Expensive Boots Meet Unfamiliar Streets

[wuffgruffle]

Solène #1

---

Oh, how hectic the past several weeks had been. Between the finalization of so many training regimens, graduating from that stuffy private school, and not but a few Quincy coming-of-age ceremonies and Clan Introductions, it was absolutely not subtle at all to Solène that her life was approaching an important cornerstone of her future. For so many years, being holed up in those stuffy mansions and driven about to various social events and lessons with practically no agency of her own, it almost felt unreal that so much of that was about to change. But now, standing in the airport with no chaperone, and simply a set of printed instructions clutched in one hand along with her umbrella, with her briefcase and carry-on held in the other, the world felt jarringly still. 

Clad in her clean white designer clothes, with long, laced rain boots that clicked as she walked, the young woman took a steadying breath for herself, taking in that unfamiliarly humid air of a land quite foreign to her home. And the strangeness of that breath, the very alien nature of the sounds around her, strangers bustling to and fro. It put a bright, optimistic smile on her face. 

And so her boots clicked as she stepped out of the airport and over to the shuttle bay, ready to grab these strange new opportunities by whatever handholds she could find. Or, should the situation call for it, ones that she would make. 

But the longest day was hardly even close to done for her. There were still many preparations to be had. Her apartment was prepared, with step-by-step instructions on how she would arrive at her new home-to-be. Then there was the matter of... the first item on her list. Calling Father, to let him know of her timely arrival. She considered, briefly, simply putting that off. But that would only draw negative attention to herself from. Hardly ideal, given her aspirations hinged on minimal interference from the old man. And it wasn't as if she could do much as the shuttle made its way to the city proper. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone, the bedazzled case glimmering under the bright Japanese sun, and tapped a few times through her contacts.

"[Hello papa! I have arrived safe and sound!]" she spoke in loud, fluent French, gesturing to the shuttle around her if only for her own amusement. "[Yes, yes, I am following the list. Yes, I have cash papa. Yes. Mhm. Yep. No issues on the flight. Not a rain cloud in sight, papa.]" 

But alas, the man seemed hellbent on talking her ear off. With a roll of her eyes, she blew gently onto the microphone. "[Ah! ~pheeeew~! The wind is picking up, Papafewwww~ I will call you back!]" she called out with her mouth away from the phone, before hurriedly tapping the end call button to grant herself peace once again. Enough for her to simply rest her head against the shuttle window, listening to the vibrations of the engine as she watched the city pass her by.

Finally, after some time, the shuttle dropped her off, and she was free to stretch her legs once more. She took a moment to do so, squeaking from the exertion as she lifted her arms above her head, before going back to the list once more. Japanese roads didn't exactly have names... wait. How did that make sense?! She looked about hurriedly, trying to make sense of the still somewhat unfamiliar Kanji on the signs around her, before twitching with frustration.

"[...Please, whatever may be up there, don't make me ask for directions on my first day...]" she mumbled aloud, as she began trekking in what she hoped was the correct direction to her apartment. All the while her suitcase rolled behind her, and those long, white boots clicked ever so rhythmically on the pavement. 

[Gaz]

Ken #1

---

The day had been quite long for Ken, he had been flung around the clans training room by the combined efforts of his younger brothers and his father. This was another attempt to push him to new heights and to see what his own personal fighting style could do. It earned him praise from the impressionable young scamps and a simple accepting nod from his own father. As they were cleaning up the pair finally talked for the first time since Ken had arrived at home.

“I’ve been asked by an old friend to look after his daughter, Solène. You should know her, she’s French too.” The elder man said. He looked a lot like Ken, except he was more wisened with a controlled head of grey speckled hair.

“The sword princess?” Ken asked, his usual smile brightening at the prospect of meeting her again. “Yeah, mothers clan often had us training at the same time with the other kids.” He said, nodding subtly at the memories that he was recalling. It was bittersweet but something he would never want to actually forget.

“That’s the one.” Kaito Ren responded, pushing a ruined tatami mat out of the window and into the skip that was below. “He asked me to look out for her because I know French. I’d like you to be her guide, show her around and make sure she stays out of trouble.” He explained, standing tall and looking out of the family dojo and over the city below. “Her dad pulled strings and get her in the same apartment building you’re in.”

“My block?! Oh… that’s not going to go down well!” Ken laughed in reply as he turned to look out of the same window, his eyes scanning the horizon. “Yeah, I’ll do it.” Ken finally replied, doing this was a good way to keep busy now he had finished school.

“Oh, I forgot to mention… she landed this morning and was getting dropped off not far from here.” Ren spoke with a devious smile on his face. “You best get going now!” He spoke before turning around and donning his travel hat, the elder of the family had to get to work. Being a surgeon gave him little free time. “We’ll actually catch up when Solène is settled in.”

After this Ken had dashed to get dressed up in his street clothes, simple jean trousers and a plain white t-shirt. It was what he had brought along to the family training session, not expecting to be given the task of being sent to be a guide for the only other half French quincy he knew of. The young man’s natural skills were put to great use as he dashed with his Schnell through the streets and sensing for that familiar spiritual presence Solène had. It wouldn’t take long as her casual style was so striking, she could be spotted from orbit.

“Solène!” He called as he stopped to catch his breath at the end of a street. “Solène! I’m here… your father asked me to give you hand adjusting…” Ken said, now casually walking up to the young woman, his French perfectly on point for her. With a great big smile and a friendly wave, he was heading her way. She was going to need some Kanji lessons… this was the complete opposite side of town from their apartment complex.

---

Ken: 6dffd4

[wuffgruffle]

Solène #2

---

Solène's pace was inconsistent and sporadic the further along she walked. It fluctuated between moments of nervous hesitation, interspersed with bouts of stubborn confidence as she forged ahead through the unknown streets around her. While she certainly drew attention to herself, given her obvious foreigner appearance and gaudy attire, she was far too bullheaded to actually STOP for any of them and ask for directions. Not that she wasn't confident in her Japanese, she'd passed her tests to be considered conversational. It would just be mortifying to actually admit she was out of her element on the FIRST DAY. 

She sighed, before pulling out her phone and tapping away on the keypad. Maybe, even without a street address, she could find some way to work a navigation app to her apartment? Though she didn't have much time to consider that alternative before a surprisingly familiar sound rose up above the quiet din of the Japanese streets. It was her name. And fluent, native French?! Que diable?!


Solène looked up with wide eyes, just in time to catch Ken rounding the corner. Her mind took a few moments to catch up as a myriad of questions came to the forefront of her thoughts. First and foremost being 'This can't be a coincidence, can it?' 

As it turned out, she was right on the money. Ken was quick to explain himself, and it brought with it a rush of frustration. Of COURSE she would have chaperones. Connections. A pre-determined support network. Father would never have let her simply go off on her own, he had to have planned for this from the beginning. Why else would he have chosen Japan? She opened her mouth briefly as if to protest, before closing it and forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, while turning to face Ken properly.

"[How wonderful!]" she lied, politely. "[Oh goodness. You didn't run all this way just for me, did you?]" Solène couldn't be mad at the young man for simply doing what was asked of him. It wasn't HIS fault her father was an overbearing irritant of a man. Speaking of the young man... he seemed quite familiar with her. Perhaps the two had met somewhere before?

Solène released her suitcase and tapped her chin, humming to herself with a playfully exaggerated tone as she wracked her brain trying to remember just who this scrawny young man was! He was about her age... meaning- "[Ah! The boy with the perpetual bedhead! You are... you aaarreee... Ken!]" 

"[Ah, how wonderful!]" she repeated herself, though this time, much more sincerely. Even if she'd only met him once or twice before, he was at least someone she knew! And how embarrassing it was, too, that he should find her wandering about without a sense of direction. Perhaps a quick lie ought to save her some dignity... "[Well! Your timing is perfect, Ken! I was out for a bit of a stroll before I headed to my apartment. I'd be delighted for you to show me around a tad before we head there!]" 

[Gaz]

Ken #2

---

As the young lady responded Ken and his smile quickly recovered his breath, while their previous encounters were brief they were still just enough to get a solid impression of the woman. Though her taking a moment to recall his name was a slight sting his smile never wavered. She was bound to be tired after the flight over here, he was when he recently did it.

“Perfect?” He asked with a soft chuckle. “I only heard you were here twenty minutes ago. My father asked me because he had to go to work.” He explained after her own explanation for the reason for her being in such an awkward part of the city, away from her destination. He gave her a soft nod and waved gently for her to follow him.

“Absolutely, you’re going to be staying in my apartment building… or so I was told.” He said, his eyes wandering around closest road signs and a soft smile forming instead of his general happy face. He knew the perfect route for them to take…. One he and his mother used to take before they moved to France.

“Solène, how about I take you through the Chifu Shrine.” He spoke with a satisfied tone, still speaking in French. His walk wasn’t fast, but a nice pace and the route he had started to lead her on was one of the more scenic ones that went past parks and showed good vistas of the city.

As they walked along, he looked back with his characteristic smile then spoke in Japanese. “How is your spoken Japanese? If you can get a Nihongo Jouzu from a stranger, you should be fine.” He joked, giving the young lady a soft laugh. If she was going to live here the basic skills were a necessity, reading and writing were next but those could be worked around with a good enough translation app.

---

Ken: 6dffd4

[wuffgruffle]

Solene #3

---

Having to make a complete heel-turn to follow Ken's directions did cause an errant twitch at Solène's brow, though she played it off with a theatrical sway of her body, and a solid, intentional click of her heel on the pavement. So she had been going the wrong way after all. That changed absolutely nothing. Certainly, her phone would have solved it, right? 

"[That's right! Your father lived here!]" Solène confirmed, adjusting her suitcase with a twist of the wrist to roll along behind her, while she rested her umbrella atop her shoulder. "[Heavens, I remember being so upset when you left. You were the only person I could practice sword techniques with who wasn't a MASTER at the art.]" 

Solène laughed warmly, only vaguely listening to Ken's explanation of the apartment complex. She'd expected to 'rough it' as things stood, but hopefully this wasn't going to be one of those dreaded Japanese Studios she'd heard so many horror stories about. If there was one thing she absolutely needed, it was closet space. No compromises allowed.

"[Chifu Shrine? Sounds as if I'm getting the Historical Tour then. I'd be delighted!]" she said with an extension of her pinkie, as if to give a thumbs-up even with her hand filled.

Her Japanese was... well, she could hopefully get by with a demonstration. "I am conversational. This should be good enough, yes?" she said, switching to Japanese. Her voice positively dripped with French pronunciations and inflections including soft R's and rolling emphases, outing her as a foreigner as quickly as the first syllable. But at the very least, her grammar was correct, if a bit stiff! "I suppose that I should be speaking Japanese while I am here. Practice being what it is." 

"Ah!" she added, as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Solène turned to face Ken, as the question couldn't help but spill past her tongue, though she did lower her voice some in case someone happened to be listening in. "How strong are the uh... Hollows, in Japan? I've heard attacks are quite frequent here. Are the local Clans in need of assistance?" Surely there was a reason for her to come here other than a simple work study, right?

[Gaz]

Ken #3

---

With Solene remembering who he was now and associating it with being her own feeling of being upset helped to bring a warmer smile to the young man. He was no sword master, as he focused more of his efforts on his Savate and altering it to work with small, generated bows. The walk was peaceful despite the time of day being closer to when some people headed home from work.

“Hollows tend to be a bit stronger here, though it’s not their strength it is their sheer number.” He explained as he walked stopping just outside of the shrine complex. It was a walled in complex that had a pair of buildings and a smattering of pavilions, all but one of having traditional red curled rooves. The tallest one was the gift shop and living quarters for the Shrines sole maiden and caretaker.

“The one that killed my mother a few months ago is supposed was an oddity in France…. They are apparently quite common here.” He explained, that smile fading away as the memories and pain of the event were still fresh in his mind. He was silent for a moment before shaking his head getting himself out of that funk, he needed to be seen with his old smile to stop people worrying.

“So here is a curious place you’ll come by a lot. The shrine maiden here is a part of our world and sells useful things that we can make use of.” He explained before looking over to Solene. “The woman is a bit loopy and will try and sell you all sorts of gizmos and gimmicks, but once you can get around that there’s some useful things.” The local added to finish the explanation, looking forward and through the gate to see the empty shrine being attended by a woman in a lopsided and asymmetrical priestess uniform that had been damaged and patched up half a dozen times in different areas.

---

Ken: 6dffd4