The blizzard had struck without warning. If there HAD been a warning, Chie hadn't seen it. The cabin didn't get TV reception all the way out in the mountains. Despite the heavy parka and thick mittens, her teeth were chattering, and her whole body shivered violently as she crunched across the deep white fields. Ducking her head against a swirl
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~I'm alive, but somehow I've ended up on in a log cabin on a mountain... There's no TV or radio, and all I have with me are some suppressants and my Evoker. Hell, for all I know, I could be somewhere far away from home...~Distressing thoughts, for sure, and Shinji would have mulled it over some more if he hadn't run out of cocoa. While he wanted to get up and have another drink, the heat from the fire was finally warming him up, and fatigue he had not yet realized he had was setting upon him. With a yawn, the teen set the mug down in front of him and slumped over, letting sleep whisk him away ( ... )
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For a long time she did nothing more than stare at him, gauging his threat level. He wasn't pulling a weapon, so that was good. He also wasn't making any lewd remarks, or staring at inappropriate places (though considering she was a big ball of coat and winter equipment, what was there really to see?!), and most importantly of all...she wanted to bask in front of that fireplace, and in the end, it won over her suspicions.
She plopped down again, still regarding him oddly. "You can stay, as long as you're not up to anything weird. I'm a kung fu master." And she could Galactic Punt giant robots.
...
The oddness of her own statement suddenly struck her as funny, and the corners of her mouth twitched. 'I'm alive.' 'I'm a kung fu master.'
"We both kind of suck at introductions, don't we?" she grinned. "I'm Chie."
(OOC: Pshaw! Now you can DEFINITELY stay! XD)
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In more relevant news, the girl didn't seem too peeved that he had just barged into what was presumably her cabin, sit in front of her fire, and drink hot cocoa from her kung fu mug. That was a good thing, right? He wasn't in the mood to get into a fight after such a relaxing nap. Actually, he wasn't in the mood to fight at all, but regardless...
After taking in her equally odd assent to his presence, Shinji sat back down, trying not to smirk as he held up Chie's mug.
"Kung fu master, or master of kung fu trivia? Either way, thanks for letting me stay. I'll be out of your hair as soon as the storm dies down."
(OOC: Yaaay~ :D Let's have fun, then!)
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Of course, once she was here she wished she would have brought something to read, but oh well.
She made no move to snatch the mug away, however. Just so long as he was careful with it, she didn't mind sharing.
Pulling her knees closer, Chie rubbed her gloves briskly over her snow-dampened track pants, trying to get some heat back in her frozen shins. And tomorrow, despite her setbacks and frustrations, she'd probably do the same thing all over again. A kung fu artist never gave up!
"Sure," she shrugged with a smile at his thanks. "How'd you get all the way out here, anyway? This place is pretty remote. Do you live nearby or something?"
(OOC: Time for work!)
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~Trial of the Dragon... I think I saw a promotional poster for this last month... They have merchandise for it already?~
Something about that mug no longer sat well with him, but he had no time to consider the possibilities when the inevitable question came up.
"I, um..." The question had come suddenly, and it wasn't like Shinji had had the time to think of an excuse as to what he was doing here in the first place. There wasn't much he could say without telling her anything, so he instead went with the most reasonable explanation he could come up with on the fly.
"I got lost."
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Maybe some yakuza thugs dumped him out here to die! Well if they came back, they were in for a rude surprise with Chie around.
"You said you were going to head out after the storm is over, but if you want to wait around, you can catch a transport back to the city with me. My training is over in four days." It would at least be nice to have someone to talk to, as long as he didn't keep telling her obvious things.
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Of course, he could just ask and pass it off as a part of being lost. Or try to sell that he had amnesia. Maybe he could even convince her that he was from another timeline, warped in from--Alright, that last one wouldn't get him very far. Regardless...
It'd be difficult to just straight up ask her where he was without sounding any more foolish than he already did. And hey, how bad could it be to stick around for four days?
"...Alright," the brunette finally replied, nodding as if to emphasize his decision. "I'll pay you back for the trouble later, then."
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And she'd already made up her mind.
"I didn't bring much except instant noodles, though, hope that's okay!"
Because he really, really didn't want her to cook. The cabin owner had stocked the fridge and cupboards with cooking ingredients, but Chie knew better than to attempt creating anything with them.
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That is, until she mentioned the forbidden words.
Instant noodles.
Before he could stop himself, Shinji's Master Chef flag was triggered, and he gawked at Chie. "I-I-Instant noodles?! You expect to survive in this harsh environment--or anywhere--on starch-coated, malnutritious packets of death?"
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"Er. Sorry. I got a bit carried away. You wouldn't happen to have the pantry and fridge stocked, would you?"
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Her only response at first was a growling stomach. Apparently she not only expected to survive on the stuff, she was looking forward to it.
"Well, yeah, it's only for a week." She glanced at the kitchen, unwilling to budge from the heat source, then back to Shinji. "I think so, but I wasn't paying much attention. I'm not much of a cook." She was more of an anti-cook, really, but he didn't need to know that.
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Chie didn't even try to object to Shinjiro's offer to cook. It didn't matter to her that much if he could or couldn't handle himself in the kitchen, since she was pretty sure he couldn't be all that bad. And if he was, she had instant noodles to eat.
While he worked, Chie warmed herself, and at some point disappeared into the bedroom and closed the door once she felt warm enough to change into some dry clothes.
When she emerged, the savory smell of curry hung in the air, and her stomach complained that much more vehemently once she caught the savory scent. "Wow, that smells good!" she murmured in awe as she shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing a thick brown towel over her wet hair. Chie stood back to let him move to the table, catching a brief glimpse of the udon as he passed by. It looked good, too.
Shinjiro then said the magic word, and instantly Chie perked. Steak"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "I can't get enough! Thanks!" She jogged to the table with a fresh burst of energy, picking a seat and ( ... )
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Praise was never hard to come by when it came to Shinji's cooking, but it never failed to bring a smile (or smug smirk) to his face to hear compliments. Before answering, he grabbed pot of tea he had been boiling and two cups, setting them down and taking a seat.
"Ah, well... It's a trade secret. Like the saying goes, a magician never reveals his tricks."
Nor does he reveal that he spent countless years watching popular cooking programs and reading magazines and cookbooks to hone his skill. That aside, Shinji took his own chopsticks and began eating with gusto. Having food in his stomach made him realize just how hungry he had been, and so he spent the next few minutes exclusively on his noodles. And steak.
Or whatever Chie left of it after she tore through the plate, whichever.
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