I cannot apologize enough for the lateness of this chapter. There have been a lot variables for this crime. Schoolwork, lack of confidence, and stress are but a few excuses that apply to me here. Yes, lack of confidence. That hinders your will to write a lot, trust me. Please enjoy this chapter!
May I confess something? I have never been on a date before. I have never kissed a man before. I'm not exactly sure how dates work or what to do, but I'm almost sure that how this went down isn't usually how it happens.
Julia helped me get ready the morning of the date and Xiaoyu offered her advice just before the date. Well, calling it a "date" is a very…untrue thing. A date is a gathering of two people that both share feelings for each other. As far as I can tell, Mr. Dragunov couldn't care less if got hit by a car. Quite frankly, I'm considering whether or not after the meeting if my feelings will stay the same. They probably won't because I've never had a crush before and this is purely just testing out the feeling. What we have between us is nothing more than a mutual need to win the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
In the end, eventually, only one of us can move on to win and if it ever did come down to just the two of us…I can say with about a 98% certainty that I would not hold back. But…what about the other two percent? Would that measly two percent come to pass?
Of course not; I sacrificed too much and beat too many people to succumb to petty emotions now! I was going to face him with same villainous intentions I had faced everyone else with. No emotions will sway me from trying my hardest! And, if he should be eliminated before I get my chance at him, so be it.
"You can't mess this up," Julia had said to me right before I walked out of the door of her hotel room, "he probably won't talk the whole time, so you'll initiate most of the conversation. In fact, it'll probably be more like—"
"I'll be talking to myself?" I said, beating her to the punch.
"Yeah… Well, good luck."
"Julia," I felt the need to ask her what I was about to because for knowing her for so long it was important for me to ask, "Why are you always so…positive; so happy? I know I'm not the most optimistic person in the world but you always know how to look on the bright side of things…how?"
"I didn't use to," she responded after a moment of processing my strange question, "Trust me. Positivity, had you asked me a year ago, would not be something I thought a friend would know me for." I raised an eyebrow, prompting the continuation of her explanation.
"Things…happened in my past that even now I still can't get over. Let's just say, the Mishima Zaibatsu is not in my favor."
And with that, I walked out of the door and out of the hotel with nervousness in my heart. Sergei and I had agreed to meet at a nearby restaurant; Indian to be exact. I was getting sick of such simple flavors and craved a taste for the spices and intricate tastes I grew up with.
I took a taxi six blocks to a small outdoor mall on the outskirts of Shabuya and arrived at Kadipatta, one of the only "Indian" restaurants in the city. It was a small, kiddy-corner type establishment with few visitors. I hoped then that I hadn't picked the worst place to make an impression on my crush. But, I was craving some very delicious at least remotely Indian cuisine and couldn't wait until I ultimately won this competition and received the answers I so desperately needed. And, even if after my success of making it to the end but I couldn't acquire any information, I could use the billion dollars to open multiple research facilities and maybe get my tribe out of poverty.
I had no idea what Russians like to eat, but something told me that spicy curries were not on Russian palettes.
I am a very punctual person and arriving early is something that is completely second nature to me. To arrive early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and to be late is unacceptable to the umpteenth degree! Excuse me for my melodrama; I just hate it when people are late! I'd slap myself in the face if I were ever late to anything! So, I pulled into the parking lot across the street from the "Indian" restaurant at exactly 5:50; ten minutes before we were set to meet. Not too early as to make me look desperate or alone but not "on time" either.
The inside of the restaurant was so very large looking for how it looked on the outside. The walls were a mustard yellow with and with small dining chairs within the same color scheme and white linen table cloths…it wasn't very Indian. The colors are usually darker. I hoped the food would be more representative of my country than the décor.
I assumed he wasn't in the restaurant yet, I'm always the first to arrive to anything. I looked around one more time quickly and saw that he was nowhere to be found.
Of course…
There was a light tap at my shoulder. I smiled and turned to face my "date". It was funny; he always seemed to be more of a dressy, sophisticated person than me, but here, something about him seemed to have lifted and evaporated away. I thought it was something in his clothes that was missing or present. He did seem a tiny bit more lax in his clothing options today. Whatever it was, it wasn't there anymore…and I was missing it.
The left edge of my lip twitched downward.
"You seem different," I said, "could it be that you—"
"I am less…apprehensive…of you. At least, if only for this night," he said simply and my stomach lurched at the lyrical tone of his voice. Never had I found a Russian accent so appealing.
"Oh, don't be so quick to judge me. I am still very much apprehensive of you, too," I said, "But what am I saying? I questioned even my mother's motives all the same, too."
He shrugged, as if what I said was not out of the question; as if it were believable that a daughter could distrust her mother. Maybe he had had these same suspicions of his own mother.
"Shall we find a seat?" I ask, quite uncomfortable with talking about our strange behaviors as children with families behind us. He said nothing. Instead, his arm extended and signaled for me to lead the way. A waitress (apparently named Mei Lee) led us to our table, after which Sergei pulled out the chair for me. I saw JiJi smile slightly at the sight.
"Would the chivalrous man and the pretty woman like to start with a drink today?"
I smiled. Finally something I could ask for confidently in this bloody country, "Niligiri, please."
"Niligiri, right," she said in perfectly in English, despite the fact that she lived in a country in which the letter L did not exist in their vocabulary, "And for you, sir?"
"Just water, please," he asked her clearly.
She nodded and went on her merry way. I found myself still very curious about him. I guess that is natural after all, but I thought wholeheartedly that this was just a crush and that I'd get over it as soon as I went out with him once. But then again, the date wasn't over yet.
"I'm sorry to drag you to an Indian restaurant," I apologized, "but I felt a need for taste of home. No doubt you feel similar?" That last sentence didn't sound quite right, but it was too late to fix it now. He nodded. That was more than expected. I wouldn't expect him to spill his heart out about how much he misses Russia, the people, the food, sights, and the sounds. He's trained not to show emotion at all, especially in vulnerable situations like these. Same as me.
"Japan treating you well?" I asked, wanting to know if he was sick of this bloody country as well.
"Russia...is nothing like this country," he said calmly and quietly. Finally! He spoke!
"Aye, it is nothing like India either. Russia is a beautiful country."
Had he asked, I probably would have told him that I had gone on a mission to assassinate a Russian spy as he fled our country after stealing several of our jewels and performing torture interrogations on our men. He was also the ringleader of a gang that lived in India that raided many of the homes in our village and raped many of the village's women. Had he asked, I would have told him it felt good to slit the man's throat after several hours of watching him suffer under the control and whim of my gang of men. Had he asked, I would have told him that Viktor Dvorkin was my greatest kill and I loved every minute that led up to the victory. But, he didn't ask.
Immediately, Mei Lee came back with our drinks, my tea's steam was very visible and smiled knowing it would be very hot. In flash she came and in a flash she had gone and then we were alone again.
I had wished that she didn't leave so quickly…or that she didn't leave at all. It was fairly awkward and strange without her around.
Listen to me! It's like we couldn't even function together or carry on conversation! I had relied on her to make me feel less strange! This wasn't going to work and I'm not talking about the relationship—that was bound to never happen—what I'm talking about is this one date itself. I could not sit through another minute of that!
As we ate (and it was a wonder that Sergei ate anything on that menu) a question kept nagging at the back of my head but I wouldn't allow myself to ask it until the dinner was over. So most of the time we sat in silence, the occasional question-and-answer conversation shared between us. I was sure he was just as uncomfortable as I was in all of this and I immediately regretted my decision to ask him out.
After my bowl of Moong Dal soup, the intrigue and my interest in him were wearing off and something about that made me feel dull the rest of the night. What little personality I had was drained. Who knew that I could break my attraction to a man in one measly date?
How depressing.
After the dinner—which was very delicious; the soup was savory and velvety; the tea was sweet and smooth—Dragunov was so kind as to pay for both of our meals. At least his chivalry was something a woman could look forward to.
I'm sure he was a wonderful man and everything, but the fact of the matter was that he did not talk much at all to me and so getting to know him was impossible. Getting to actually fall in love with him was not happening. I decided that I would go back to the hotel immediately to prepare for my matches. One small goodbye and I'd be on my way, never to think anything of Sergei Drangunov again.
"Goodbye," I said after our meal was over, "thank you for joining me."
"Pleasure," he said softly.
Was it really? I thought.
I smiled faintly and walked to the sidewalk, about to cross the street. As I stepped out onto the street, a taxi sped down the road and showed no signs of stopping. The driver was talking on the phone and had no passengers to warn him of my walking in the street. It seemed with all of my martial arts skill, I could not manage to get out of the cab's way. I was paralyzed with fear for my life. And then from behind me an arm grabbed for my waist and pulled-almost dragged-me to the safety of the curb.
After the shock of the events ended, I glanced up to seek the face of my hero. He helped me up with his hand and asked me if I was alright. Before I could even think of saying yes, I smiled at knowing it was Sergei Dragunov! For some reason, I was shocked to find this out. Why would he save my life? Me being just injured could qualify me for disqualification and I'd be out of his way.
"W-why?" I asked, looking at him with bewilderment.
"Why not?"
Thanks for reading this chapter! I'm thinking this will be the second to last chapter of this story which means a lot of work for me to do to tie this little bow up nice and neatly.
Bye lovelies!
~M.o.t.C