Korra Iluak pushed her shopping cart through the grocery store, glancing down at the shopping list in her hand. It wasn't easy to shop for three small children, but her father had always taught her that it was important to accept responsibilities, no matter how difficult it might be to do so. She smiled at the thought of her parents, wondering if they'd gotten the letter she'd sent them. She was in Japan as part of a study-abroad program her university offered and was staying with a host family; it was that host family for whom she was shopping.
She had enjoyed her time here with Tenzin and his family, learning all about the local culture. She was thankful a lot of people spoke English around her in this part of town. Learning new languages wasn't her strong point.
There weren't many items on the shopping list. This wasn't a major shopping trip, more like a restocking of the supplies, but Korra still knew it would take her a while.
She wanted to be back at home, making notes on her time here to present when she got back to the US, but she had to do her chores for the household.
Korra soon walked down the cereal aisle, finding herself near one of the last items on the shopping list.
She groaned, putting one of the few boxes of cereal into the trolley. She hadn't eaten much that day, having spent most of it reading and doing chores around the house.
Pema, Tenzin's wife, would often be asking Korra to help clean the small house up and was the one who had sent her out here. She was a friendly woman, but Korra felt like a lot of pressure was being put on her by the family, like she had to live up to some sort of standard she didn't know.
The boxes of cereal were all in Japanese, with various cartoony characters on the front. One was of a small, racoon like creature, with red fur.
Korra smiled. That one was kinda cute.
Eventually, she had finished her rounds of the store and was about to head to the checkout, hoping to finally end this rather tiresome chore.
As she passed across the bread and cake section of the market, something rather enticing caught the Alaskan girl's eye.
On a lone shelf was a set of warm, freshly baked muffins, wrapped in a film packaging. Korra knew they weren't on her list, but she was rather hungry, so getting them as a little snack for herself wouldn't hurt.
After all, she was technically on vacation and staying in shape wasn't all that important to her right now. She just needed something to eat.
She walked over to the muffin's, seeing hardly anyone around in the area of the store. She reached out, and placed her hand on the muffin package, her eyes looking at the list in her hand, checking she had bought everything.
As she tried to pull the package off from the shelf, she felt a slight resistance, as if the muffins were currently glued to the wood they rested on.
"What the?" Korra noticed. She looked to the side and saw a second hand on the muffins, one that belonged to a local girl with long black hair and dark, emerald eyes.
"Hey!" She exclaimed. "What's the big idea?"
The girl looked at her, confused. "Excuse me?"
"I saw those muffins first," Korra stated. She was hungry, and when she was hungry, she could get rather snappy.
"No, I saw them first," the other girl retorted, folding her arms. "Look, I'm sure there are other places that sell muffins, why not just go buy some somewhere else?"
"Nuh, uh, I haven't eaten all day," Korra refused. "And these muffins have my name on it."
"Oh... I see," The other girl realised. "I'm sorry... I didn't realise you were that desperate."
"I'm not really..." Korra apologised, feeling rather guilty at this point. "I'm just really hungry right now, okay? It's been a long day."
The other girl smiled. "I've had a long day too, at my job. So I can understand how you feel."
Korra sighed, realising she had to make the best of this situation. She picked up the muffins in her hand and looked straight at the other girl. "Tell you what? Why don't I buy these for both of us, and we can share them over coffee together."
The girl blushed softly. "No.. you don't have to do that, really. I mean, I've got plenty of food back home."
"It's no biggie," Korra excused. "I just wanna make sure neither of us leaves empty-handed."
The other girl smiled. "ArigatÅ, really thank you."
"Hey, no problem," Korra admitted. She then finally got a good look at the other woman, seeing her pink shirt and thin, grey, pencil skirt. She was very slender, and had a form that was very beautiful.
Korra could feel a slight pull between then in that moment, that their spirits had aligned and this was somehow meant to be.
The girl looked at the muffins and Korra staring at her. "Are you alright?" She wondered.
Korra shook her head, snapping out of her daze. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go pay for these."
The girl then noticed Korra's large shopping cart in front of her. "Are you sure? I mean, you have a lot of stuff there."
"I don't think my host family will mind me going a bit over budget," Korra remarked.
"Host family?" The girl inquired. "Oh! You're from overseas aren't you."
"Yeah, I'm from Southern Water County, in the US," Korra explained. "Well, that's where I go to school at least. I was actually born up in Alaska."
"I see," the girl acknowledged. "I didn't think you were from around here. Your skin is way too dark."
Korra laughed. "Yeah, I kinda stick out like a sore thumb around here."
"I quite like the colour of your skin," The other girl admitted. "It's rather... smooth."
Korra blushed. "Well... Um, thanks, I guess."
As Korra and her new acquaintance walked to the counter, the girl introduced herself.
"My name's Asami, by the way," she said. "Sato Asami."
"I'm Korra," Korra replied. "You speak very good English."
"My mom was actually from the states," Asami admitted. "I learned a lot of English from being around her. Not that it's done much. You're the first foreigner I've met."
"Am I what you expected?" Korra inquired, still pushing her shopping cart.
"Well, not really," Asami stated. "I think everyone around here has a different opinion on what westerners are like. Speaking of which, are you here on vacation?"
"Sort of," Korra said. "See, one of the classes I take back home is about other cultures and such and to pass that class, I need some experience in another culture."
"So this is a school-related trip then."
"Yeah," Korra groaned, remembering all the notes she had back at home. "I have to take like a dozen notes of what I've done each day."
"That's kinda harsh," Asami admitted. "And I thought my job was bad."
"What is your job?" Korra asked her.
"I'm a secretary," Asami stated. "It pays well, but if you've ever heard how offices around here are... phew, it's a real nightmare, like today when someone in the desk next to me had a breakdown."
"Damn," Korra remarked.
"Don't worry, it's quite normal," Asami assured her. "People here can be a bit... overstressed by some things."
"Well, at least you haven't broken yet," Korra remarked.
"Yes, that's true. I come here every day after work to get a snack and just take a breather. Shops here can be very relaxing a lot of the time, especially with the music playing over the speakers."
"Mmmm," Korra sighed, letting herself relax to the gentle twang in the air. "I agree."
After paying for their goods, Asami and Korra eventually found a small cafe at the corner of the market, sitting down and preparing to have their agreed muffins.
"Grrr," Korra grunted, trying to open the packet with her bare hands. "These blasted packs are so hard to open."
"Want me to do it?" Asami offered.
"No, I got it," Korra said, before finally pulling the packet apart. "There we go!"
Asami rolled her eyes. Her new friend seemed to be a total showoff.
"Alright, let's split this up," Korra stated. She then picked up three of the small muffins and shared them with Asami, keeping the other three to herself. "There, now we get three muffins each."
Asami picked up one of the muffins, gently unwrapping it and taking a bite from it, sighing in content. "Mmmm, apple muffins. My favourite."
"Oh is that what they are?" Korra wondered. She then took a bite of her own muffin. "Mmmm! Delicious!" She then started to scoff the snack down, getting crumbs all over herself.
Asami laughed at her new friend. "No, need to eat it so quickly."
Korra wiped her face and grinned. "I'm a messy pup, forgive me."
Asami smiled. "By the way... thanks again. I wish there was a way to make it up to you."
"Well..." Korra thought for a moment. "Maybe you could help me with my exchange notes? It would mean a lot."
"I can try that," Asami agreed. "It's better than sitting at a desk all day." She walked over to Korra, giving her a gentle peck on the cheek. "Shall we meet up here tomorrow and then go back to your place?"
Korra blushed, stroking her cheek. "Um... sure."
Asami grinned, picking up her second muffin and placing her third into her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow then." As she walked away, she looked at Korra again. "It was nice meeting you, Korra."
"You too, Asami," Korra replied, as the local girl walked away. "You too."
xXx
Author's note: Got this idea from a Tumblr prompt. I tried to base some of the details of the fic on my own vacation to Japan last year :D If there is anything I got wrong, please let me know.
See ya next time!