Day 56: Main Street (Late Afternoon)

[mustbethesuit]

Cripes, it was just getting colder by the minute. Peter was rattling inside his coat, feeling mighty sore that the cocoa didn't do him much good now once he left the restaurant. If he wasn't so stuffed he might have gone back and bought one for the road

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[osoreirimasu]

Augh, snow. It was winter that that meant he should be indoors, drawing up plans for FuyuComi at the kotatsu with Pochi-kun at his side while they watched some random variety show on TV and ate mikan. Instead, he was stuck out in the cold in an unfamiliar town, wearing what looked like Otaku Fashion with naught but 5 dollars to his name. Japan sighed and pulled the blue down jacket a little closer over the unsightly flannel shirt.

Ever since they'd arrived in town, he'd been hiding, passing from store to store as he tried to find someone who wouldn't mock the clothes he was wearing. Unfortunately for him, that was almost everyone he knew. Prussia, England (while it wouldn't be outright, his face would say enough) and... America was hopeless. Asking for tact from that young country was like asking Italy to pass the entrance exam to Tokyo University.

"...." Sighing, Japan kept moving through the snow, his shoes scuffing up little flurries as he went. He needed to go somewhere warm, somewhere... Somewhere...

"Ah."

Kratos. Looking troubled. There was no way Japan could leave someone in trouble, especially not someone who was so well known in the Tales fan community. If 2ch ever found out, he would be blasted forever.

Taking a deep breath, Japan tried to bolster his courage and took a few hesitant steps toward the man. "...Pardon me? Are you alright?"

[spandexorgtfo]

If he squinted enough, it seemed like he could make out a sign for the hardware store in the distance, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, it wasn't as if he would get anywhere by just standing on a street corner. Kratos sighed and tugged a little on his left glove to keep it from sliding down: even though he'd managed to get it situated over the Crystal, it wasn't exactly a good fit.

"I'm looking for the hardware store," he said flatly, glancing in the direction of the man who'd approached him - one of the man he'd spoken to only yesterday, as it turned out. Kratos briefly wracked his brain for the name...something similar to the Mizuho...ah--Honda Kiku. "Would you happen to know where it is?"

[osoreirimasu]

Oh! He remembered! Or he seemed to remember. Japan knew he couldn't exactly ask everyone to remember him, especially since he himself often...misplaced people's names. He tried to attribute it to his age, but really it was more that remembering every single name of every single person he'd ever met was so difficult. Worse yet, other countries hadn't picked up on the business card thing as much as his had. How was he supposed to know all the names and ranks of people if they didn't write it out? And their names were usually so difficult to say. Come to think of it, Japan still didn't know the name of that one man who'd come to see him at the World Meetings... But that was neither here nor there and Japan focused on the conversation at hand.

"The hardware store?" Oh dear. The one thing Japan couldn't help with. Or could he? Lowering his head, Japan put a hand to his mouth as he thought. He'd been bouncing from store to store all day without much regard for where he went. The credit card only had five dollars on it anyway and even he knew there was little he could do with that. A country unable to buy things! Just to think of it! And no cheap stores at all! No one willing to haggle or anything. It was atrocious and it burned his consumerist soul not to be able to acquire what he-- "Ah!"

He had seen the hardware store! Or something that could pass as a home center. He could help! Japan bowed his head and motioned down the street. "Right this way."

[spandexorgtfo]

He watched carefully as Honda attempted to recall the way to the hardware store, tempted to remind the other man that he was not necessarily looking for precise, detailed directions; a vague sense of the proper direction would be fine. Just as he was about to do so, however, the man suddenly had what could only be an epiphany.

For a second or so, Kratos merely stared in the direction that Honda was motioning in. Thankfully, it was the the same one that he had been considering walking in; otherwise, he would have had reason to once again inwardly mourn the loss of his enhanced eyesight, and that happened enough already.

"Ah." Without any further ado, he stepped off the corner and followed Honda down the street.

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