Chapter Three: Chinese
"What do you see when you look at me?" It was a simple question, and an honest one. She was curious, she wanted to know the truth. Satoshi was always a very truthful person, almost to a fault, so she figured that if she gave him the question upfront he would give her an answer upfront.
The day was a cool one, quiet and peaceful. Autumn was on its was and along with the swift change of seasons, Risa often felt a swift change in her emotions. Such as when she had loved Dark, in between spring and summer her feelings for him had numbed, grew less brilliant, and then in summer to fall she had no longer loved him. She was just fond of him, and wistful.
It was a passing dream for her. And she knew all to well that dreams ended. Nothing ever stayed with her for too long, not her parents or Riku or anybody. No one knew her or tried to know her, she was just the 'Younger Harada' or in Seahara's case, 'Space Case Harada.'
That is why she asked the question to him, of all people. She didn't know Satoshi particularly well, nor was she really his friend, but she wanted to know what people thought of her. If perhaps someone as smart as Satoshi thought she was just a space case who couldn't cook very well. If she was just a screw-up.
He pushed his glasses to his eyes and gave her a long look.
She knew this answer would either make her go home and cry, or be content again. Stupid seasons changing and stupid emotions getting all screwed up.
"Well, I suppose I will start with the obvious. You're the younger Harada, you're not particularly athletic nor are you in any clubs. You're friendly, a little bossy at times, and you hate Seahara for calling you demeaning nicknames."
She nodded, expecting these things. Though it stung that it was all she was at the surface. "But, you also scream ambition. Like you won't just settle for a second rate anything. You always think things through, and though you will never probably have any cooking talent, you always will try."
Risa smiled and sat down uninvited. After all she had just interrupted him in the middle of his dinner at the Kemchan Xiong's Chinese Palace.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your meal, but I just figured that you would give me a straight forward answer… Thank you." She told him and he nodded, looking nonchalant about the whole thing.
The waiter came up from the left and handed him a bill along with two fortune cookies. Satoshi raised and eyebrow but simply gave her one of them without saying anything.
Risa giggled and took the cookie, smiling as their fingers brushed. Taking the cookie out of the plastic, she broke it into two parts and read her fortune.
The little piece of paper told her simply, "You will show people what you are capable of."
She felt much better.
