Unexpected Encounter
leigh Guest
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Post by leigh on Dec 17, 2011 20:51:14 GMT -6
May 7th, 2003, Tuesday 4:00 PM
Claire Kimura walked into the Laundromat and closed the door behind herself, glad to be alone for a few moments. If there were someone here, they would only stare at her, since it was incredibly windy outside. Claire knew from experience that this meant her hair would be an awful mess.
Relieved, Claire leaned against the wall for several relaxing moments, breathing in the unique and somewhat unpleasing odor that seemed to be present in all such establishments. It was clean, and a little overwhelming, with the smells of so many different cleaning products at once. And yet, it was mixed with a series of unpleasant, unidentifiable scents that always lingered in the small room long after they had been removed from the garments that were washed here. But, to Claire, it was comforting. It reminded her of the dry-cleaning shop where her mother worked. Of course, that was different; it was a proper shop, where people with more money than the Kimura family took their clothes to be neatly pressed and creased. As usual, Claire was reminded of how ironic it was that her mother couldn’t afford to patronize the establishment where she herself had worked for the past nine or so years. But those things didn’t matter at the moment. For now, at least, this was the way things were. And Claire was not going to complain. At least not much.
Usually, at home, Claire chose a machine near the entrance, but today the Laundromat was a haven from the strange, new life that she was beginning. She shoved her clothes into the machine against the far wall of the room, inserted her money, and pressed the button to start. She then sat down to wait in one of the uncomfortable, plastic chairs that lined the wall opposite the washers and dryers. She disliked sitting in chairs, because her legs always seemed to stick out too far, and she could never manage to fold them in a way that didn’t look awkward or unfeminine. At the moment, though, she didn’t really care. She had too much to think about, and she was alone in the self-cleaning service facility, for once, so she stuck her long legs straight out from her body, and stared thoughtfully at her red rain boots.
Her first days of school had been entirely uneventful. She had been stared at a good bit, but that was normal for her. It hadn’t really gotten to her all that much, either, since she had been so busy trying to find all of her classes. Her main concern was rather she could keep up, jumping into the programs at a new school in the middle of the school year. But yesterday had been her second day, and she was doing fairly well so far, although she definitely saw room for improvement. That would come with time, though, and Claire was mostly pleased with herself. With all of these things in mind, Claire leaned back and closed her eyes, listening to the familiar hum of the washing machine at work.
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Post by Densetsu Karu on Dec 17, 2011 22:33:53 GMT -6
His scheme was going along "swell." Upon arriving early at the bus stop, he sat at a bench and waited for the girl who had asked him on this unexpected excursion. Aizawa Shouko. Mention of her name repelled him and seeing her made him want to disappear into his surroundings like prey cunningly evading its predator. Things between them had gotten worse after the events of the previous Monday.
Due to some idea of his to teach her a "lesson," he had kissed her in hopes to catch her off-guard and make her think twice about competing with her rival, Fuukami Iryna. However, his hopes were dashed as instead she kissed him back, maintaining her cover. In an attempt to escape the publicity of the cafeteria, Karu "spilled" his hot udon on her uniform. After the two had entered an empty classroom, she swapped uniform jackets with him, then she had asked him on this date. Karu had almost declined. But then this scheme had entered his mind.
His guess was she had spent hours beforehand preparing for this. Why go to all that trouble? It was a simple meeting with a guy she hardly knew. Karu couldn't say he understood girls. Before the "date," he had ensured that she would bring the stained uniform with her. He threatened that if she didn't he wouldn't come. Anyhow, Shou did arrive, all flustered and delicate. He had refused to explain his demands, or where they were going, much to her frustration. He could tell that her mild fury couldn't hold out against the thought of her first date (he assumed it was her first by her behaviour). Her fluster soon returned as he held her hand on the bus and walk to the building he was seeking.
Finally, they arrived, at the laundromat. He bit his lip to suppress his laughter. Instead of some romantic outing, he was bringing her to finish a chore. "Here we are, Shou-chan," he said with one eye closed, adding the suffix for extra mockery. "Now we can wash that stained uniform of yours." He thought he spotted someone inside the building. That was good; in-case he was horribly mangled in Shou's fury, he had a witness. He had to admit he wasn't that worried, though.
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Post by Aizawa Shou on Jan 2, 2012 15:27:41 GMT -6
A quiet parade across town. That's what it was. Walking robotically, stiff and upright, Shou walked, gripping her tarnished uniform as tightly as humanly possible. In her other hand, a reassuring warmth of another's; Densetsu Karu's hand to be exact. Her face was caked with a light magenta blush. It was the nerves getting to her. This was a serious date. So she had to take it seriously.
Her ever-scheming mind turned to where in the name of all places he could be taking her to. She'd requested, somewhat violently, that he take her somewhere nice. Fully intending to weasel a few hundred yen out of the boy to treat her to drinks or treats, she assumed that they'd end up somewhere typical. The movie theater, or a restaurant perhaps. Whichever it was, she was determined to get her money's worth.
"A-ara?"
Shou choked out a bewildered, unamused reaction to the fantastic, exciting place he had brought them to. A run-of-the-mill laundromat, not too far from her dwelling. Shou had the mind to turn around and beat Karu's arm senseless, quite literally devoid of the sense of touch. She was, thankfully paralyzed from this startling revelation. He couldn't have picked a better place
"Here we are, Shou-chan,"
The nerve of him to add "chan" at the end, after bringing her here had Shou boiling up like a volcano. Were it humanly possible, she'd likely vent steam from her ears, and incinerate the boy with a dragon-like breath of fire. Instead she opted for the evil eye, which she shot the poor boy.
"Now we can wash that stained uniform of yours."
"Yes. Now we can wash that stained uniform of mine." Shou repeated, with the slightest hint of sarcasm, with a dash of malice, and the flavor of a venomous glance. She pushed the stained school wear into the boy's chest, and thundered into the laundromat. He was lucky someone else was in here. A convenient alibi for him should Shou choose to let Karu live the life of laundry for a day, and take a quick trip in the spin cycle. Or perhaps two. At least he'd be a clean corpse.
Slumping down on one of the cheap plastic seats, Shou crossed her legs over, and pointing at one of the many unoccupied washers with her foot. Her eyes were full of disappointment, and anger. She was determined to make him, make it up to her later, and take her somewhere more real for a date. The cinema was looking pretty good right about now, typical or not.
"I assume you know how laundry works? The type of detergent to use? Temperature for certain materials and stains?" Shou asked, jabbing her leg like a lance toward the metal box in front of her. She would be able to hold her own here. Jun was the one who had taught her how to wash clothes properly among other things. Such were the needs of living on his own. She'd wash clothes twice a week for one week, then he, the same on the next. Now, she would be able to use her cleaning knowledge to take revenge on the boy, and create an ample opportunity for some belittling.
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leigh Guest
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Post by leigh on Jan 5, 2012 22:24:31 GMT -6
Claire Kimura was wondering what she would do on her day off from school the following day. She didn’t know this town; so far she only knew the locations of the school, the dorms, and this Laundromat. The most prudent thing, then, would be to explore a bit. She’d also like to pick up a few groceries, so she would hunt around for the cheapest places. Although that might prove to be difficult, since the town was fairly small and she might not have many options. Still, there were probably some local shops that would be reasonably priced, so she figured she’d make out all right. That would probably take up her whole day, so she wouldn’t have to worry about getting bored or having time to feel lonely. Which was good, since this town was so new and she really didn’t know anyone and the only people she could talk to were too far away… Claire was jolted out of her contemplation by the rude sound of the door being opened. Automatically, she looked towards the noise, just in time to watch a brown-haired girl storm into the room. She was followed by a boy with similar colored hair, who was holding something, probably clothes, Claire didn’t pay much attention. In fact, it was hard to pay attention to anything except the girl. Despite her perfect, elfish figure, she somehow managed to fill the room with her stormy, angry presence. She was clearly upset with the boy, and angrily motioned for him to put whatever he was holding – probably laundry, of course – into one of the washers. The girl then began drilling the boy with a series of questions, as they she were trying to mock his inability to work the machines. Claire wondered why she didn’t just tell him what to do, but then again she rarely understood the actions of girls like this one.
Why had the two come on this errand together, anyway? Claire might have thought that they were simply a couple doing their chores together, but if this were a regular event for them then the brunette girl would not be questioning the boy’s knowledge of the task. Perhaps they'd had some sort of fight, and she was punishing him by forcing him to do her chores for her. Some of the girls at her old school had done things like that, although Claire didn’t quite see how they got pleasure out of that sort of thing. And she certainly didn’t see why this boy would put up with it. Then again, the girl was pretty, and had a lithe, petite figure, so maybe that was why he tolerated her. She wondered if he had chased after her to make her his girlfriend. What would it be like to have someone appreciate you that much?
Claire flushed, suddenly realizing that she had been staring at the strangers. She quickly averted her eyes, returning her gaze to her boots. Maybe they hadn’t noticed.
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Post by Densetsu Karu on Jan 9, 2012 15:49:55 GMT -6
If he wasn't so intent on keeping the tension under his control, he probably would've burst out laughing. The sarcastic, disappointed, almost annoyed tone in Shou's voice was oddly amusing. He could just imagine her eyes burning through him, or fire setting beneath her feet. She had quite the temper; it seemed like she was always worrying and brooding over someone (occasionally him). Karu decided that she needed to learn to relax more. He almost said so, but he doubted she'd appreciate any good advice at that moment.
They entered the building, Shou sitting into one of the plastic seats, bombarding him with questions. He heard them, but chose to ignore them for a moment, observing his surrounding carefully. Nearby was the only other person in the building, a girl who look a little too big for the chair (of course, they were pretty small). There were plenty chairs, and plenty machines for laundry-washing. If it turned to violence (Shou's temper would only escalate) he'd be able to defend himself quite neatly. It probably wouldn't get that far, however, since he knew just the things to say to calm her down. Standing in front of one machine, he motioned to the one in front of Shou.
"Admittedly, dearest," he said softly, "I do not. Why don't you teach me how if we ever happen to come back?" He put her uniform into the washer, then turned to her expectantly. "Unless of course, you want me to ruin this further by going with the default settings." He flicked a nob on the machine, concern playing on his face.
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Post by Aizawa Shou on Feb 7, 2012 18:37:57 GMT -6
With an indignant huff, Shou thrust herself forward, and onto her feet like a miniature human tank, barreling towards the washer. She had apparently ignored the 'dearest' remark, or simply just zoned out, focusing on her own agenda. She was rather disappointed with the fun place she'd brought him, but perhaps he might learn something from it, apologize, and than take her somewhere fun.
Her brow retreated back up to her head, rather than encroaching upon her nostrils, and her expression softened. Leaning over to twist the dial to a higher heat setting, she tugged lightly on Karu's sleeve, beckoning him to look, and pay attention to what she was doing.
"Now. See here, when you get difficult sauce stains like soy? It comes off easier with a higher heat. If you put too much detergent in it, then it gets itchy. About a half cup should do it." She instructed, much like an older sister, or a mother would to their child, or younger sibling. Her tone was level, neither patronizing nor strict as she worked, scooping a half-cup of detergent powder into a plastic cup, tipping it into the abyss of the washer.
"Put too little on it and you might end up soaking the stain further into the material." She added, closing the lid down, firing up the great churning, metal beast as it graciously accepted her offering and began to fill with water. Satisfied, Shou sat herself back down on the same chair with a smug grin of victory on her face. She was the master of the machine.
"Hope you learned something today... And now that I've given you a little bit of know-how, you'll have to pay for it." Shou started, fully intending on getting the date she desired, "Take me to a restaurant for something to eat when we're done here."
Her mind was now abuzz with the places he could take her. The many treats and delicacies to feast upon. It had been a great while since she had pigged out on food. Her strict diet dictated a lack of many treats and heavy foods to maintain her slender figure for skating. It would be a rare treat for her.
But Karu... What was he to her? At first he seemed like some foreigner who shared their face, their ethnicity, but was detached from the culture. His accent betrayed him as a native English speaker. He was a foreigner. It was bothersome to deal with him. Yet... There was something about him. Something endearing.she saw that sparked the maternal instinct. It was more than her hushed little crush on the daring bad boy in her cousin's class.
Could it called affection?
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leigh Guest
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Post by leigh on Feb 14, 2012 16:43:00 GMT -6
"Admittedly, dearest, I do not. Why don't you teach me how if we ever happen to come back? Unless of course, you want me to ruin this further by going with the default settings."
The boy replied to his companion's question in a manner that, to Claire, definitely seemed patronizing, to the point that it should have been insulting. Claire was confused, why would the boy speak to his girlfriend so harshly? Maybe she had made a mistake, and their relationship was something different than what she had first supposed it to be.
"Now. See here, when you get difficult sauce stains like soy? It comes off easier with a higher heat. If you put too much detergent in it, then it gets itchy. About a half cup should do it."
Now Claire was even more confused. Just as she had started to suspect that she had been wrong in her assumptions regarding the relationship the pair of strangers shared, the girl responded as though there were nothing odd about her companion's words. Instead of reacting in anger, she began giving him instructions, quite patiently, as though nothing was amiss. Perhaps Claire’s first guess had been accurate after all. And yet, there was still something that confused Claire. If the two were dating, then why would the boy speak so harshly to someone he cared for? And why didn’t the girl acknowledge his rudeness? Was it because he usually treated her in this way, and she was simply used to it? Or had she somehow missed his hostile tone? Perhaps it was Claire who was misunderstanding, and his response hadn’t been as harsh as she had imagined. Claire had a habit of watching people and trying to guess things about them, and yet, even though she was well-practiced in reading peoples actions, she was still quite capable of making a mistake, which was what she must have done. There was something going on here that she didn’t understand.
Claire had spent so much time contemplating the relationship between the two that she didn’t even noticed that her clothes were through washing until she was jolted out of her thoughts by the sudden ceasing of the familiar noise that meant her uniform was being cleaned. When she realized the garments were ready to dry, she stood somewhat clumsily from her chair and walked over to the washer she had chosen, pulling out her wet uniform and laying it in the dryer. She turned the dryer knob to the appropriate settings, put in her money, and closed the machine before walking back over to the opposite wall and reseating herself in her previous chair.
She hoped that the “couple” would stay long enough for her to figure out what their situation was. It didn't really matter, of course, but she enjoyed trying to figure these things out. Maybe they would give her more to work with before her uniform was finished drying.
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Post by Densetsu Karu on Feb 17, 2012 19:56:10 GMT -6
He said nothing as she instructed him in the ways of the washing machine. Shou was the acting superior of the washing machines, it seemed. Not that he cared. She could keep the title if she so wished.
"Hope you learned something today..."
"How to take a girl on a date?" he wanted to say, but he held his tongue. No point in causing anymore trouble, it would only be overdoing it.
"Take me to a restaurant for something to eat when we're done here."
Aha, she wasn't going to accept this mock-date lying down. It was to be expected; who would? Being cheated out of a proper date was something to react to... it was only natural. After all, she had been through a lot because of him.
"Very well," Karu replied, sitting down beside her. "I guess you've earned it. I'll take us somewhere where we can enjoy ourselves." Not that I didn't enjoy your reaction to this, he added silently. At first, her surprise at the location had been very amusing to him. Now... he was growing bored.
They sat in silence, waiting for the machine to finish its job. Karu used the time to reevaluate his feelings for Shou. Pah, who was he kidding? He had only met her twice before. In all honesty, her sudden attachment to him was freaky... and all too familiar. He twitched as a dark memory of his past life flooded his mind, threatening to make his entire day turn sour. Fortunately, he was startled out of his thoughts by the washer's announcement of completing its task.
He approached the metal beast, removing from it the soaked uniform, and replacing it into a dryer. Karu was more familiar with using a dryer (it was usually more simple than all the setting and varying products used by a washing machine), so he spared Shou the questions and set it.
Karu returned to his seat, lethargy nestling into his bones. Now to wait for the dryer to finish, and this waiting would be over.
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Post by Aizawa Shou on Mar 1, 2012 17:42:36 GMT -6
"I guess you've earned it. I'll take us somewhere where we can enjoy ourselves." [/color] Shou nodded triumphantly. Once again she'd run headfirst into the heat of battle, and emerged the victor. it must have made the smug young woman feel worthy of recognition. Some kind of trophy or plaque to commemorate her iron-clad will. She was also getting a free meal out of this boy, regardless or not whether she thought him a catch. A wily fish was Karu, one that didn't take the bait quite so easily. No, no... That would be cruel to play with the boy's feelings. Not to mention hypocritical of her after exploding at both her cousin, and his friend, the formidable Student President. Shou wished she had a kick as powerful as her's, and secretly a body like the fast-kicking Tomoyo too. Hugging her knees up to her chest, Shou squeezed her eyes, shutting them tightly, carving a labyrinth of wrinkles into her eyelids as she tried not to get jealous, and self-conscious again. Her saving grace was the much welcomed sound of the dryer bleeping out it's celebratory tone. It too had conquered it's foe today, along with it's monstrous washer brethren. Impatiently, Shou leapt to her feet, clicking them on the floor as she did. Reaching into the warm metal cavern of the dryer, she plucked out her Hikarizaka school jacket. Much to her elation, she found the stain gone, vanished, without a trace left. "See?" She asserted, giggling merrily, "it's not so hard once you know how."
Folding the still-warm jacket up, she never gave second thought to it feeling slightly... Longer, and larger than usual. Into a plastic bag it went without a care, and, humming merrily away to herself, Shou clicked the door of the dryer shut. Today hadn't been quite so bad after all. It took a little more pushing than usual, but she'd gotten what she wanted. In the end, what was looking like a bleak afternoon had evolved into something promising. She was content with that, and that was that. The free food also helped. "If you don't have anything to wash yourself, we'll leave?" Shou suggested, remembering to alter her tone to that of a questioning one. She did not want to seem like she was barking out another order like a horrible dictator once again, even if at times she acted more than a little tyrannical. At the very least, she could muse away to herself that her actions were not quite as exploitative as her runty rival. With a loud voice and even louder hair, Shou considered herself socially above the little rich girl with a knack for making servants rather than friends.[/blockquote][/size]
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