Disclaimer: Characters from Ranma ½ and whatever series we choose to add
later belong to their respective owners. All over characters belong to us,
Bambi Star and Beige Chocobo.
Bambi's notes: This is my first co-write with Beige Chocobo. This starts with
the introduction of the new characters and some of the Ranma cast would
appear in the next chapter. I hope that you all enjoy reading this fic as
much as I liked writing it. Now to Beige.
Beige's notes: Well, I think that Bambi has said it all. Now, on to the
story!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew sighed as he looked at his watch again. It was a Friday night
and he didn't have work tomorrow, thanks to some school holiday or other,
and, by rights, he should be out somewhere enjoying himself... So *what*
exactly had possessed him to drag himself over to Tokyo International for the
evening? He pulled a rather worn e-mail printout from his black jeans pocket
and read it again for the upteenth time to make sure that he got all the
facts correct.
Dear Andrew,
Hey, how are you? Anyhows, it's me, Siu Sin. Heard you were in Japan. I'm
going to head there for a holiday especially since my exams are all done. Can
you pick me up at the airport? The plane is Tokyo International, the time
would be 7pm, the from Sydney to Tokyo flight on 5th of May.
I know it maybe awkward since we never met before, and if it's too much of a
problem I'll just take a taxi (somehow). Hope to see you soon.
~ Siu ~
After folding the printout back up again and stuffing it into his
pocket he glanced at his watch for what seemed the hundredth time that
evening. Eight O' Clock... The only Sydney-Tokyo flight that was scheduled
for 7:00PM had yet to arrive. With any luck, she was been on that flight and
not one of the others. It was supposedly going to be landing within a few
minutes. Of course that didn't mean she'd make it out of the terminal then...
He cursed silently to himself as he remembered his own encounters with the
Japanese immigration system 10 months ago.
The book he'd brought had been finished almost an hour ago, so the
only thing that he had left to do for amusement was listen in to the
conversations around him. It was true that the people around him were
speaking Japanese almost exclusively, but he had progressed far enough in
the language that it was, for the most part, no longer a problem for him.
Andrew knew that it wasn't really polite for him to do, but he needed
*something* to keep him occupied!!!
He walked back to his seat opposite the currency exchange booth and
sat down onto the uncomfortable, plastic grey chair again. Sure, he didn't
actually know what Siu Sin looked like (it had never come up in their
conversations before), but this was one of the only places in the airport
that she would have to go to in order to make it anywhere. She should be able
to find him! He then slumped down in the seat and braced himself for a long
wait.
"Dammit, I hope Siu wasn't on one of the earlier flights..."
*** *** ***
The said girl that Andrew was waiting for sighed, she couldn't
believe it was happening to her. It was her first time on the plane and there
was a delay. That and she didn't know if her friend that she known online for
just about over two years was going to pick her at the airport or not.
"Darn it, I wish I had laptop." she muttered before looking at her
watch again. She looked at the window seeing nothing but rows of fluffy
clouds against the darkening sky and sighed again. "I shouldn't have
came." She rubbed at her eyes, still tired even though she had been awake for
about a few minutes.
She was sitting next to some nice young lady, so she didn't really
have to worry about anyone doing anything ecchi with her. The lady had said
that she would wake her up when they approached the landing, however it
seemed that she had woken up by herself from about 5 hours sleep of the 12
hours flight.
She looked down at the notebook on her lap, it had a few scribbled
words on it for some ideas she was developing and hopefully would be able to
write. She then just realised something, "Oh no... Andrew doesn't even know
what I LOOK like! I'm doomed..."
She sunk into her chair until she felt that the plane was slowing
down. She clenched the arm rest tightly, she hated this. Stupid fear of
heights.
The speakers then crackled as it became alive with an announcement.
"We are now landing at Tokyo International. Please wait until the
plane comes to a complete stop and the captain turns off the 'fasten
seatbelt' signs before leaving your seats. Thank you for flying Air
Singapore. Once we arrive, please make sure to head to the baggage claim
area and to Immigration. Thank you once again, and enjoy your stay."
Siu Sin just moaned in her chair. "I should've listened to my
parents..."
*** *** ***
Siu Sin looked around the unfamiliar area with people buzzing around
her like bees or... something... She had already collected her baggage and
was lining for what the Immigration thingy. "Aww, darn it... why is this line
so long!" She shifted her weight to her left as her bags were starting to get
heavy. She looked around, hoping to see a familiar face in the meantime.
She sighed again, "Forget it, he's probably not here anyways... that
or he's already left." She looked at her watch. "After all, it's already
8:25pm..." She cursed again, being impatient. The problem was that if he
wasn't here then she didn't really know what else to do. She couldn't speak
japanese, nor did she really have a place to go to either...
"Who's he? Your boyfriend?" spoke a voice behind her as she gasped
with surprise and embarrassing for having to speak outloud.
She spun around. Behind her was one of the faces that she thought
that she would never see after she left high school. Darn, what was he doing
here... She then faced away from him, her heart beating a little faster on
sight of him. Darn it! Stupid crush! Stupid Siu! She felt her face heating
up. She had felt that the crush was gone after not seeing him for a few
months, but it obviously haven't.
"Hey Siu, what's wrong? You don't remember me anymore? We used to be
in the same class." he continued.
Siu Sin flushed, not many people would call her just 'Siu'. Normally
people either called her Siu Sin or for full name Siu Sin Li. But Billy was
different. Somehow...
She moved forward as the line started to move again. "Really? I don't
record meeting you." she smirked. Argh! What are you doing?! She then turned
around to face him again, "So what are you doing here? Visiting family?"
Billy shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here? A
boyfriend maybe?"
Siu Sin frowned, "I asked you first."
"And I asked you second." he smirked.
She couldn't believe this. Always were they like this. He was just
soo... infurating at times! But yet he was so cute... Well, she just wasn't
going to give in this time.
"Fine, don't tell me." she hmphed as she picked up her bags again
and moved forward. She then sighed again and looked at her watch, 8:29pm.
This was going to be a long night. And she just prayed that she didn't make
a fool of herself.
*** *** ***
Billy smirked, it was fun making Siu Sin angry. He did that a lot
during when they were in the same class. He looked her over, it was the first
time that he saw her in other than the boring school uniform. She was wearing
some black pants and top. Her black straight hair was tied up loosely as
usual with a light coloured hairtie, but her hair seemed a little longer down
her back.
He moved closer forward, watching as she placed the bags she was
holding down to the ground and use her left hand to rub at her eyes. And she
bought her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.
Yep, he had to agree with her. This was boring.
He wondered why she really was in Japan, but decided that it probably
wasn't important. It wasn't like he would see her again afterwards anyways.
He was just a friend of her cousin's and not with her. He was surprised that
she didn't put up a fight as much as she did before. What had changed?
Sighing, he ran his hand through his short black hair.
*** *** ***
Andrew looked at his watch. 8:49PM... He'd been there for nearly two
hours now and there was still no sign of Siu Sin. True, he didn't really know
what she looked like, but there should at least be a small rush of people
speaking English from that flight. It was coming from Australia, after all.
He stretched and yawned, noting idly that there was another group
of people headed his way from the immigration area.
"She's probably not in that group either with my luck..."
Andrew settled back in his seat and prepared to wait for a while
longer. It wouldn't really be worth waiting much longer for her. A two hour
wait was pushing it even for him... and he was one of the more patient people
about waiting for others that he knew.
"Excuse me."
He blinked and looked up. He could have sworn that someone was
speaking to him. There, standing in front of him, was an Asian girl, which
wasn't really all that surprising, considering where he was. She probably
somewhere around college age, though he couldn't be sure. Her hair was tied
back in a ponytail and she was wearing black pants and a shirt of the same
colour. She was also wearing glasses. Joy... Time for the "speak English with
the Gaijin" game again. He probably should find out what she'd said first,
though.
"Eh?"
She sighed and then spoke. "Do you know where the currency exchange
is please?"
"Oh... Yeah, sure." Andrew managed a weak smile and pointed over
towards the nearby booths. "It's right over there. You have to fill out a
form to change your money, but it won't take too long. They're pretty quick
about it. They'll need your passport for that, too, so you should have it
out." She seemed tired... probably had a long day traveling. Didn't speak
with a Japanese accent, either; more like a Chinese one, though it was pretty
weak.
She seemed to brighten at that. "Thanks."
"No problem." Andrew watched as she turned to go over to the currency
exchange and then thought of something as he stood up. "Oh!! Sorry about
this, but could you answer a question for me?"
She turned back around. Didn't look too happy about it, though. "I
guess so..."
Andrew stood up and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
"Sorry to bother you, but do you know if the Air Singapore flight from
Sydney's come in yet? A friend of mine is supposed to be on that flight."
She took a while to answer. "Yeah... It's in. I was on that flight."
"Thanks a bunch."
She nodded again and as she went back towards the currency exchange
Andrew sat down and prepared to wait again. At least he knew the flight was
in now. Siu Sin should be passing his way any time. There shouldn't be much
longer that he had to... Wait a sec.
He quickly ran through a mental checklist of what he knew about Siu
Sin. Her family was Chinese, though she herself had been born in Australia.
Because of her family, she spoke both English and Chinese. Since she spoke
Chinese at home, she probably had at least a little bit of an accent, though
probably not much of one. She had long black hair and wore glasses. And last,
but not least, she was arriving on the... Air... Singapore... flight...
Forehead met palm in frustration a moment later. The girl that had
just asked him for directions could very well be Siu Sin! He should go ask.
True... if it wasn't her, he'd be making a complete fool of himself, but he'd
been waiting for long enough that taking a few minor risks with his pride was
worth it. At this point, frankly, he had nothing to lose by asking.
He got up and walked over towards the currency exchange. Hopefully,
he wouldn't be waiting here any longer and didn't just go chasing after the
wrong girl.
*** *** ***
She nodded at the Amercian man, at least she thought he was American;
with the accent she heard a lot on the news, and made her way to the exchange
currency. She a little annoyed that he had stopped her to ask HER as
question, but... well... she guessed that she had just paid the favor for her
question.
Finally though, she was getting somewhere. And soon would she be able
to leave this place and maybe go and find a hotel or something first. But
firstly to take the man's advice and take out her passport. She looked at her
handbag and zipped out the front part of her bag and took out her passport.
She smiled, good thing she had somewhat prepared for this.
Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around again.
"Here." She blinked as she placed the bags in her left hand down and took the
paper from Billy's hand, who she had totally forgot about him being here too.
"This is my uncle's place and number. Come and visit me sometime."
She blinked again. "Umm... sure." She stuffed the paper into her
pocket and picked up her bags and moved forward in the queue, shifted the
weight to the other side. "So how long are you staying here for?" she asked
as she turned around.
Only he had left.
She sighed.
She then lit up when she realised that she was the next person to be
served. Hopefully this time with no more interruptions. Crush or no crush.
*** *** ***
Andrew watched from off to the side and waited. It probably wouldn't
be very polite to bug her right now, as she had made her way to the front of
the line. Wait a minute... What was he thinking? This was probably the most
foolish thing he'd ever done in his life. Well... maybe second most foolish.
Either way, he was being about as much of an idiot as possible.
"Who am I kidding... Even if she was on the same plane, she probably
wouldn't have even talked to Siu Sin, anyway. What are the chances that she
actually *is* Siu Sin?"
*** *** ***
Siu Sin's eyes lit up as she took the yens from the lady's hands and
gave her a big happy smile and thanks. She then placed the money safely into
her bag and zipped it up tightly. Grabbing all her bags, she eagerly walked
away from the line. Now... just to make sure that Andrew wasn't here waiting
for her...
She took a look around as she continued to walk. It was quite a bad
habit of hers, it would most likely cause some problems if she fell or
tripped or walked into someone, but that hasn't happened, yet. She sighed,
even with the dispersing crowds it was still difficult to spot one person.
Not to mention the fact that she had only seen him from some photos she got
e-mailed with about a year ago.
She turned back around to look in front of her, maybe she should have
printed out that photo and compared it. It would have helped if he had held
up a big sign too... She sighed again, oh well... Might as well think about
it later and just make her way to the nearest safe hotel...
Now... just where was the exit... She looked around again. And her
eyes lit up. It was that American guy again, maybe he could help her again.
He was the only somewhat familiar face in the whole place. Somewhere in her
mind as she approached him wondered who exactly he was waiting for.
*** *** ***
Andrew paused in his self-berations for a moment when he noticed that
the girl was walking in his direction, anyway. Did she need directions
somewhere else? If so, that would sure make his life easier. He wouldn't have
to be the one to start up the conversation... Joy!
"Hi, sorry to bother you again but could you give me directions
again?" She looked somewhat desperate and lost.
Yep... Sure enough, she needed more directions. Not very surprising,
though; almost everyone needs directions to a few places when they fly in
here. He, himself, had managed to get lost a few times when he first tried to
find the train station.
"Sure... No problem. Where do you need to go?"
"I need to get a taxi and find a hotel... Do you know where they're
parked?"
He pointed off down the hall. "The taxi station's that way. If you
look up, there're some signs that have a little car on them with an arrow.
Just follow those, and you can't miss it."
"Thanks again."
"It was nothing." Dammit!! Why couldn't he ever be straightforward
about these things! If only he'd done something like carry around a big sign
with her name on it, he wouldn't be having these problems. But, no... He had
to have a nice little 'gee this is awkward' attack before making the
verdamndt thing and decide to just rely on her remembering what he looked
like from the pictures he had e-mailed a while back. Aw, crud... she was
leaving. If he didn't ask now, he'd probably regret it.
He had to run a bit to catch up to her. "Sorry 'bout this, but did
you meet anyone named Siu Sin on your flight or in the line for Immigration.
I was supposed to be picking her up here, but sorta' forgot to make a sign or
anything."
He watched as her eyes widened, as if in recognition. "Now I know why
you looked so familiar. You're Andrew, aren't you?"
He just stood there, stunned. All this time trying to decide whether
or not to embarrass himself terrible only to find out that he had been right
in the first place... It was the end of the world... he just knew it.
"I knew that there was something about you that made me go to you the
first place." she smiled and dropped her bags, "It's nice to finally meet you
in person, 'Andy'."
Andrew sighed and covered his face in his hands. He wasn't sure if
it was because of the wasted time, or because she was so used to using the
online nickname. Either way...
"Heh... So predictable." She smirked as he looked back up to take a
good long look at her. Memorising all her features so that he wouldn't have
problems looking for her again.
He sighed and shook his head. "I should have known you'd say
something like that, Siu Sin... You want me to get your bags? We have a bit
of a walk to the train station."
She just stood there and grinned.
Andrew just rolled his eyes and bent to pick up her bags for her.
"Say... Where are you staying at, anyway?"
"Ack!" She then paled, "well..."
He could have sworn that a gigantic drop of sweat had just appeared
on his forehead. "I should have known..." He started walking in the direction
of the train station. "I don't think it should be too hard to find someplace
for you to stay. I've seen some of the lowest rent prices ever in Nerim-"
"Can I stay with you?" She asked abruptly as he almost dropped all
her bags he was carrying. He could 'almost' hear the gears in his brain
turning...
"Umm.... Hello?" She looked at him worryingly as she waved her hand
in front of his face.
"... Would you believe that James pulled much the same thing a couple
months ago? Except you actually have identification and a ticket back home...
right? He had to wait until his parents could send him the money for a return
flight before he was able to leave. My apartment's pretty big, and I still
have a spare futon left from when he was here, so it shouldn't be much of a
problem for you to stay. And I'm babbling now, aren't I?"
"Err... yes... yes, you are..." she then paused, somewhat then
talking more to herself, "maybe I should find my own place..." She then
turned back to him, "Whose James by the way? Someone I know?"
"No, I insist. You're still my friend. Even if I've only ever talked
to you online before. Besides, it's no trouble at all. As for James, you do
know him in a way."
"Oh? Anyways, I don't believe you... And you were babbling, so...
don't worry. I'll find my own place." She then picked up the rest of her
bags.
"I'm telling you, it's no trouble for you to stay!" She seemed a
little surprised at his outburst as she took a step back. "We should drop
your stuff off at my apartment first, and then get something to eat. You
*are* hungry, aren't you?"
"No, not really... I want slleeepppp." Her stomach then rumbled.
"Curses..." She then looked up at him with a somewhat embarrassed look. "On
second thoughts..."
He chuckled for a moment and then got moving once again. "In that
case, lets get moving. I know a great Ramen place near my apartment that
you'll probably like. An added plus is that you won't have to speak Japanese
to make your order: the owner's from China."
"Yay... great..." She muttered as she trotted closely behind him.
"Oi... You don't have to be so enthusiastic about it! Trust me...
this place's one of the best."
"Okok, But you're making the order."
He shrugged and kept walking. "Fine by me. Just don't expect me to do
it in Chinese. I only started lessons a couple months ago."
"Really?! Why didn't you tell me? What can you say?"
"Err... not much. I'm still getting the hang of the tonals, so I
can't speak too well yet. Heh... the old woman says I speak like a toddler.
At least the kanji are similar. That's something to be thankful for."
"Old woman...? Ramen.... you don't mean..." Her eyes widen with
shock.
He stopped walking again and put the bags down so he could massage
his forehead with one hand. "Please tell me that the feeling of impending
doom I've got right now is just my stomach threatening to mutiny if it goes
too much longer without food..."
"Eh? I don't understand."
"Oh, never mind... Food first, thinking later. It was probably just
my overactive imagination, anyway..."
"Ah, ok... what about the bags? Ain't we going to your place first?"
"Yep... The restaurant's close enough that it won't make much of a
difference if we drop your stuff off first."
"Well, alright..." She then looked at him. "Come on! What are we
waiting for?"
One train ride and a quick stop by an apartment later which consisted
of opening the door, throwing the bags inside, and locking it again, they
stood in front of a store.
"Here we are, Nekohanten."
"You mean the Cat Cafe."
They looked at each other.
"Aww... who cares!" And with that, they entered the resturant.
*** *** ***
End of prologue
*** *** ***
Bambi's notes: So what does everyone think? Anyone who can help us with a
title? Oh yeah, contact details! Email me at: bambi_star9@yahoo.com
Beige's notes: I'm not really used to having separate notes, but I guess I
might as well say a bit. As Bambi said, the title really is one of the main
sticking points for us at the moment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
At the moment, the fic is centered on the original characters. We plan on
keeping that focus, but having the Ranma (and other) characters feature more
later. You can contact me at this address: sienkewr@lawrence.edu
This fic can be found on ff.net under 'Bambi Star's name and soon on our
respective websites:
http://bambistar.anifics.com
http://chocoroost.anifics.com/
later belong to their respective owners. All over characters belong to us,
Bambi Star and Beige Chocobo.
Bambi's notes: This is my first co-write with Beige Chocobo. This starts with
the introduction of the new characters and some of the Ranma cast would
appear in the next chapter. I hope that you all enjoy reading this fic as
much as I liked writing it. Now to Beige.
Beige's notes: Well, I think that Bambi has said it all. Now, on to the
story!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrew sighed as he looked at his watch again. It was a Friday night
and he didn't have work tomorrow, thanks to some school holiday or other,
and, by rights, he should be out somewhere enjoying himself... So *what*
exactly had possessed him to drag himself over to Tokyo International for the
evening? He pulled a rather worn e-mail printout from his black jeans pocket
and read it again for the upteenth time to make sure that he got all the
facts correct.
Dear Andrew,
Hey, how are you? Anyhows, it's me, Siu Sin. Heard you were in Japan. I'm
going to head there for a holiday especially since my exams are all done. Can
you pick me up at the airport? The plane is Tokyo International, the time
would be 7pm, the from Sydney to Tokyo flight on 5th of May.
I know it maybe awkward since we never met before, and if it's too much of a
problem I'll just take a taxi (somehow). Hope to see you soon.
~ Siu ~
After folding the printout back up again and stuffing it into his
pocket he glanced at his watch for what seemed the hundredth time that
evening. Eight O' Clock... The only Sydney-Tokyo flight that was scheduled
for 7:00PM had yet to arrive. With any luck, she was been on that flight and
not one of the others. It was supposedly going to be landing within a few
minutes. Of course that didn't mean she'd make it out of the terminal then...
He cursed silently to himself as he remembered his own encounters with the
Japanese immigration system 10 months ago.
The book he'd brought had been finished almost an hour ago, so the
only thing that he had left to do for amusement was listen in to the
conversations around him. It was true that the people around him were
speaking Japanese almost exclusively, but he had progressed far enough in
the language that it was, for the most part, no longer a problem for him.
Andrew knew that it wasn't really polite for him to do, but he needed
*something* to keep him occupied!!!
He walked back to his seat opposite the currency exchange booth and
sat down onto the uncomfortable, plastic grey chair again. Sure, he didn't
actually know what Siu Sin looked like (it had never come up in their
conversations before), but this was one of the only places in the airport
that she would have to go to in order to make it anywhere. She should be able
to find him! He then slumped down in the seat and braced himself for a long
wait.
"Dammit, I hope Siu wasn't on one of the earlier flights..."
*** *** ***
The said girl that Andrew was waiting for sighed, she couldn't
believe it was happening to her. It was her first time on the plane and there
was a delay. That and she didn't know if her friend that she known online for
just about over two years was going to pick her at the airport or not.
"Darn it, I wish I had laptop." she muttered before looking at her
watch again. She looked at the window seeing nothing but rows of fluffy
clouds against the darkening sky and sighed again. "I shouldn't have
came." She rubbed at her eyes, still tired even though she had been awake for
about a few minutes.
She was sitting next to some nice young lady, so she didn't really
have to worry about anyone doing anything ecchi with her. The lady had said
that she would wake her up when they approached the landing, however it
seemed that she had woken up by herself from about 5 hours sleep of the 12
hours flight.
She looked down at the notebook on her lap, it had a few scribbled
words on it for some ideas she was developing and hopefully would be able to
write. She then just realised something, "Oh no... Andrew doesn't even know
what I LOOK like! I'm doomed..."
She sunk into her chair until she felt that the plane was slowing
down. She clenched the arm rest tightly, she hated this. Stupid fear of
heights.
The speakers then crackled as it became alive with an announcement.
"We are now landing at Tokyo International. Please wait until the
plane comes to a complete stop and the captain turns off the 'fasten
seatbelt' signs before leaving your seats. Thank you for flying Air
Singapore. Once we arrive, please make sure to head to the baggage claim
area and to Immigration. Thank you once again, and enjoy your stay."
Siu Sin just moaned in her chair. "I should've listened to my
parents..."
*** *** ***
Siu Sin looked around the unfamiliar area with people buzzing around
her like bees or... something... She had already collected her baggage and
was lining for what the Immigration thingy. "Aww, darn it... why is this line
so long!" She shifted her weight to her left as her bags were starting to get
heavy. She looked around, hoping to see a familiar face in the meantime.
She sighed again, "Forget it, he's probably not here anyways... that
or he's already left." She looked at her watch. "After all, it's already
8:25pm..." She cursed again, being impatient. The problem was that if he
wasn't here then she didn't really know what else to do. She couldn't speak
japanese, nor did she really have a place to go to either...
"Who's he? Your boyfriend?" spoke a voice behind her as she gasped
with surprise and embarrassing for having to speak outloud.
She spun around. Behind her was one of the faces that she thought
that she would never see after she left high school. Darn, what was he doing
here... She then faced away from him, her heart beating a little faster on
sight of him. Darn it! Stupid crush! Stupid Siu! She felt her face heating
up. She had felt that the crush was gone after not seeing him for a few
months, but it obviously haven't.
"Hey Siu, what's wrong? You don't remember me anymore? We used to be
in the same class." he continued.
Siu Sin flushed, not many people would call her just 'Siu'. Normally
people either called her Siu Sin or for full name Siu Sin Li. But Billy was
different. Somehow...
She moved forward as the line started to move again. "Really? I don't
record meeting you." she smirked. Argh! What are you doing?! She then turned
around to face him again, "So what are you doing here? Visiting family?"
Billy shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here? A
boyfriend maybe?"
Siu Sin frowned, "I asked you first."
"And I asked you second." he smirked.
She couldn't believe this. Always were they like this. He was just
soo... infurating at times! But yet he was so cute... Well, she just wasn't
going to give in this time.
"Fine, don't tell me." she hmphed as she picked up her bags again
and moved forward. She then sighed again and looked at her watch, 8:29pm.
This was going to be a long night. And she just prayed that she didn't make
a fool of herself.
*** *** ***
Billy smirked, it was fun making Siu Sin angry. He did that a lot
during when they were in the same class. He looked her over, it was the first
time that he saw her in other than the boring school uniform. She was wearing
some black pants and top. Her black straight hair was tied up loosely as
usual with a light coloured hairtie, but her hair seemed a little longer down
her back.
He moved closer forward, watching as she placed the bags she was
holding down to the ground and use her left hand to rub at her eyes. And she
bought her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned.
Yep, he had to agree with her. This was boring.
He wondered why she really was in Japan, but decided that it probably
wasn't important. It wasn't like he would see her again afterwards anyways.
He was just a friend of her cousin's and not with her. He was surprised that
she didn't put up a fight as much as she did before. What had changed?
Sighing, he ran his hand through his short black hair.
*** *** ***
Andrew looked at his watch. 8:49PM... He'd been there for nearly two
hours now and there was still no sign of Siu Sin. True, he didn't really know
what she looked like, but there should at least be a small rush of people
speaking English from that flight. It was coming from Australia, after all.
He stretched and yawned, noting idly that there was another group
of people headed his way from the immigration area.
"She's probably not in that group either with my luck..."
Andrew settled back in his seat and prepared to wait for a while
longer. It wouldn't really be worth waiting much longer for her. A two hour
wait was pushing it even for him... and he was one of the more patient people
about waiting for others that he knew.
"Excuse me."
He blinked and looked up. He could have sworn that someone was
speaking to him. There, standing in front of him, was an Asian girl, which
wasn't really all that surprising, considering where he was. She probably
somewhere around college age, though he couldn't be sure. Her hair was tied
back in a ponytail and she was wearing black pants and a shirt of the same
colour. She was also wearing glasses. Joy... Time for the "speak English with
the Gaijin" game again. He probably should find out what she'd said first,
though.
"Eh?"
She sighed and then spoke. "Do you know where the currency exchange
is please?"
"Oh... Yeah, sure." Andrew managed a weak smile and pointed over
towards the nearby booths. "It's right over there. You have to fill out a
form to change your money, but it won't take too long. They're pretty quick
about it. They'll need your passport for that, too, so you should have it
out." She seemed tired... probably had a long day traveling. Didn't speak
with a Japanese accent, either; more like a Chinese one, though it was pretty
weak.
She seemed to brighten at that. "Thanks."
"No problem." Andrew watched as she turned to go over to the currency
exchange and then thought of something as he stood up. "Oh!! Sorry about
this, but could you answer a question for me?"
She turned back around. Didn't look too happy about it, though. "I
guess so..."
Andrew stood up and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
"Sorry to bother you, but do you know if the Air Singapore flight from
Sydney's come in yet? A friend of mine is supposed to be on that flight."
She took a while to answer. "Yeah... It's in. I was on that flight."
"Thanks a bunch."
She nodded again and as she went back towards the currency exchange
Andrew sat down and prepared to wait again. At least he knew the flight was
in now. Siu Sin should be passing his way any time. There shouldn't be much
longer that he had to... Wait a sec.
He quickly ran through a mental checklist of what he knew about Siu
Sin. Her family was Chinese, though she herself had been born in Australia.
Because of her family, she spoke both English and Chinese. Since she spoke
Chinese at home, she probably had at least a little bit of an accent, though
probably not much of one. She had long black hair and wore glasses. And last,
but not least, she was arriving on the... Air... Singapore... flight...
Forehead met palm in frustration a moment later. The girl that had
just asked him for directions could very well be Siu Sin! He should go ask.
True... if it wasn't her, he'd be making a complete fool of himself, but he'd
been waiting for long enough that taking a few minor risks with his pride was
worth it. At this point, frankly, he had nothing to lose by asking.
He got up and walked over towards the currency exchange. Hopefully,
he wouldn't be waiting here any longer and didn't just go chasing after the
wrong girl.
*** *** ***
She nodded at the Amercian man, at least she thought he was American;
with the accent she heard a lot on the news, and made her way to the exchange
currency. She a little annoyed that he had stopped her to ask HER as
question, but... well... she guessed that she had just paid the favor for her
question.
Finally though, she was getting somewhere. And soon would she be able
to leave this place and maybe go and find a hotel or something first. But
firstly to take the man's advice and take out her passport. She looked at her
handbag and zipped out the front part of her bag and took out her passport.
She smiled, good thing she had somewhat prepared for this.
Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around again.
"Here." She blinked as she placed the bags in her left hand down and took the
paper from Billy's hand, who she had totally forgot about him being here too.
"This is my uncle's place and number. Come and visit me sometime."
She blinked again. "Umm... sure." She stuffed the paper into her
pocket and picked up her bags and moved forward in the queue, shifted the
weight to the other side. "So how long are you staying here for?" she asked
as she turned around.
Only he had left.
She sighed.
She then lit up when she realised that she was the next person to be
served. Hopefully this time with no more interruptions. Crush or no crush.
*** *** ***
Andrew watched from off to the side and waited. It probably wouldn't
be very polite to bug her right now, as she had made her way to the front of
the line. Wait a minute... What was he thinking? This was probably the most
foolish thing he'd ever done in his life. Well... maybe second most foolish.
Either way, he was being about as much of an idiot as possible.
"Who am I kidding... Even if she was on the same plane, she probably
wouldn't have even talked to Siu Sin, anyway. What are the chances that she
actually *is* Siu Sin?"
*** *** ***
Siu Sin's eyes lit up as she took the yens from the lady's hands and
gave her a big happy smile and thanks. She then placed the money safely into
her bag and zipped it up tightly. Grabbing all her bags, she eagerly walked
away from the line. Now... just to make sure that Andrew wasn't here waiting
for her...
She took a look around as she continued to walk. It was quite a bad
habit of hers, it would most likely cause some problems if she fell or
tripped or walked into someone, but that hasn't happened, yet. She sighed,
even with the dispersing crowds it was still difficult to spot one person.
Not to mention the fact that she had only seen him from some photos she got
e-mailed with about a year ago.
She turned back around to look in front of her, maybe she should have
printed out that photo and compared it. It would have helped if he had held
up a big sign too... She sighed again, oh well... Might as well think about
it later and just make her way to the nearest safe hotel...
Now... just where was the exit... She looked around again. And her
eyes lit up. It was that American guy again, maybe he could help her again.
He was the only somewhat familiar face in the whole place. Somewhere in her
mind as she approached him wondered who exactly he was waiting for.
*** *** ***
Andrew paused in his self-berations for a moment when he noticed that
the girl was walking in his direction, anyway. Did she need directions
somewhere else? If so, that would sure make his life easier. He wouldn't have
to be the one to start up the conversation... Joy!
"Hi, sorry to bother you again but could you give me directions
again?" She looked somewhat desperate and lost.
Yep... Sure enough, she needed more directions. Not very surprising,
though; almost everyone needs directions to a few places when they fly in
here. He, himself, had managed to get lost a few times when he first tried to
find the train station.
"Sure... No problem. Where do you need to go?"
"I need to get a taxi and find a hotel... Do you know where they're
parked?"
He pointed off down the hall. "The taxi station's that way. If you
look up, there're some signs that have a little car on them with an arrow.
Just follow those, and you can't miss it."
"Thanks again."
"It was nothing." Dammit!! Why couldn't he ever be straightforward
about these things! If only he'd done something like carry around a big sign
with her name on it, he wouldn't be having these problems. But, no... He had
to have a nice little 'gee this is awkward' attack before making the
verdamndt thing and decide to just rely on her remembering what he looked
like from the pictures he had e-mailed a while back. Aw, crud... she was
leaving. If he didn't ask now, he'd probably regret it.
He had to run a bit to catch up to her. "Sorry 'bout this, but did
you meet anyone named Siu Sin on your flight or in the line for Immigration.
I was supposed to be picking her up here, but sorta' forgot to make a sign or
anything."
He watched as her eyes widened, as if in recognition. "Now I know why
you looked so familiar. You're Andrew, aren't you?"
He just stood there, stunned. All this time trying to decide whether
or not to embarrass himself terrible only to find out that he had been right
in the first place... It was the end of the world... he just knew it.
"I knew that there was something about you that made me go to you the
first place." she smiled and dropped her bags, "It's nice to finally meet you
in person, 'Andy'."
Andrew sighed and covered his face in his hands. He wasn't sure if
it was because of the wasted time, or because she was so used to using the
online nickname. Either way...
"Heh... So predictable." She smirked as he looked back up to take a
good long look at her. Memorising all her features so that he wouldn't have
problems looking for her again.
He sighed and shook his head. "I should have known you'd say
something like that, Siu Sin... You want me to get your bags? We have a bit
of a walk to the train station."
She just stood there and grinned.
Andrew just rolled his eyes and bent to pick up her bags for her.
"Say... Where are you staying at, anyway?"
"Ack!" She then paled, "well..."
He could have sworn that a gigantic drop of sweat had just appeared
on his forehead. "I should have known..." He started walking in the direction
of the train station. "I don't think it should be too hard to find someplace
for you to stay. I've seen some of the lowest rent prices ever in Nerim-"
"Can I stay with you?" She asked abruptly as he almost dropped all
her bags he was carrying. He could 'almost' hear the gears in his brain
turning...
"Umm.... Hello?" She looked at him worryingly as she waved her hand
in front of his face.
"... Would you believe that James pulled much the same thing a couple
months ago? Except you actually have identification and a ticket back home...
right? He had to wait until his parents could send him the money for a return
flight before he was able to leave. My apartment's pretty big, and I still
have a spare futon left from when he was here, so it shouldn't be much of a
problem for you to stay. And I'm babbling now, aren't I?"
"Err... yes... yes, you are..." she then paused, somewhat then
talking more to herself, "maybe I should find my own place..." She then
turned back to him, "Whose James by the way? Someone I know?"
"No, I insist. You're still my friend. Even if I've only ever talked
to you online before. Besides, it's no trouble at all. As for James, you do
know him in a way."
"Oh? Anyways, I don't believe you... And you were babbling, so...
don't worry. I'll find my own place." She then picked up the rest of her
bags.
"I'm telling you, it's no trouble for you to stay!" She seemed a
little surprised at his outburst as she took a step back. "We should drop
your stuff off at my apartment first, and then get something to eat. You
*are* hungry, aren't you?"
"No, not really... I want slleeepppp." Her stomach then rumbled.
"Curses..." She then looked up at him with a somewhat embarrassed look. "On
second thoughts..."
He chuckled for a moment and then got moving once again. "In that
case, lets get moving. I know a great Ramen place near my apartment that
you'll probably like. An added plus is that you won't have to speak Japanese
to make your order: the owner's from China."
"Yay... great..." She muttered as she trotted closely behind him.
"Oi... You don't have to be so enthusiastic about it! Trust me...
this place's one of the best."
"Okok, But you're making the order."
He shrugged and kept walking. "Fine by me. Just don't expect me to do
it in Chinese. I only started lessons a couple months ago."
"Really?! Why didn't you tell me? What can you say?"
"Err... not much. I'm still getting the hang of the tonals, so I
can't speak too well yet. Heh... the old woman says I speak like a toddler.
At least the kanji are similar. That's something to be thankful for."
"Old woman...? Ramen.... you don't mean..." Her eyes widen with
shock.
He stopped walking again and put the bags down so he could massage
his forehead with one hand. "Please tell me that the feeling of impending
doom I've got right now is just my stomach threatening to mutiny if it goes
too much longer without food..."
"Eh? I don't understand."
"Oh, never mind... Food first, thinking later. It was probably just
my overactive imagination, anyway..."
"Ah, ok... what about the bags? Ain't we going to your place first?"
"Yep... The restaurant's close enough that it won't make much of a
difference if we drop your stuff off first."
"Well, alright..." She then looked at him. "Come on! What are we
waiting for?"
One train ride and a quick stop by an apartment later which consisted
of opening the door, throwing the bags inside, and locking it again, they
stood in front of a store.
"Here we are, Nekohanten."
"You mean the Cat Cafe."
They looked at each other.
"Aww... who cares!" And with that, they entered the resturant.
*** *** ***
End of prologue
*** *** ***
Bambi's notes: So what does everyone think? Anyone who can help us with a
title? Oh yeah, contact details! Email me at: bambi_star9@yahoo.com
Beige's notes: I'm not really used to having separate notes, but I guess I
might as well say a bit. As Bambi said, the title really is one of the main
sticking points for us at the moment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
At the moment, the fic is centered on the original characters. We plan on
keeping that focus, but having the Ranma (and other) characters feature more
later. You can contact me at this address: sienkewr@lawrence.edu
This fic can be found on ff.net under 'Bambi Star's name and soon on our
respective websites:
http://bambistar.anifics.com
http://chocoroost.anifics.com/