My Trip To The Land of the Rising Sun (True Grave & Raeona)

[True Grave]

Trevor Stockton was excited as he boarded the plane leaving from his native Oakland, California. As a high honor roll student at his local high-school, he had qualified to be an exchange student, and the place he was going was none other than one of his favorite countries in the world-Japan! He was a total nerd for anime and Japanese based video games and movies, and he even had earned his yellow belt in Okinawan Karate, which originated in part of Japan. For a few weeks, he had been studying up on Japanese using Rosetta Stone and felt he had a decent grasp of the language. He sat down in his plane seat and looked at the window, bidding goodbye to his beloved United States. As the plane took off, he grew even more excited.

Trevor was about 5'10", two hundred pounds, with blonde hair, and blue eyes. His attire of blue jeans, white T-shirt, and a red and white jacket made him look like the quintessential American. He had been warned that Japan's academic standards were far greater than the U.S. standards, and he was going to have to study even harder to keep up. While in Japan, he would be staying with a host family called the Tanaka's, who seemed friendly and warm. The flight seemed to take forever, but they finally did touch down at the airport. When they did, he began looking around for a sign that said "Stockton", since those would be the Tanaka's.

 

[Raeona]

At first, Saiyuri had been a bit hesitant about taking in an exchange student. Of course, in the end it wasn't up to her, but her parents. They were excited, thinking it would be nice since Saiyuri didn't really have many friends. Sure, she was popular at school, but all the people around her who claimed to be friends with her, she knew would also be 'friends' who would backstab her at the chance to rise in the social ladder.

Today was the day he was to arrive, so, stuffed in the car, she let her mind wander. She passively wondered what he would be like as she played with a strand of her waist length black hair. American... She figured he would be some naive boy with no manners or sense of being, but she knew she couldn't judge him just yet, so she tried to steer clear from such negative thoughts. Once they arrived at the airport, her mother handed her the sign that had his last name on it and they walked through the busy building to the terminal he would be exiting. Saiyuri sighed softly and held the sign in front of her 5'5" frame as the people from the plane began to file through the doors.

 

[True Grave]

OOC: This is just a small note. From now on, when I have words in parentheses, it means that he is speaking those words in Japanese. I do not have a fluent grasp of Japanese, so that's the best I can do to make it more realistic.

Trevor looked around and finally spotted the sign that said "Stockton". As he made his way through the crowd, he saw that it was being held by a short but attractive young girl. He grinned and bowed at the waist as he approached.
"(Hello, I am Trevor Stockton.)"
He then switched to English, since many Japanese people have a decent grasp of his native tongue.
"I hope that my greeting has been appropriate and brought honor upon myself and you."

Trevor had enough knowledge of Japanese culture to know that honor was the number one value in this land. He bowed deeply to her parents, and opened the door for the girl.
("Ladies first.")
Once in the car, he looked out at the city wide-eyed and excited.
"I can't believe I'm actually here. I never thought I'd actually get to see the Kanto province with my own eyes."

 

[Raeona]

Saiyuri blinked curiously as he spoke rather decent Japanese and seemed polite. "Saiyuri" She said, putting a hand on her chest andbowing back in return. She smiled slightly, wondering what other surprises he would hold. As they left, she saw him move to hold the door open for her and she smiled slightly, walking through and slipping into the car.

As they began to drive home, she glanced over to him as he marveled at the city. "This was... Something you've thought of doing before?" She asked, assuming that it was with the way he spoke.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor turned to her.
"Oh, only just every waking moment of my life."
He beamed.
("I've seen Tokyo in so many animes and movies, but I never thought I'd see it for myself. It's glorious!")
He touched the window.

"I've always felt more like this place and these people are more like me than my own countrymen."
He lowered his hand.
("So, I look forward to experiencing Tokyo to its fullest. Your family is so kind to take me in.")
He sat back and watched as an All Nippon Airways jet passed over them. He closed his eyes and just let it all soak in...he had found a place that felt like home.

 

[Raeona]

She glanced over to him curiously as he spoke. After a moment, she shrugged passively and looked out of her own window as well. She could see her mother gazing at her in the rear view mirror. "Well, I'm sure Saiyuri would be rather happy to show you around a bit" She said softly, making Saiyuri glance over to her and frown a bit.

There was obviously no arguing with the woman, so she simply sighed and shrugged "I don't see why not, but let's leave that to tomorrow, may as well let him settle in at least"

 

[True Grave]

Trevor looked over at her.
("That's very kind of you, Mrs. Tanaka. But, you guys don't have to do that for me. I can't forget that I came here to study, not be a tourist.")
When they arrived at the home, he grabbed his stuff and went inside with the family. He shed his shoes and put on some sandals.

He turned to Saiyuri.
"So, lady of the lily, please show me to my room."
When they went upstairs, he found the room and sat in the chair. He looked out the window and saw the skyline.
"It looks just like it does in Ryu ga Gatoku. I'll have to get lots of pictures, so I never forget my time here."

 

[Raeona]

Saiyuri stepped into her home when the arrived, and as he asked her to lead her to her room, she rose an eyebrow and smirked a bit "Sure" she said, slowly bringing him upstairs to a little room with a bed, tv and dresser. "Here we are"

She watched as he sat down and looked out the window, mentioning something about an anime, she assumed. "I can't say I've seen that one" She said, leaning back against the wall and raising an eyebrow.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor looked back at her.
("It's not an anime. It's a video game. In my country, we call it Yakuza. I'm surprised that a full Japanese girl like you has not heard of it. Then again, I guess I'm not.")

He looked at her.
"What are you still doing here? Don't you have friends to hang out with, homework to do, other things? I can't imagine it'd be much fun to hang out with a foreigner."
He pulled a notebook out of his bag and began drawing the skyline. He wanted to use it to draw inspiration for stories later.

 

[Raeona]

"I'm not a huge gamer, I'm usually too busy. I play when I can, but I haven't gotten around to that many" She said, crossing her arms as she glanced over to him as he spoke once more "Right, sorry. I'll leave you to get settled" She said, spinning around and heading out of his room once more.

Slowly, she made her way to the living room and sat down to watch TV while working on a piece of writing for school.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor nodded. He began to unpack and had everything settled in no time.
"Well, let's warm up with some kata."
He began to do different martial arts exercises, practicing all of the kata that he had been taught.
"I can't let the sensei think that I've forgotten the kata. I still got to get my green belt."
He finished his kata, bowed out, and put in a DVD of Baki the Grappler to chill to.

 

[Raeona]

Nia spent the day writing, her mind wandering now and then to Trevor. She couldn't help but wonder about him. He was so strange, he seemed to love it here, but to her it wasn't so special. Though, it was likely because she'd lived here her whole life that she didn't find it that special.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor watched as the fight on the show continued. When it came time, he began chanting "Baki, Baki, Baki!" just like the audience. When he landed the last punch, Trevor cheered.
"Mani, I never get tired of that."
As the episode finished, he started doing some push-ups.
"Maybe someday I can get ripped like that."

 

[Raeona]

After a while, she'd begun to go up to her room for some rest. On her way, she passed his room and glanced inside to see him doing push ups. She rose an eyebrow curiously but figured he wouldn't want anyone watching and simply continued. Soon, she found her way to her room and slipped onto the bed to do a bit of drawing before bed.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor sensed a presence behind him, and when he turned around, he had just enough of a glance to know that it was Saiyuri. He followed her and saw her drawing. The door was open, so he knocked a bit to get her attention.
"You like to draw, too, huh? I'm not very good at it, but I like to do it, anyway."
He sat at the end of her bed, implying friendship but maintaining distance at the same time.

 

[Raeona]

She jumped slightly and glanced up at him. "Well, yeah. I'm not the best, but I enjoy doing it either way" She said softly, shrugging passively as she looked over to him. "I simply find it relaxing in an odd way"

 

[True Grave]

Trevor tilted his head to the side.
"What's so odd about it? Art is supposed to be relaxing, right? I mean, the Japanese have at least a million haikus about the beauty of art."
He turned and looked out of the window.
"To me, being able to draw what I see in Tokyo means more than just a picture, because my motivation and feelings had to spur me on to get every detail right."

To smiled and chuckled a bit.
"Maybe drawing is not my specialty. Sketching seems to be a better fit. Even a no-talent visual artist like me can create beautiful pictures with sketching."
He looked at Saiyuri, cupping his chin in one hand.
"You should let me draw you in that position."

 

[Raeona]

She stared at him a moment as he spoke, blinking curiously before he mentioned trying to sketch her. She hesitated a moment before nodding her head. "O-Okay, if you want" She said, flipping her sketchbook to a fresh page before handing it over to him along with the pencil.

She sat back and placed her hands in her lap, wondering if he was going to be a decent sketcher or not. Still, she figured she may as well give it a chance and see how good he was.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor took the sketchbook and nodded.
"Thank you."
He held it up and studied her for a minute. he wanted to get every detail right. He started sketching away, beginning with her face. After he thought he had nailed it, he sketched her body, paying careful attention to curvature, since she was sitting down. When eh was done, he turned it to her.

"What do you think?"
The picture he had sketched looked exactly like someone had taken a photo of Saiyuri and stripped the color off of it. The eyes were so detailed that her emotions were still captured. Even the bed she was sitting on was perfectly reproduced.
"It is as I said. Even a bad artist can create beautiful pictures with sketching."

 

[Raeona]

She held very still as he sketched her, but when he finished, she let out a small sigh and stretched her arms out into the air. Glancing to the page, she blinked in surprise.

"It looks... Amazing" She said, not having expected it to look as good as it did. Sure, she wasn't bad at sketching, but it took her forever to work out every detail in order to make it look alright.

 

[True Grave]

Trevor smiled.
"Well, it helps when the subject is beautiful, too."
He handed the sketchbook back to her.
"Thank you for letting me do that. I know it was kind of an odd request."
He got up off of the bed.

"I'm sorry if I butted in on your quiet time. I just feel a bit lonely in a new place, you know?"
He began heading for the door, stopping in the doorway.
"If it's not too much trouble, I would appreciate you giving me a tour of your city tomorrow. Good night, Saiyuri."
He stepped out of the room and went to his own room.

 

[Raeona]

"Y-Yeah, sure" She said, watching him leave her room and walk off. Sighing softly, she got to her feet and set to work getting herself ready for bed. It wasn't long until she slipped onto her bed, curled up, and let herself start to drift off to sleep, wondering where she should take him for their little 'tour' the next day

 

[True Grave]

Trevor had gone to bed and woken up the next day at about ten AM. After breakfast, he met up with Saiyuri.
"So, um, where are we going for the tour? It doesn't have to be anywhere extravagant, but I'd like to see something interesting."
He knew this was probably something of a pain for her, so he was trying to be laid back. He was grateful that she was doing it at all, so the ;last thing he should was the royal treatment like most people would probably demand.

 

[Raeona]

Saiyuri glanced over to him and shrugged a bit. "I figured I'd just bring you around town, I had no particular idea" She said simply, smiling up at him slightly as she walked towards the door. "Come on then, we have a long day ahead"

 

[True Grave]

Trevor nodded.
"Sounds good to me."
He followed her out the door, looking around at he residential neighborhood.
"So, where to first?"
Trevor knew that very soon he would be heading off to school, and would need to know his way around.
"Have you lived in this neighborhood your whole life?"