Chapter 3:When In Rome, Master The Lingo
"Someone mind explaining this?" I asked aloud
Not surprisingly nobody answered.
"Hello people there's a fucking penguin in the building" I jumped to my feet as it approached and jabbed my finger in its direction to thrust further emphasis on the creature.
Shinji, Asuka and Misato all looked at me as I was insane.
Tensing up my legs I threw a warning glare at the approaching bird and lashed out with a kick that fell short: a warning.
"Hey! Will you stop that?" Misato yelled at me in Japanese and physically pushed me back onto my chair at the kitchen table with that twenty nine year old strength of hers.
From the corner of my eye I watched as the penguin padded into a freezer before shutting the door behind itself.
"That's a pet?" my finger pointing at the freezer
"Pen Pen" Shinji and Asuka both said, confirming my suspicion that both of them we're indeed nuts and kept an arctic penguin as a house pet.
"He doesn't seem to like penguins" Shinji observed watching as the unknown male seemed to go into himself and just stayed motionless and stared at his hands.
"It's probably the first time he's seen an animal with his amnesia and all…" Asuka said bringing the room to pure silence as both Misato and Shinji just stared at her.
"…What? I'm no aloud to comment on his Psychology?"
"Well No…It's just that…" Shinji looked downwards at the stove upon which he was cooking at and wisely decided to remain silent.
"You're probably right Asuka"
"What's for dinner Shinji?" Asuka asked deeply inhaling the aroma of cooking.
"Vegetables, Genmai (unpolished rice) and fish cooked on a bed of salt with lemon grass"
"Sounds yummy Shinji…" Misato commented while opening her third can of beer and glancing down at her watch:
"…Damn it I've got to be at work in three hours?"
"So we're home alone tonight?" Asuka asked
"Nope Kaji's coming round to teach him…" a glance at the silent male
"…Japanese and you too Asuka"
"But but I can already speak Japanese Misato" Asuka yelled slamming her hand upon the table with tears in her eyes.
Misato levelled a stare at the fourteen year old and crossed his arms across her chest.
"But you're having problems reading and it'll give the both of you time together"
Asuka's eyes glazed over as she entered a dreamlike state before exhaling deeply "Ah me and Kaji alone for hours" she said in a dreamy whisper.
"Mr Ryoji is your tutor Asuka nothing more nothing less and I was talking about redeye here and you"
"WHAT! Me and him alone for hours?"
"Yes but only learning the language" Misato pointing a warning finger at Asuka.
"Liked I'd want to do anything like that with him!" she yelled.
Mr X glanced up, finally rousing himself from his stupor to pick up his chopsticks and held them perfectly between his fingers whilst pantomimed raising food to his mouth from an imaginary bowl.
"Well I seem to know how to use chopsticks" I muttered to myself.
Misato and Shinji looked at me amazed that I could obviously manage.
"You think that's impressive?" Asuka declared grabbing up her own chopsticks and dropping them onto the table attempting to copy Mr X
Before I knew it I was already behind her chair and repositioning her fingers.
"No look" I whispered, praising her fingers apart and gently repositioning them upon the small spindle of wood.
Asuka looked down at her hand, memorising the position of her hand then successfully pantomimed raising food towards her mouth.
Asuka turned to look over her shoulder at the male.
Her blue eyes reflecting off his red eyes, such an evil colour that somehow made him look so innocent.
"Thank you" she said in poor English; the accent totally off.
His normal plain expression lit up into a wide smile.
"Your welcome" he muttered before drawing closer to her.
Their eyes coming closer and closer until suddenly he planted a small kiss upon her cheek.
The entire room seemed to take a collective breath.
Suddenly his lips pressed upon my cheek.
His eyes so firm yet welcoming, there was depth within them that I couldn't fathom.
He's a real mystery
I could feel my cheeks redden and the corner of my mouth twist up into a smile.
With one strong shove Asuka pushed the male onto the floor.
"How dare you kiss me!" she yelled down from above him.
Half sprawled on the floor he looked up at her, still smiling whilst he raised an eyebrow.
"MEN!" she yelled turning her back upon him.
"Did he really deserve that?"
Everyone turned to see Kaji stood in the doorway.
"I hope you don't mind I let myself in"
"KAJI!" Asuka practically screamed as she ran to his side.
"Hi Asuka"
"And how did you get in?" Misato asked, her glare frosty as she look up from her beer at Kaji.
"Ritsuko lent me the spare you gave her, makes sense if I've got to come and go in the night to teach these two"
Kaji's eyes fixed upon the reds of the Mr X's:
"You know you can get up?" Kaji said in English…which he quickly did.
"You staying for dinner Kaji" Shinji asked while readjusting his cooking apron.
"If there's some more to go round"
"Plenty, we're not sure how much of an appetite he's got"
"Mr X? He's a strong boy he'll eat tons"
"Mr X? That's what you're calling him" Misato asked
"Couldn't think of anything better" Kaji admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.
"This is impossible!" I said slamming the pencil so hard into the desk that it shattered
"Temper temper Mr X it's really quite easy when you get the basics" Kaji said taking a sip of his coffee.
I glanced over at Asuka who seemed to be having similar difficulties reading the maths question within her hand.
"You should all speak English and make my life easier!" I spoke under my breath.
Kaji ignored my comment and glanced from me to Asuka…I hoped he hadn't seen the "kiss" between the two of us, I wasn't sure why I did it. Hours earlier we'd been willing to kill each other but when she said thank you in my native language it was the first example of compassion she'd ever shown me and I was touched…guess I wanted to show her I appreciated the gesture.
"Come on Mr X you can read numerical stuff Ritsuko's report says so, go help her already"
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling before shuffling closer to Asuka and instinctively throwing an arm round her shoulder and pulling her closer towards me.
The warmth of her body against mine felt nice.
"Six hundred and sixty six" I said my finger pointing at each of the numbers in turn.
"Six hundred sixty six?" she repeated flashing three sets of six's with her fingers at me.
I smiled.
"Yep" I repeated the finger counting to show she was correct and nodded with a smile upon my lips.
I could feel extra pressure upon my side as she leaned more of her weight against me before resting the back of her head upon my taller shoulder.
"Thank you" she said one more in English and turned to look at me.
"Thirteen?" she said
My eyes quickly glanced at the maths question that her finger lay next to, seems she'd given me the correct answer.
"Yep, well done Asuka" I said in my newly learned Japanese.
"Thank you…." She responded then said something else in Japanese I didn't understand.
"I didn't understand that last word Kaji, what she call me?"
Kaji looked up from the book he was studying:
"Oh that? She said thank you honey"
I turned to look at Asuka and smiled, she returned the gesture.
"Kaji can I think of a name for him?"
"He's not a dog Asuka! or a penguin for that matter" Kaji mock scolded
"Ppplllease?"
Now it was Kaji's turn to roll his eyes to the ceiling.
"I'll tell you what Asuka, when you can ask him in English and he says its ok in Japanese then you can choice a name for him"
"What you two talking about?" I asked Kaji
"Us? Oh we're naming the baby" Kaji Ryoji answered with fresh sarcasm in his voice.
"Huh?"