "

Staring deeply into her eyes.

" What's even more, your judgement of people is influenced by your peers. The same rule about foreigners applies to you too. Now, would it be fair if I thought that every Japanese person had too much pride to apologize, all because one person wouldn't do it? "

Joanna's expression was that of pure confusion. Himiko couldn't blame her - she knew what she was thinking, and could barely understand what she was saying out loud. It was at least a large part pride; she could acknowledge mistakes in her own head, but to say them to other people? A large part of her just repealed at the idea. A much smaller part, a piece she liked to squash away and pretend didn't exist, complained that it made her a disappointment to admit error, too.
Joanna and the nameless boy were still staring at her, waiting for a better contribution from her. They could at least appreciate the fact she was trying, darn it!

Himitsu didn't even listen to the boy, still struggling with her own tongue. Words and making her meaning clear had always come easy to her in the past - she remembered every word she'd ever read, heard or spoken herself. Usually it was a matter of finding things she'd heard that fit with what she thought and mashing them together. Here was was literally expected to say one word, one she'd heard just seconds ago, and all she could hear was the echo of something she'd fought long and hard to put behind her.
Well, maybe that would do to make them understand where she was coming from...
She scowled at the ground, clearing her throat and lowering her tone, obviously impersonating a man - most likely her father, " 'Never apologize. Regret does nothing and means nothing. It doesn't fix anything, its weak to act as though it does, and just leaves you open to manipulation. Atone by action - and sekkupu'." The pitch rose to her normal voice again, but it was rough with frustration, "I've never been given a serious apology, and I've never been expected to react to one. And I've never - I've admitted a mistake on my part before and acted to improve myself, but that's all I needed to do, I've was never expected to say anything else."

Both of them were totally surprising her. He, because he really tried to defend her. Immediately she felt sorry for her behaviour, for starting a fight, for complaining about time and for letting him feel her uneasyness. She turned to him with a kind of sad expression on her face wanting to say something but couldn´t. Then Himitsu spoke. And she surprised her because it sounded like it was coming from deep inside of her. Like it was something she always wanted to bolt away. Like it was something she wasn´t proud of at all. Like ... like something bad she experienced. No, maybe not bad but not normal. And she was still so young. Now, it was clear why she wasn´t living with her parents and why she was kind of happy about those circumstances.

She turned back to her. She had no idea what to say. But her opinion of her was changing somehow. She did not apologize but did Himitsu really needed to do so? She just revealed a bit of herself and maybe, no, definitely, something precious in a way. Joannas eyes widened for a moment then she just grabbed for Himitsu and hugged her. Just a spontaneous reaction and not really planned. That was the reason why she started back just after doing it. Her feelngs were going crazy. She just asked herself if she was on heat or something like that then laughed out loud, nodded to him and turned back to her.

"You don´t need to apologize. I just wanted ... ah, forget about what I wanted. It doesn´t matter anymore. Just ... make friends. Would you like to tell some more about that matter. I mean, maybe it will help. You see, someday you will need to apologize and if you can´t due to certain circumstances it can be dangerous. Talking about different experiences ... maybe it is good for you. But if you don´t want to you don´t need to but remember that I, no, we just want to help."

... And speaking of help...

Ah well, he tried. There was nothing special about the effort though. At least there was some sort of good reaction from this. What he didn't expect. Now what they were waiting for was Himitsu's reaction to the hug. He thought it would be kind of funny if they broke out in a group hug. Like they were here to comfort her. Only she probably didn't want the attention. What he didn't like was the fact that for a moment there, she said something his father would say. He hated that. His appearance didn't show much of it, but he became angry. Which made him want to find his family quickly and finish what he started. What he would give to punch that man in the face...

With that, he takes a step back, then turns his body as if he was to start walking. He was just waiting for them to finish up.

One moment, Himiko was glaring at her feet, unable to meet anyone's gaze. Her cheeks burned with what she thought was anger, but couldn't work out who or what she was angry at. These people, for putting her in a place where she couldn't say what she wanted to herself and had to go back to quoting just to get her point across? Her father, for messing her up this much? Her, for being messed up even after it had been two years and she should really be over this already?
She didn't want to see how they were looking at her now - be it cluelessness, apathy or, worst of all, pity. She never wanted pity - because Himitsu was always cool and collected and in control and everyone knew that if you messed with her no lawyer in the country could give you any advise but 'pay out of court' and didn't need pity. She wanted to run. She wanted to turn and dash home and deadlock the door, not coming out for days until she was sure these people - these people who made her comfort zone feel so far away when all she was trying to do was get on with them - were well and truly gone to back whereever they had come from.

She'd almost considered doing it too. But then she was being pulled foward, with arms strong enough to make her stiff-as-a-board body bend how they wanted it. She would have squeaked, maybe even said something, put her face was pressed against a soft chest. It kind of... shook with the sound of laughter.
Oh.
She was being hugged. And Joanna was laughing, which was a bit strange, but... hug.
Himiko was not very familar with hugs. She knew the concept, but her colleges tended to ruffle her hair to show affection and her schoolmates much preferred the 'one arm over shoulder' version. She'd hugged her friends goodbye when she'd graduated from primary school, had offered one or two hugs with said friends when she was even smaller - five or six, but that was all. Her mother was cold. Her father was stern, but had given her one hug - something from just a few years ago, for something she couldn't remember only that there had been badness and scared and pain and why couldn't she remember? She'd had no uncles or aunts or grandparents to offer affection. For someone with perfect recall, the fact she could count the number of hugs she'd ever received on one hand - the current one included - was rather sad. On the other hand, she couldn't say she liked being hugged either. It also probably explained why she stood there, neither accepting nor resisting the arms around her, without any response.
At least Joanna's voice - muffled by Himiko's own location - was soothing. And more positive now, so while she wasn't quite sure what had caused hugs to happen, they were probably good and not arguing anymore. "There isn't anything to talk about. I don't need help." She insisted, rather wishing that everyone would forget everything she'd said, but her voice came out so muffled by the body around her she wasn't sure if they'd understood her.

She looked at her a moment longer then smiled slightly. She expected her to resist though it wasn´t the way she imagined. Not that much. Himitsu tried but couldn´t really the way she wanted to. Maybe it was enough for today. The day had been long and hard enough and in the end both of them tried lecturing her. All this ended up in confusion and feelings coming through. Yeah, it was time to let her catch her breath.

"Well, if you need any help or if you want to talk sometime just give a sign."

She smiled and stepped a bit closer to her. Just a bit. She don´t wanted to make her feel uneasy again. She bend down a little to look in her eyes. She was sure that Himitsu wasn´t able to return her gaze but Joanna wanted to show some proximity.

"Do you want to come along or do you you want to be on your own now? I think both is fine with us. Return to your home and think about our suggestion in helping us. If you don´t want to it´s ok. But you can call us whenever you want. Ok?"

He turns back to them. To face Himitsu. He had a good chance now. Either choice she made, she wasn't going to help today. That was fine. There was also a chance that he could still convince her today. From her previous statement, she was a busy person. So he could only imagine they were hindering her from finishing her work, as a school girl.

Finally, closer to going back to his neighborhood. The whole day wasn't that bad. At least Joanna wasn't bored. So he kept his promise. Plus she was going to join them again the next day. Then... Himitsu... He was still interested in her. A part of him kind of wanted her to stay. However, it was all up to her.

Himiko had remained deadly still throughout the hug, as though any action on her part would cause Joanna's arms to turn to blade that would cut her to ribbons. She remained equally still when she was finally released, though she was more than grateful for any semblance of space. She missed her space bubble in the short time it had been popped. Then Joanna stepped closer again, inside what was usually regarded as neutral area - the place where stepping any closer would cause two people's space bubbles to collide; it was a place only disrespected on public transport. But perhaps Joanna had a smaller space bubble than the people she was used to.
Even so, Himiko shuffled back a step out of reflex.

When Joanna asked her if she needed to leave now, her first reflex was to say yes. She was all jumbled up inside, and the apathy she both hated and depended on so far away. She wanted to get away and pretend the last five minutes had never happened. She wanted to crawl into a cubby-hole somewhere and lick at her wounded pride, wanted to get away from these people she'd shown too much vulnerability too and never come back.
But her second reflex balked and rebelled at the thought. Curiosity was, for once, as strong as pride. These people with their strange manners and purposes here - whose eyes sometimes took on a look that reminded her of times past without the sick taste in her mouth quoting her father did - had a charisma all their own. She didn't want to live in whatever kind of world they lived in, but she wondered what their world was like.

In the end, practicality won, if barely. Himiko looked ruefully at her bag, heavy with worksheets and books, "I kind of need to go. I've homework. And a book I need to read for tomorrow. And my dinner's cold." It sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than them. And even after listing off all these, she found herself remaining still in her spot, rather than walking away as she should have.

It was ok. Totally. Earlier the day she never thought that her attitude towards Himitsu would change just a bit. Now she was standing in front of her nearly wanting to hug her again. Well, she created the behaviour of Himitsu herself though she never had the intention to. Where she was from people would always act the way she did but this wasn´t where she came from. She shook her head. It was ok now. With the help of him she managed to go on and prevent having a bad taste for the rest of their journey. And, what was more important, they managed to get a bit closer to her. Noticing her falling back Joanna also stepped backwards.

"In that case, we´ll leave you alone for now. Except that you want us to accompany you home. I mean, you´re looking a bit pale."

Her voice was gentle and slight when Joanna spoke. By no means she wanted to disturb her and make her feel unsecure again. Time was passing by but it doesn´t matter. They would do their thing after finishing here. At the moment this was more important than anything else.

Disappointing. A choice he thought he would be okay with. It had a different effect.

Looking at her again, " Okay. Well, see you around. "

He gave a dishonest smile. One that was better than her fake one, at least. It was easy to pull it off if the person didn't know how you acted on a daily basis. The awkward part was that they were going in the same direction. At some point, she would leave them. Hopefully her home was closer to the ones up ahead.

" Joanna, let's go. If we hurry, we can still do something before it gets darker. "

All he needed was her to be closer, away from Himitsu, so he can tell her what he had in mind. With Himitsu either trailing behind them, or walking ahead, it would make things easier. It was better if they went on ahead though. He could only imagine how weird it would feel to walk in front of them, having them looking at her from behind and all. And... worse if it was him for that situation... You know... Not that he... Forget it.