I'd like to begin by thanking Down Town Alpha for his review. I can understand why one might question Miho shying away from Maho. There is a reason though, which is hinted at through the early chapters and chapter eight of this story will go into the specific details of the matter.
As for the movie, I haven't seen it yet but from what I could gather, it looks like it will be a fantastic movie. I'll probably wait till it comes out on DVD or blu-ray before buying it, though.
I'd also like to thank those who have decided to follow this story, your support means a lot to me. And also the readers, I appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to read this story.
Anyways, here is chapter two. Enjoy!
"So, you never mentioned what you do for work," Maho began as she gazed at the passing cow pastures.
Joseph chuckled a bit. "Mostly I work at a ski resort in Montana in the winter."
Maho gaped at him in surprise. "But we are currently in Oklahoma!" She managed to get out.
"I know. This is where I live during the off season. Once winter comes, I move to my cabin up in Montana, when the season is over I simply move back." He explained.
Maho shook her head teasingly. "You, my good friend, are full of surprises.
"Well, I try," Joseph smiled, as he turned into into a road. As Maho gazed around, she noticed right away that the scenery began to change from that of a grassland to that of a mountainous area. "One of the reasons I use trucks here, very mountainous."
Maho laughed. "That, and you have always had a fetish for trucks," she joked.
Joesph nodded. "Welp, I can't argue with that."
As he finally pulled into his driveway, Maho gaped at the large hanger beside his large log cabin, or more aptly, log mansion. "Wow. I did not expect this," she whispered.
Joseph smirked. "Well, gotta have a hanger if I gonna host a truck collection. As for the over-sized cabin, I had a few reasons." he noted.
Hm.. I wonder what he means by that? She wondered to herself, but decided not to comment. She watched as he pulled out a remote and pressed a button, which caused the large doors on the hanger to open. "Best thing is, I have a special box on the inside which can program the doors to either respond or not respond to a remote." he explained. "Usually I keep it off at night."
"That makes sense," Maho noted as darkness enclosed around her. Dim lights flooded the area, giving it a cavern-like fill, and part of her dreaded walking through the hanger. Finally, as the truck stopped in an compartment, Joseph rolled down his window.
"Let there be light!" He hollered suddenly, causing Maho to glare at him briefly before shielding her eyes from the bright light. "And God saw the light, that it was good. Maybe a tad to bright though," He chuckled, which caused the lights to dim slightly.
Maho gave a laugh. "Now that was a surprise!"
"Thanks, it took me two months of work to get the lights to work with the voice commands."
"You spend that much time on it?" Maho exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah, I guess I did." Joseph admitted, just realizing how ridiculous that sounded. "Don't get me wrong, I good with computers, but writing code? I'm a little slow."
"No no, it's not that I'm saying it is a long time, just that I'm impressed at that amount of dedication just to your lighting system." Maho clarified. She then stepped out of the truck and took a small whiff. "Smells like lilac fields," she commented.
"I like to keep the garage smelling clean." Joesph explained.
Maho gazed around, before something caught her eye. "You have a Dragon Wagon?" she asked, pointing at the vehicle in question at the very back.
"Ah yes, I use it when I move up to Montana."
"Oh, that makes sense."
After admiring her friends truck collection some more, they decided to settle down for breakfast. Joesph made them chocolate chip pancakes, which Maho found delicious.
"Joesph, I'd like to thank you for letting me stat with you." Maho began after she had finished eating.
"It's no problem, really," he replied humbly.
Maho then let out a sigh. "You know where I can find work, though? I don't want to take up more of your time and resources than I have to."
Joesph shook his head. "No Maho, what you need right now is to relax for a few months, especially after what you went through." he countermanded gently.
"But..."
"No buts Maho. As your friend, I'm telling you to just sit back and enjoy at least a few months before worrying about finding work." He then sighed. "Look, you've spent your whole life trying to make Shiho proud, and working your tail off to leave Kuromorimine with an outstanding reputation, and then Japan finds you your mom did something terrible and treats you like garbage for it. You need to get that out of your system before you even began to think about work.
Maho sighed again. "You never give up, do you." She then let out a chuckle. "Alright, I'll wait a few months then."
"And this is your room," Joesph said, completing the tour of the house. Maho glanced around, noticing the room was nice, but mostly empty of decor. "Sorry it is so empty at the moment."
Maho shook her head, setting her bag down. "No, that's quite alright, I don't think I'll need much right off the bat anyways." she reassured.
Joseph smiled a bit before his phone rang. "Hold on a second." He replied, before answering. "Uh uh, cows out, eh. I guess I can help. Be there in a moment." He then turned to Maho. "Sorry about that, a friend of mine had his cattle break out and needs some help. Would you like to come with or settle in your new room.
Maho thought for a moment. "I think that I will stay here and get settled. Besides, I'd probably most likely get in the way since I know nothing about ranching." She decided.
"Alright, suite yourself." Joesph chuckled, before leaving her. Maho glanced around, before unpacking her bag and putting her clothes in the closet. She hadn't brought much, just a few watches, sets of clothes, and a picture of her and her younger sister, Miho.
She frowned as she gazed at the picture, the two siblings smiling. It was taken after their first win together in high school, a much happier time to be sure. Should I try and call her now? Maho asked herself, before shaking her head. No, not just yet. Maybe in a week or two, but not now. Miho needs her space. At least, that's what Maho had thought.
She then turned her attention to the small computer on the desk, noticing a note and an envelope on it. "Dear Maho, I've left this computer to you, along with a few gift cards for you to use. Don't give me no trouble over not wanting to use them, I kinda figured you'd try and leave most of your personal items behind, and I won't take no for an answer. Anyways, you'll find $100 for Steam and another $130 for iTunes. I've also included the specs of the computer, and a guide to help take the guesswork out of which games your computer can run.
There is also an Ipod you can use. It's an Ipod shuffle 4th gen, 2 GB, but it should surface for a while.
Joseph."
Maho gazed at the letter, before slowly opening the envelope, taking the various cards out. "Joseph," she whispered, touched by his generosity. She then turned the pc on, and gazed at the specs.
"R-5 graphics cards, Core i3 Intel processor, 4 GB of ram, 500 GB hard drive space, and windows 7." she w noted softly to herself, not really understanding all of it, but glad she knew the limits of the computer. She then downloaded steam and Itunes, spending the time during the downloads to customize her pc to her liking. After that, she took thirty minuets browsing through steam.
Maho had never been much of a gamer, though she did occasionally play some of the browser games, and World of Tanks. However, every since the move, she'd been looking forward to learning how to play, since Joesph was a gamer himself, and pretty good at it. That didn't mean Maho wanted to go hard core into gaming, but she'd like to give it a try and maybe make it a small hobby of hers.
Eventually, she decided to get the Sims 3, Civilization III and Sim city 4, as they looked the most interesting to her. She did have about thirty left in her account, but didn't want to spend it right off the bat. As the games began to download, she let out a yawn. I guess I am more worn out than I thought, she realized, turning off her monitor and sitting down on her bed.
Joesph said it'd take a few hours, so I guess I have time for a nap, she decided. Taking a posted note, she wrote explaining that she wanted to wake her when he got back if she wasn't awake. She then stuck the note on her door, and settled back into her bed, and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep.
Joesph's pov:
Several hour's later, Joesph returned home, slightly tired from his exhaustive cattle round-up. Jeez, who raises 2000 cows in one large pasture? He asked himself, before noticing the note on Maho's door. Hm, the door is slightly open, so maybe, no, Ill go ahead and knock first, he decided, and knocked gently.
No sound. He carefully opened the door, and walked inside, over to the sleeping girl. Man, she sure looks cute, he thought to himself, remembering how he felt when she'd occasionally fall asleep when they went fishing. "Rest well, my old friend," he whispered, before leaving her to her nap. Even though Maho had asked him to wake her up, he too felt tired, and decided to rest up a bit himself.
