I'm trying something new this time, including html code in hopes that the formatting will finally come out the way I want it to. I think I figured out what I was doing wrong… I'm also hoping to be able to post a new chapter once a week, or so, depending on the rest of my life, as well as how the thoughts flow…
Oh, yeah… single quotes are thinking, double quotes are dialogue, just in case if it was confusing… I think I changed it a little bit from my first fic (it's not different from chapter 1, though).
~*~
"The first thing we should do is get off this dock," remarked Benny, after they had been standing around chatting for about ten minutes.
"Sounds like a plan! We can go visit my friend Dina at work, so that we can get Sano some new clothes." Chava turned to her new friend to appraise his attire. "You stand out too much. What does that symbol on the back of your jacket mean, anyway?"
Sano was about to retort that he thought there was nothing wrong with what he was wearing, but in the next instant realized that the girl had asked him an honest question. "It's the kanji for 'bad'. I had a tough childhood, and that symbol is one of the relics from it… that and my headband."
"I was wondering about that, too, but it seems like you don't really want to talk about it, so maybe another time. Let's get outa here." Adam guided the group towards a bus stop, after Sano had gathered his belongings together.
"Uh…guys? I don't have the right kind of money…" Sano realized as the bus pulled up.
"Oh, don't worry about that! We can help you out until you get on your feet, now let's go! What? The look on your face says you've never been on a bus before. Where've you been for the last 50 years? I didn't think you were that old!"
"I'm not, I'm only 19." 'Man! How long have I been traveling? There's no way in hell I'm getting on that thing. It looks even worse than those trains jou-chan used to drag us on. It's obviously not even run by steam! How do I tell them I don't want to go for a ride? Oh, yeah! Walking…that's a perfect explanation!' "Hey, is it far? Because I've been stuck in one place for so long that I could really use the walk…"
"Well, I guess it's not really that far… I guess I could use the walk too," Chava patted her stomach, giggling. "I gotta keep my girlish figure, after all!"
"Girlish figure… that's a good one! Let's just go, standing in one place is starting to get on my nerves a little bit." Benny turned and whispered to Sano, "Don't worry about her, she always thinks she's overweight, even though as you and I can both tell, she's as healthy as can be!"
"I heard that! It may not be a big deal for you men, but I prefer to always look my best."
~
After about half an hour of walking, Adam decided it was time for a little geography lesson. "So… This is the city of Haifa. We just came from the port, which is on the Mediterranean Sea, and over there are the Carmel mountains." [btw, Carmel, in this case, is pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable] "We're almost at our destination," he continued. "One thing you should know about Israel is the tight security… everywhere… so, if you have anything suspicious on you right now, I suggest you dispose of it right away."
As the group approached a busy-looking building, Sano couldn't help but notice how huge it was (it was right in front of him, after all!). He gaped at its enormity, while trying to figure out why it could possibly be such a popular place [poor Sano. so many new experiences for him to puzzle out...]
The Japanese teen nearly missed it as they walked inside, that Chava had opened her purse for the policeman standing just inside the door. And he glanced into it as if it was an everyday activity!
"Tiftach et ha-tik, bevakasha." Sano didn't really like police officers in general, to begin with, and that good ol' language barrier wasn't helping.
"Just let him see inside your bag," Adam was always good at rescuing the situation. "We'll explain it to you later."
"I'm hungry," Benny exclaimed once they got inside. "Let's go over to the food court. I've heard it's better to hold conversations over food, anyway... It'll be a good opportunity to get a little better acquainted."
~
"Adam and I will go get the food while you guys find us a table." Chava shot a meaningful look in Benny's direction, telling him it would just be easier this way.
"Come on, I'll tell you about the cop at the door while we're waiting." The Israeli teen pulled his Japanese friend towards a table in the middle of the food court. "Since it seems you don't even know what a bus is, I'm sure you're unaware of the situation going on in this country." The blank stare he received proved this to be true. "For a number of years now, Israel has more-or-less been at war with her Arab neighbors, particularly those living within her own borders. That group calls themselves Palestinians. iThey're not all bad people/i, but periodically, several among them choose to attack us. We also attack them, though, so neither group is really in the right. Many times, we've tried to make peace with them, but every time, something gets in the way of the progress." Benny paused, noticing that something he said had struck a chord with Sano. "Is everything alright? I can stop if you want, but there's really only a little bit more..."
"No, I'm fine. I'll tell you when you're finished. You haven't really gotten to the answer yet."
Benny chuckled. "I guess I haven't, have I? Well, here it goes... The reason the cops stand at the door is to protect the shoppers. Anyone could be a potential attacker, so they check everyone at the door to make sure no one brings anything dangerous inside. That's it, the whole story in a nutshell... now I wanna hear about you. Why'd you have that reaction to what I said before?"
Before Sano could start his story, Chava and Adam returned. "Sorry it took so long, there was a line. We also couldn't decide what everyone would want, so we got a few different things for us all to share."
"It's alright, he was just about to start explaining a particular reaction he had to something I said."
"Oh, a little personal history? I'm glad I didn't miss this part J!"
Adam's mind was still on his stomach. "Let's get the food taken care of first. Sano, this bread is called pita, and you open it up and put everything else inside, as much as you want or can fit. This one's called shwarma. It's lamb that they roast vertically, and happens to be one of my favorite foods. This one's falafel. It's made from chick peas, and the hummus is too. The difference is how finely it's ground up. Then, you have all the standard vegetables – tomatoes, pickles, eggplant, cauliflower – and chips [that's what they call fries in Israel]… oh! And then there's the spicy stuff. You can try that if you want, but I should warn you, if you're not used to it… So, just take what you'd like, and chow down!"
'I guess I won't tell as much as I had originally planned…' "Uh, thanks, it looks interesting." Sano started picking his way through the new culinary experience. "I was just gonna tell Benny about why all of a sudden I feel like I can identify with you guys… Some of the things he said reminded me a lot of home. About ten years ago, or so, we had a war of our own going on. I had been part of a group that was tricked into looking like we were the bad guys. My being part of that group is why I keep the symbol and the headband. That memory is more important to me than anything else, and my best friend from home showed me that it's perfectly alright to have strong opinions, just as long as you use them the right way." He smiled as he tried to picture what the red-headed rurouni and his raven-haired wife were doing at that very moment. The former fighter-for-hire had been through a lot with them in the time since he met them, and he wondered if they were still getting into trouble.
Chava interrupted his thoughts. "Wow, that's deep. Well, I'm finished eating, anyone else?" The men nodded. "Then let's head over to the store now. Dina should still be there, she'll be able to give some good advice."
~*~
End Chapter 2
A/N: I kinda feel bad that the story is moving so slowly. I'm gonna try to get it to go faster after we meet Dina, though… there's still a couple characters I haven't introduced yet, and they'll come in later on, once things really get moving. It's more important to me to get through a little exposition first, the trials and tribulations of a totally new environment, for instance. Don't worry, Sano will eventually be able to communicate with more people, too. Also, I really do hope to be able post once a week, but I'm not sure which day, so keep me in your author alert, and R&R please! I look forward to hearing what you think!
Bevakasha – please
The rest of that phrase was translated in the next sentence. Btw, if it was hard to tell (which I hope it wasn't, I tried to use context), they're at a mall. I don't know which one, though, because I never spent enough time in Haifa… The other cities will be much better.