Wednesday//December 28//Afternoon//Grocery Store

[lovely_warumono]

The afternoon was slow that day. Ai sat at the kotatsu with her head down, sulking in complete boredom. Her mother, Reiko, was in the other room working on her painting. Her father, Senichi, sat next to her at the table watching sumo on the television. Momo and Aiko were sound asleep in Ai's room. She let out a groan, wishing she had something

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[lovely_warumono]

'Hm?' Ai paused mid-dance, and turned her head to look at where the pressure upon her shoulder had come from. Finding a blonde girl, just slightly taller then herself (thanks to her footwear), with a bright smile, Ai became curious. Turning around completely to face the girl and removing the earbuds from her ears, Ai returned the sunny smile.

"Thank you~!" Ai giggled at the compliment. "Your hair is really pretty," Ai said with amazement in her voice. Taking a step forward and bringing her face slightly closer to the other girl's, Ai took a closer look at the blonde strands. 'They look so natural, smooth and undamaged, rich,' Ai thought to herself. She reached out her hand slightly, just enough for her fingers to graze over the strands gently. 'So soft.' She remembered the first time she had had to bleach her own hair to a blonde tone, and remembered how dry it had looked.

"Its really blonde," Ai said softly aloud, raising her eyes to the other girls. Looking closer, she gaped at the unusual but intersting color. "So pretty." Realizing exactly how close she was to the other girl, she took a step back. "Sorry about that," Ai apologized with an innocent smile.

[amanda_evers]

"It's my natural hair color." Amanda said, smiling brightly and pulling her hair forward so the other girl could see how long it was. It reached past her knees and fell in gentle waves all the way down. She usually braided it, but it was down today since it was break and there was no school.

"I'm Amanda." she said, letting out a soft chuckle at the girl's apology. "You don't have to be sorry...I get that a lot."

[lovely_warumono]

"Whoa, so long, too," Ai stared. "Oh, I'm Ai Kohara," she introduced with a giggle and bright smile. "Its very nice to meet you." Ai felt another wave of happiness wash over her; she was meeting so many people here in Tokyo already, and she hadn't even began school.

"So what brings you to the grocery store?" Ai asked, unsure of how else to continue the conversation. Amanda seemed very nice, and she wouldn't have minded getting to know her.

[amanda_evers]

"I ran out of tomatoes." Amanda said, grinning. "I've never seen you here before....are you new to the area?"

[lovely_warumono]

"I just moved here last week, from Kyoto," Ai explained. "I'm still getting to know Tokyo, but my home isn't too far from here." Ai rocked back and worth, from the balls of her feet to the heel, finding it hard to keep still.

"Have you always lived here?" With Amanda's beautiful, western appearance and name, Ai couldn't be sure if the other girl was actually from Japan.

[amanda_evers]

Amanda tilted her head to the side, then laughed a bit. "No no...I was born in America. I'm mostly Italian decent, with some German and other things thrown in. I've only been in Japan for a short time...not even a year yet."

[lovely_warumono]

"Whoa~! That's so cool!" Ai smiled in truth. "How are you liking it here so far? Is it anything like America?" She had never left Japan herself, and with her curiosity she couldn't help but ask. "Did it take you long to learn Japanese? I think yours is very good," Ai compliment.

[amanda_evers]

"I like Japan...it's very different from America or Italy. I was learning Japanese for a few years before I came here....and the rest I've learned since I've been here. I still have a bit of an accent....but at least I'm understandable." Amanda said, pointing out the slight American and Italian accent that flavored her Japanese. She didn't bother to point out the occasional southern Japan dialect, since she worked hard to hide that unless she needed it.

[lovely_warumono]

"So, what brought you to Japan? Are you a foreign exchange student? Do you have family here?" Ai continued, question after question, completely forgetting about the 'dinner' she was suppose to be bringing home. "You're really interesting. And nice," Ai smiled up brightly at Amanda.

[amanda_evers]

Amanda laughed a bit at her rapid-fire questions. She took a moment before answering, "I originally came as a foreign exchange student...Grandpapa has friends in the south of Japan and at first I went there....but their son was here so they asked if I would come here instead. They're very busy with their business and they have a branch here in Tokyo, so they felt confident in sending me here instead. I was actually an orphan...my parents died when I was five. But the family that Grandpapa sent me to adopted me a few months back....during summer. So I guess I have family here. Leo-nii-sama is going to Europe though....actually, I think his flight was two days ago, so he should already be in Europe. The rest of my adoptive family is in the south for now."

She took a deep breath after saying all of that and grinned at Ai. "I'm afraid I'll have to correct you....I can be nice...but I am not always nice. I am mean to people who try to pick on me, for instance. And I am capable of being very mean if I have to be. But I usually am nice when I don't have to be mean." She returned Ai's smile with one of her own, bright and sunny.

[lovely_warumono]

Ai felt a tug at her heart as Amanda answered her questions, including the fact that her parents were no longer alive. Ai couldn't even begin to imagine what she would ever do if she lost either of her parents, or even her grandmother.

"I'm so sorry, Amanda-chan," Ai said softly, her eyes beginning to lose their brightness. "I'm sorry I asked you. I wouldn't have if I'd known..." she trailed off as her eyes began to tear up. She knew that she shouldn't cry, but the horrible thought of losing family was too much for her sensitive nature to handle properly.

[amanda_evers]

Amanda shook her head. "You don't have anything to be sorry about. I'm content with my life now and I have no complaints." she said, giving Ai a bright smile.

"Would you like to come over for some cheesecake? Or chocolate cake? Or cookies? I have a whole bunch left over from Christmas." she offered, hoping to distract the other girl from the tears she could see starting. Though she "cried" when she wanted something or had some ulterior motive, she never cried for real. And she didn't know how to actually deal with other people crying.

[lovely_warumono]

The warm tears had escaped, no matter how hard Ai tried to keep them to herself. She sniffled as she wiped her eyes with coat sleeve, trying to calm herself. She looked up at Amanda as she attempted to comfort her. 'She's so strong,' she thought to herself.

"Gomen," Ai managed, her voice cracking with sadness as she continued to wipe at the tears. She wanted nothing more then to be close to her loved ones at the moment, to cherish every moment possible. She needed contact. She needed comfort.

With tears still rolling down her soft cheeks, she set down her basket. She didn't care about formalities, or what other's would think at the moment. Taking a step forward, she gently wrapped her arms around Amanda's waist and buried her face into the other girl's shoulder. She stood there hugging Amanda for a few moments, sniffling, before taking a step back and away. She wiped her eyes again and picked up her basket.

"I'm sorry Amanda-chan. I actually have to go home after I'm done here, since I came to pick up dinner for my mom and dad and me. Maybe we could get hang out another time? I'd really like that" Ai suggested with another sniffle. Her smile was small as she looked to Amanda. "I wish I could be as strong as you," Ai added in admiration.

[amanda_evers]

Amanda was startled by the hug and awkwardly patted the other girl's back, not really sure what to do. Hugs were a rare thing for her. She gave the girl a smile and nodded. "We'll hang out sometime. I'm sure we'll see each other pretty often, since we obviously live somewhat nearby."

She hesitated before reaching out to gently wipe a tear away, giving a smile that was gentle and comforting. "Cherish your family. That will make you stronger than you'd ever guess."

[lovely_warumono]

Ai's smile grew into its usual brightness at Amanda's kind gestures. She couldn't possibly believe Amanda to ever be mean. She wanted very much to meet up with the other girl again, but wondered if school would make that a problem.

"Can I maybe have your number? That way, I can still call you once school starts. If what Miyavi-kun says is true, I might have my plate full," she giggled, digging in her bag for her phone.

[amanda_evers]

"Miyavi?" Amanda asked, then shook her head. "Yeah, you can have my number. If you want, I'll walk you home...looks like you've got a good amount to carry and I'm done shopping."

She pulled out her phone to give the other girl her number and get Ai's as well.