Chapter Two:

Hikaru was walking around a local farmer's market when he saw Faye snapping pictures with her camera. A basket of fresh fruit and vegetables sat at her feet. He walked up behind her and smirked. "Boo!" he blew into her ear.

Faye jumped away from him and knocked over her basket. She scrambled to pick of the food quickly. She would have to wash them really well when she got back home. She looked up at Hikaru and sighed. "Hello Hikaru," she smiled. "How are you today?"

Hikaru bent over and picked up an apple from her basket. It was one of the few food items that hadn't fallen on the ground. "Good," he said before taking a bite of the juicy red fruit. He just stared at her as she adjusted the food in her basket.

"I'm doing quite well," Faye said rolling her eyes. "Thank you for asking."

"But I didn't ask."

"That's the point Hikaru," Faye sighed as she rolled her eyes. The red headed Asian had been harassing her for a couple weeks now and they had developed a 'sort-of' friendship. Mostly he followed her around as she took pictures of scenery and of people. She even managed to get a few of him doing something interesting. "You really should be more polite."

"Why?" Hikaru asked. He wasn't in front of anyone important. Faye was a friend, but he could be casual around her.

"It's nice to check in on people. It's standard procedure to ask someone how they are doing once they've asked you," Faye stated. "I've been wondering. Your name is Japanese right?"

Hikaru looked at her strangely. "Yes."

"Are you from Japan?" Faye asked with a slight glimmer of hope.

Hikaru nodded. "Are you learning Japanese?" Some of the French students he encountered wanted to use him as practice for language acquisition. He only hoped that she was just one of those girls who was obsessed with the culture, but didn't actually know a lick of Japanese. It was usually less painful.

Faye smirked. "No, I already speak it. I lived next door to a Japanese woman and her son who was only a couple weeks older than me. My parents couldn't afford a babysitter, but she would watch me for free. I started going there before I have my first memory. I spent a large majority of my childhood there and she had a strict Japanese only rule in her house. The only time we spoke English was when her husband was home from work. My cousins speak it too." she explained.

Hikaru examined her sad face. It was like she was remembering a painful memory. "So you speak Japanese too?" he said easily slipping into his native tongue. It felt so much better once he was back to a structure he grew up on. He knew French, English, and Japanese, but found himself more comfortable in English. He really should have gone to San Francisco with Kaoru.

"Mmmhmm," Faye hummed. She grabbed a peach from her basket as she started to walk away. Hikaru followed her quickly.

"So why are you in France?"

"I don't like Canada," Faye answered slipping into a language that only made her more comfortable, but one that allowed her to communicate more. She smiled as she thought about the fact that her life was multi-lingual.

Faye grabbed some fresh tomatoes and paid the vendor. "How can you not like Canada?" Hikaru asked in disbelief. Everyone loved Canada. America was a different story.

"There are people there that I don't like. Ergo, I don't like Canada."

Hikaru stopped. "You're talking more."

"Well the more comfortable I get, the more I'm willing to speak to someone. Plus, I've been speaking Japanese far longer than French. My thoughts are a combination of English and Japanese most days. Practice makes perfect, right?"

"So because we're speaking Japanese, you aren't going to jump every time I say hi?" he asked. Was his fun going to disappear now that she was speaking his native tongue?

"No, I'll stop jumping when you actually say hello to me instead of trying to surprise me," Faye stated dully.

"So what are you studying here?"

"Are, I'm studying art and the process through which we preserve it," Faye smiled.

"My brother's friend preserves and fixes old books," Hikaru stated. He was getting better at this small talk thing. He was almost convinced that Faye actually liked talking to him.

Faye loved art. She loved how art changed through history. She loved being able to look at something and know at what point in history it was produced. She had books full of sketches from the photos she took, and she and even painted a few. She liked to think that she was a dumbed down Ansell Adams/Georgia O'Keefe hybrid. Though she would never be so audacious to say such things out loud.

Hikaru watcher her quietly. A moment ago she was sad, but at the mention of art, she gained a sudden spark in her eyes. She had a peaceful look about her. The thought of art was enough to put her at ease. He wondered what did that for him. Mischief was the likely suspect. He loved his tricks and teasing.

"Why are you getting all this fresh food?" Hikaru asked as she grabbed some potatoes.

"My father is going to make a fresh garden salad, and Sheppard's Pie," Fay answered.

"What's that?"

Faye stopped walking and started at him dumbfounded. "You've never had Sheppard's Pie?" she asked. She came to her own mental realization and hit her forehead with the heel of her palm. "Right. I suppose with you being from Japan, you don't often eat a poor Englishman's dinner."

"What's in it?" Hikaru asked. His curiosity was getting the best of him. What was this meal?

"Mashed potatoes, ground beef, corn, and peas," Faye answered. "My dad liked to have a small bit of beef gravy in it so that it has a more pronounced taste. It's really good."

Hikaru tried to imagine the dish, but he couldn't come up with anything coherent. It sounded like an off mishmash of food that would be good separately, but this was a pie. . . so that meant everything was all together. "How do you make it?"

"Uh… How about you come over to my place and try it," she suggested. "You could even watch my dad make it. He's always talking about how I need to bring over a friend. I guess you work."

Hikaru stopped walking as anger flared up inside him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Faye turned and grinned. "Gotcha'" she said with a hint of a laugh.

The two stared at each other as Hikaru's anger turned into amusement. Faye turned quickly and continued making her way through the market, occasionally dodging the stray Frenchman on his morning stroll. She turned back to look at Hikaru.

"Follow me or get my address," she stated. "Either way, dinner is at seven, and you better brush up on your English."

Hikaru jogged to catch up with her. "What's your dad like? I mean would it be okay if I just showed up?"

Faye laughed. "Looking at him you think he's a big strong lumber jack. If you actually knew him, you'd know that he's a big softy. His Japanese isn't very good despite me teaching him to the best of my ability, but his French is really good. We lived in Toronto, we had to be good at French. Quebec is Ontario's neighbor."

0o0o0o0

Hikaru walked out of Faye's small two story house feeling extremely satisfied. He had discovered a new and simple meal to make and that salad was a great way to start off one's carb filled meal. His cell phone rang and he grinned when he recognized his brother's ringtone. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and answered it casually.

"Hey."

"You had dinner with someone tonight?" Kaoru asked. Hikaru had sent him a text earlier, but no doubt the younger twin was asleep in San Francisco.

Hikaru looked up at a lit window and found Faye standing in front of it holding a paintbrush. "Yes, her name is Faye. Her dad made dinner for us. It was actually good."

"You say that like you were expecting it to be horrible," Kaoru said.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got tonight."

"Is she pretty?" Kaoru asked. There was something in Hikaru's voice. A smile perhaps?

Hikaru didn't respond as Faye looked out her window to find him standing there looking up at her. She opened her window and leaned through it. "Go home Hikaru, you don't know what kind of weirdo's are going to be stalking the streets of Paris." She said.

Kaoru snickered on the other line as he realized his brother wasn't speaking. "So, what did you do today?"

"I walked around a street market," Hikaru smiled as he made his way home. He waved to Faye and continued talking to his brother.