Hi Everyone!
Immediate submission, so no writeins today.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Please note, this copyright notice is retroactive to all stories I have previously posted on Nifty. They are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License, Copyright (C) 2008.
DISCLAIMER
This story involves relationships between males aged 17-19. If you do not approve of this, why the hell are you even reading it now? If you are a parent reading through the Internet logs of your young child, do not punish your child for reading these stories. He/she clearly has some questions about his development, and it is YOUR responsibility to answer those questions truthfully and honestly. If this material is illegal in your area, leave now. Blah blah blah blah blah blah. You know the drill. If you aren't supposed to be reading this, Don't (although some flames would be lovely to publicly dissect :)).
FEEDBACK
I absolutely love feedback. Please submit your feedback, good or bad, lengthy or brief, in Japanese or in English, (although preferably English) to:
sakurakangen@gmail.com
You may also add me on Google Talk or MSN Messenger at the same address. I love talking to you.
Doumo arigatou gozaimashita.
And now, without further adieu.....
=============================================================================== FINDING YOU: CHAPTER FOUR - Traditions ===============================================================================
"Hey, Will, where are we going?"
"If I remember correctly, one of my old friends, from my holiday here, works somewhere in this building." I responded, looking up at the modern glass scyscraper in front of me.
"Yeah, well, good luck finding him."
I grimaced. "Well, I suppose I might be able to ask around." I said as I walked through the revolving doors, Chris squeezing in behind me.
When we walked in, we were greeted with a well lit and aired lobby, complete with fake vegetation. In one corner there was a counter with a sign above it. I tried, but I couldn't understand the kanji they used.
I noticed an older businessman walking towards the exit.
"Anoo, sumimasen." I said to him in Japanese, "I can't read that Kanji. Can you tell me what it says?"
"E? Hayaku inaku nareyo! Leave me alone, you stupid gaijin!" he shouted back, gesticulating wildly, before storming off.
A woman dressed in business clothes hurriedly walked up to me from behind the counter.
"A.. shitsureishimasu, please ignore him. He has been working hard all day. Do you need any assistance?"
"Erm.. yes actually. Are you the concierge?"
She laughed, forcibly, "Ha ha, well, that's what the sign says."
"Ah, soo desu ka. I couldn't read the sign."
Her eyes widened, "Gomennasai! So sorry! I thought you were joking around. American humor. Please accept my apologies." She bowed very low to the ground.
I was going to have to get used to this, the Japanese politeness.
"Um, I didn't understand virtually any of that.." interjected Chris in English, "but did you just say that Will was American? Because we're not American."
Evidently the concierge spoke English, because she immediately bowed low again, saying in struggling English, "Ah! I am sorry! anoo.. uh.. pu-reese.. for.. forgi.."
"Iie, Iie, it's nothing." I said in Japanese, and she stood up again. "Do you know where I can find Urashima Tarou? I believe he used to work here."
"Oh, Urashima-san?" she smiled. "He is a nice man. He has been promoted, and doesn't work here anymore."
"Oh, really? Do you know where he is now?"
She thought for a moment, "Actually, I don't. But I have a better idea. When the work day is over, I will take you to his home."
"Really? That would be great... um... when does the work day finish? It's only.. uh.. " I checked my watch, "10 AM now.."
"5 PM, but if you need something to do for the day, you can be my assistants!" She smiled and began pushing us toward the counter.
"Will? Will!? What is she doing? I don't speak any Japanese, you know."
"Well, um, do you know your way around Tokyo?"
Jacob walked in to the school cafeteria. Most of the tables had been taken. He looked over the room for his usual group of friends, but they didn't seem to be around. He noticed one table with just one younger looking kid sitting there.
"It'll have to do." He thought.
He sat down at the metal table and opened his lunch, trying not to attract the attention of the unknown kid sitting opposite him. He got out his lunch bag and pulled out what looked like a tuna sandwich. Yuck. It was Will that liked tuna, not him - definitely not him. His mum always got them confused. He got up and threw the sandwich away, looked through the bag, and produced an apple. Yuck. Not again. Into the bin it went too.
It wasn't long before he realised he'd thrown away his entire lunch.
"Ah well.. I'm a dumbass.." he muttered to himself.
"No you're not." The unknown child speaks!
"Pardon?"
"Here, take my lunch. You seem to enjoy throwing things away, so you can save me the trouble."
"Uh.. aren't you going to eat it?" asked Jacob, with an incredulous look.
He grimaced. "I don't eat anything anymore."
"What? Why not? Since when?"
"Since this morning. Coz my Mum is a bitch." Whoa? Strong words for a little kid.
"Why is she a bitch? What did she do?"
"She called all my brother's friends, and told them, quote, that he was a 'fucking faggot' and that's why he's gone away. Now, by highschool folklore, homosexuality can traverse through fraternal bonds, and that's why none of my friends are here now."
Geez, this kid was smart. "Uh.. what? dumb it down a notch?"
He grimaced again, "I'm the brother of a queer, so I must be a queer."
Jacob was suprised when he realised that the kid was crying. He reached over the table and grabbed his hands.
"Hey, it's okay, man, my brother's gay too. There's nothing wrong with that."
"No.. I know that.. but I'm not gay..."
"Hey, neither am I." Jacob said, releasing his hands, "I gotta go get ready for my next class. See you around." He got up, smiled, and walked away.
The kid's hands felt cold where Jacob was formerly holding them. He realised that he was now holding a scrap of paper. He turned it over and looked at it.
" 0430114493
We can be friends.
Call me sometime =) -J "
The kid looked at the note for a while. Then, putting it down, he pulled an apple out of his lunch bag and took a huge bite.
===============================================================================
Japanese phrases used in this chapter:
Anoo, sumimasen - Er.. excuse me
Kanji - Chinese Writing
E? Hayaku inaku nareyo - Eh? Fuck off! (or thereabouts)
gaijin - Foreigner
shitsureishimasu - Apogies, please excuse my impertinence.
A, soo desu ka - Ah. is that so?
Gomennasai - So sorry.
Anoo - Um..
Iie, Iie - No, No
I absolutely love feedback. Please submit your feedback, good or bad, lengthy or brief, in Japanese or in English, (although preferably English) to:
sakurakangen@gmail.com
You may also add me on Google Talk or MSN Messenger at the same address. I love talking to you.
Doumo arigatou gozaimashita.
-SK (written in vi improved 7.1.. beats emacs any day)