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A Kyoto Romance ((Malfrost x ViperFang))

ViperFang

Star
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Another day in beautiful Kyoto. Crystal Rowland had always wanted to visit Japan, but now…she was a student here for a whole semester! It was a real dream come true for her. The country was beautiful, its culture fascinating. And the language. So complex, and yet she had spent a good few years drilling her vocabulary and speech skills. She wasn’t as good as a native speaker yet, but she was certainly fluent enough to survive and make friends. She definitely stood out among her peers, standing at an average height with a creamy, fair complexion with long blonde hair and sky blue eyes. Though there were other foreigners like herself attending the Kyoto University of Art and Design, she seemed to be among the well-adjusted.

She was grateful to be away from the States for a while. Her parents had always criticized her fascination with Japan and when she informed them that she had plans to study abroad, they nearly lost it entirely, threatening to cut her off for good. Luckily, though she was still attending college, Crystal was a very good photographer and had made more than enough money to cover her expenses. While her mother and father continued to sling their bigoted barbs at her, she simply prepared to start the first day of the rest of her life.

It was late August now. School had been in session for a few weeks. She had her assignments, knew where to go on campus, and had managed to make a fair amount of friends. They enjoyed hanging out in between classes and after, often hitting the streets for a good restaurant or a place to go shopping. The cuisine was going to be a challenge for Crystal, but she’d eat anything when she was hungry enough. Just a little stroll north took her and her new friends to a small sushi restaurant. It was quaint and clearly a traditional place, but its charm and prices kept the girls going there. Of course…there was another reason.

A young man worked there, around her age. Handsome, rugged-looking, and very skilled at his job. She watched with amazement as he sliced fish meat with extreme precision and served up their dishes without breaking a sweat. Her friends had noticed her lingering looks on the man on more than one occasion and even teased her about it, but he couldn’t help herself. Of course, from what she always heard, most Japanese men preferred not to date foreigners, so it was likely a lost cause. Still…

Today had to have been at least the tenth time Crystal had visited this restaurant, but this time, she went alone. It was the weekend, giving her a chance to go to her dorm room and put on something other than her uniform. She had a feeling she might have accessorized a little too much, but she wanted to leave a lasting impression. She made sure her dress didn’t show off too much cleavage. That was a tip from one of her friends, assuring her that most Japanese men preferred a little modesty. Though she may not have stood out on the streets of L.A., she felt she looked good.

She entered the small restaurant, immediately spotting him at the sushi bar. She was surprised that there didn’t seem to be anyone else in the restaurant. This made things a little awkward. She offered him a smile and gave a slight bow, folding her hands in front of her and clasping her purse tightly.

”Good afternoon,” she greeted, speaking in Japanese, before making her way to the bar, taking a seat on one of the stools. Now that she was here, she was starting to chicken out. This was going to be humiliating…part of her knew it. She tried to stall. ”I’ll have…the amaebi and a cup of green tea, please.”

As she waited on the meal of raw shrimp, she took a deep breath before finally letting her blue eyes flutter up to gaze at his face.

”I don’t know if you recognize me, but I’ve come here a lot this month, usually with my friends from school,” she blurted, a bit of redness showing in her cheeks. ”It occurs to me that I’ve never heard your name. My name is Crystal…er…I mean, Rowland.”

Flubbed another culture thing. One is always supposed to introduce their family name.

”I’m sorry. As you can see, I’m a foreigner. I’m studying abroad here for a while, and since I really enjoy the food here, you’ll probably see me a lot. May I…ask your name, sir?”
 
Satoshi Kamiyama was the heir apparent to the family restaurant which has been passed down from one generation in the family to another since before the Great War in the early 1900's. Part of the young man felt great pride and honor in being able to continue such a legacy. Another part of him, however, felt cheated; like his life and fate had all been decided for him when he was born and he had absolutely no say in the matter. Still, he didn't want to disappoint his family, especially his father; so once he had finished high school he did not attend college and instead spent most of his time learning the art of sushi making.

Everyday had been the same day in and out, until about a month ago a group of foreigners from the local university had dropped by. He was no stranger to such groups, and they came often, but something about this group was different. There was a beautiful young woman around his age and his eyes had been on her constantly throughout the night, but he did his best to keep that hidden. She was beautiful and exotic...she was like a breath of freedom and uniqueness that had come to blow away the staleness that had settled into his life.

Still, he never had a chance to talk with her...always so busy making sushi and running around tending to customers that he couldn't even introduce himself. Tonight though would be his lucky night.

It was a slow evening and as the jiggle of the door opening cried out, he yelled the stereotypical greeting from the kitchen before walking out, his eyes locking onto the girl that he had been pining for secretly. He fought down a blush as he showed her to her seat and moved behind the counter to take her order.

There was an awkward silence brought on by them both until she order, which caused him to breath a slight sigh of relief. He was steeling himself to try and talk with her as gave her her drink and began to prepare her meal, she bridge that gap first.

He gave her a small smile as she introduced her and he decided to be bold. His father had taught him; boldness in all things. "I do recognize you...how could I not recognize such a beautiful woman." He gave her a large smile as he spoke slowly enough so she could understand but not so slow that it showed he doubted her grasp of the language. He just wasn't sure of her level of mastery so he wanted to take it slow at first.

When introducing himself, he set his knives down and bowed deeply.

"I am Kamiyama Satoshi, heir to the restaurant and sushi master in training." He chuckled slightly at the last part before standing erect once more to give her another smile, a small blush gracing his cheeks. "I must say, Rowland-san...you are even more beautiful today then last time I saw you. "He stated, going with the basic honorfic first. He would change if she wanted to be called something more...intimate though, and his compliment clear showed he had been paying attention to her before.
 
Crystal was glad she had spoken. Things seemed…a little less tense now. She gave a small smile when he admitted that he did, in fact, recognize her. The smile vanished with a soft gasp, however, when he called her a beautiful woman. That…was unexpected. No subtlety whatsoever. Though refreshing, it did make her a little nervous. Maybe she mistranslated something in her head? It was possible…yet he had spoken slowly enough that she could understand him. She wasn’t sure how to respond.

”Uh…thank you,” she mumbled, then shook her head. Another faux pas. Humility. She couldn’t take it back, though. Thankfully, he changed the subject, introducing himself. She listened intently, her eyes switching focus from his alluring eyes to those soft-looking lips. Though she was trying to both show interest and read his lips as a way of cementing his words for translation, her mind drifted a bit, but she managed to snap out of it. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kamiyama-san.”

Then he did it again! Calling her beautiful, even saying she looked more beautiful than usual. Flirting in a foreign country was hard. All knowledge she seemed to have of Japanese communication seemed to fly out the window. Was he being too forward? Or was she just too paranoid of making a mistake? She cleared her throat and took a drink from her cup, letting the semi-bitter hot liquid pour down her throat. God, how she wished she ordered sake instead.

”I…uh, I just wanted to wear something besides my uniform here, for once,” she replied, a bit of a lie. She wore the outfit to catch his attention, and it seemed to work, though now she felt like a dog that finally caught the car it had been chasing. What on Earth was she going to do now? She took another drink. Well…if he was being bold… ”…but I’m glad you like it. And, if you like, you can call me Crystal. Like I said, I’m probably going to be coming here a lot over the semester. Would you be offended if I call you Satoshi-chan?”

Probably. That honorific was reserved for friends on a first-name basis. Sure, she offered hers, but she couldn’t be sure he’d be so comfortable with the idea. Depending on how he reacted, she had a feeling she’d either be far more relaxed or start sprinting for the door. In the meantime, she watched as he prepared to make her meal. The knives looked pristine and sharp as ever.

”I study photography at the university. I started back in the States, but I think I prefer taking photos here. Kyoto is much prettier than Los Angeles,” she explained. She wasn’t lying. She most certainly preferred walking around the cultural center of Japan as opposed to the smog-filled, clustered wasteland of L.A. ”Do you have any favorite places to visit here in town?”
 
Satoshi was admiring the sight of Crystal in her causal clothes, and part of him wondered if she wore what she did for him. Now that he was actually talking to her, he definitely felt a connection. He wondered if she had been watching him in much the same way he had been watching her.

He didn't ponder the question for long as he handed Crystal her order with a smile. "While you are certainly cute in your uniform, your are very beautiful in your casual wear...I'd love to see you in it more often!" Satoshi exclaimed with a small chuckle, dropping quite the major hint that he wanted to see her more. When she brought up the matter of what to called each other, he blushed when she called him Satoshi-chan."

"I would prefer Satoshi-kun if that is alright...Crystal-chan." He gave her a meek smile as he rubbed the back of his head. After all, chan was the feminine honorific and kun the manly one. He couldn't be caught with someone calling him chan all the time, it would be embarrassing.

Satoshi poured himself a small bit of sake from a nearby container and then poured Crystal some as well, offering it to her as he came out from behind the counter. "My favorite spot is the old Imperial Palace here...so much history in one place. It is truly hard to comprehend sometimes..." Satoshi pondered aloud as he took a sip of his sake before turning to face Crystal with a small. "Would you like to go sometimes?"
 
Crustal blushed more as he continued to compliment her appearance while handing her the food she ordered.

”It’s…funny. Back home, this would be considered more dressy than casual. But that’s just one more thing I like about Japan,” she replied, still feeling a tad awkward. It only got worse when he corrected her to call him Satoshi-kun. How many language mistakes was she going to make? ”I’m sorry. I think I must have gotten some honorifics mixed up in my lessons.”

She watched as he poured the both of them a cup of sake. It was a little early for her to be drinking…but, when in Rome… She smiled and took the cup in her hands, waiting a moment or two as he left the counter to join her.

”Oh, the Imperial Palace does look beautiful. I’ve been meaning to take some time to visit there, but my friends mostly have me going to shopping areas,” she said with a sigh before smiling at his offer. ”You know what? I would like to. I’m free most evenings and Sundays. Are there any days that you’re free?”

She realized that she was still holding her cup of sake and hadn’t even taken a bite of her food, yet. She raised the glass to her lips, taking a gulp of the rice wine. It was strong. Way stronger than she expected, making her flinch a bit as it hit her tongue.

”Woo, that’s…much stronger than anything I’ve had before,” she chuckled, setting it down. ”I’m sorry, I don’t know what else I was expecting.”

She let her eyes glance up to his. Though she was nervous, she felt inexplicably drawn in. She couldn’t blame the alcohol. One swig was hardly enough to get one buzzed, let alone abandon their inhibitions. Still…

”Forgive me for asking, Satoshi-kun, but…do you have a girlfriend?” she asked, wishing she would stop blushing. ”I know it’s personal, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t, but I couldn’t help but be a little curious.”
 
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