Jishin Da! -- Angel and Jennie

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Jennie and Angel go for sushi, and Jennie winds up having to explain Manners to Angel. No, seriously.



The little restaurant was tucked out of the way, nearly hidden in a small alley between some shops but it was still fairly busy. Angel had wanted to taste sushi in a local stop and their guide had been more than willing to point out the place. She stared around in absolute glee and turned to Jennie. "I could eat like an ocean full of food right now."

"Angel, honey, I think it would be bad manners if we ate them out of their stock," Jennie said, while fishing for her trusty book o' Japanese. "Though, they do always say to eat where all the locals eat." The shop was barely a blip, crowded in-between a place selling umbrellas and what looked like an apartment. It contained a counter and a couple of stools hidden behind a red rice-paper doorway. The air inside was warm and inviting, and it smelled faintly of ginger.

Angel was almost drooling by that time, much to the amusement of the woman who just might have been the owner. Her own copy of the translation book was a little on the charred side, so to avoid any questions ("What set the book on fire?" "Me..." "..."), she was leaving that to Jennie. Instead, she just gave the woman a cheerful wave as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

Jennie was sure the woman's smile translated somewhere as "oh great, gaijin." She was starting to notice something she'd dubbed the Gaijin Effect, in which she and the other members of the group were often given a wide berth on the subway and when they walked down the street. Someone had told her it was because there was a misconception that gaijin smelled. Jennie had been half-temped to ask Nori how to say "Man, I had a great bath today. Since I bathe everyday, and sometimes twice, I can sure tell!" in Japanese. Just so she could say it when they all crammed onto the subway.

Jennie did her best to greet the woman politely, and then asked for tea and whatever she liked the best for lunch. The woman smiled and bowed, and then ducked behind a red hanging in the doorway. Jennie shrugged. "Either I just ordered us lunch or I told her we were harboring baboons."

The younger girl twitched slightly at the mention of monkeys and glanced around suspiciously, as if half expecting them to jump out from under the tables. "Well, it's better than ordering baboons to eat, I guess, though I kind of wonder what they'd taste like..." Bad monkey experience aside, she wouldn't say no to trying them.

Besides, that might count as revenge.

"Well, baboons aren't fish, so I doubt we can get that here." The waitress returned with tea and Jennie thanked her politely. "I mean, I have heard that you can get raw beef here in Japan, but I am not too eager to try it."

"We could cheat with that! You could order some, I'll lightly toast it and you can say you ordered it." Angel counted to ten in her head and then back again before reaching for the tea, barely remembering to blow on it before taking a sip.

"But then it's like, grilled beef and the point has entirely been missed," Jennie said. "Nah, I prefer to experience cuisine as it's meant to be." There was something called "octopus balls" that she was just dying to try. The chef came from behind the curtain with an armload of ingredients, bowing to both girls before he set about working.

"I like eating the local cuisine. I don't think I've found anything that I won't eat. Even spam." She rubbed her hands together in glee before pausing, eyes going wide. "Jennie?" she hissed. "I think something on my plate just moved."

"That is how you know it's fresh," the older girl replied cheerily. "Be careful of the octopus tentacles. I hear they like to stick on the way down." She may be stuck as a chaperone, but she could still be herself.

Eyes the size of dinner plates, Angel hunkered down to get a closer look. The little octopus was still alive and was still moving. It waved at her and she waved back. She straightened and thought about it for a second. "Aw, screw it, I threw myself into a burning building once, I can eat this."

After a minute of struggling with the chopsticks, she finally scooped up the slightly squirming creature and popped it in her mouth. Before chewing, though, she turned back to Jennie and let a little tentacle pop out to wave hello.

Jennie shook her head and rubbed her forehead. There went any hope she had at trying to prove to the proprietors of the restaurant that gaijin were not lumbering barbarians. "Angel, sweetling, please try and remember that we're in a foreign country and normal rules of behavior still do apply." Jennie paused. She had just lectured someone on proper behavior. Someone, somewhere, was laughing.

Angel tried to reply but stopped and concentrated on chewing. It took her much longer than expected and it took her a lot not to shudder because she really could feel the little sucker things. "So try not to be a spaz?" she asked, giggling. "And, um, that was tasty. Weird, but tasty. I think I like them unwiggling, though."

"Well, no, see-food is generally not considered polite in any country." Jennie was getting annoyed. Why was she annoyed? This was not good. She took a sip of tea and smiled apologetically at the chef.

"My mom used to be on that diet," Angel murmured, half-heartedly, feeling a blush creep up from her neck. The only times she hated being a redhead: blushing and sun burning. "Sorry," she told Jennie, knowing she'd brought it on herself. For the most part, the thinking after the action/thought with her wasn't that bad but it did tend to catch up with her at times. For a distraction, she went after an interesting looking fish and rice combination.

"S'okay," Jennie said, finishing off a colorful piece of sashimi. It was quite delicious, it didn't need any soy sauce or other flavorings. What it needed was already there. "Just think. I mean, not just about being a foreigner in a foreign country, we're kind of mutant ambassadors too. When I first came to the school, I used to act out all the time, I didn't give a crap about what anyone thought. What I didn't realize is that while people were judging me, they were also judging other mutants because of how I acted."

"...I didn't think of it like that," Angel responded slowly, inbetween pieces of sushi. She was really warming up to the local food, as long as it was at least mostly dead. "The whole mutant thing. I guess...I kind of see it as something I can just do, like swim really well." Half-turned towards Jennie now, she cushioned her chin on the palm of her hand. "I know I've been really lucky, all things considered, yeah? I haven't really run across any problems with being a mutant outside of the whole setting things on fire by accident. I guess I never really thought about it from the outside in, instead of the inside out, if that makes any sense."

"Lets hope you stay that way," Jennie said quietly. She took a sip of tea and continued. "I mean, it's nice to have fun, just remember that while you may not care how other people think, it's still going to reflect on others. Because that's human nature."

"The first impression rule," Angel said, thinking about it. "'Cause whatever I'm showing them now, right this second, might be the only impression they've got of me?"

"Exactly," said Jennie. "And the last thing that we want, is for someone to get the wrong impression of us. Lest it rebound and affect someone else."

Like the guys at the station -- they weren't mutants but they might be risking a lot by having her there. Angel wasn't there officially, not yet, but she would be really soon. And what if she did something that could get them caught up in something bad, even if she didn't mean it? "Growing up isn't easy," Angel commented but then looked up at Jennie and smiled -- not one of her manic grins, but a comfortable smile. "But it's worth it, right?"

"So they keep telling me," Jennie took another sip of tea. "Just think, one day you'll getting suckered into chaperoning a bunch of students and having to lecture someone else." If there was an easier way to gain said maturity, Jennie wanted to demand why she could not have gone that route, instead of the whole wacky kidnapping and genetic wankery thing.

"Oh man. I think I've got practice though. I've got over thirty-two cousins of all varying ages and the lower aged ones are evil! Emo, even." Angel wrinkled her nose at that as she finished her food. The waiter came over and she beamed at him, hesitantly sounding out the words for 'thank you so much'.

"You'd better get cracking then," Jennie said with a smile.