seeking some answers / / open

[SELENE ILONA CROSS]

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

It wasn't that Rini didn't like this assignment; she did! It just... She was starting to wonder how prepared she had actually been. When she had set out to travelling to the past, it was to help awaken the sleeping Sailor Senshi. Simple. Easy! Only... Not so much. She hadn't actually given anything much thought now that she thought about it. Like... Where she was suppose to go once she arrived in the past. Where she'd start searching for the senshi. Where she'd live and how she'd fend for herself. Rini had pretty much jumped into this without thinking it through. She had only got lucky by bringing Luna-P with her. With Luna-P, she had been able to... Ah... persuade, a family into thinking she was a visiting relative that needed somewhere to stay for a few days. The family had provided her with a lot; a roof, food, hot water. But, where would she go after? Rini didn't quite know yet. She just wanted to find the senshi already! Really, really did.

"This was suppose to be the easy part."

The young girl said in a sigh as she walked along the sidewalks. Today, Rini had found herself wandering the Ginza District. Her feet carrying her aimlessly as her eyes spaceily examined the shop's display windows that she passed. Although, as appealing as the items were, she had no cash to spend. Luna-P could conjure many things, but cash wasn't one of them, unfortunately. It was only one more thing to add to the list. Find the senshi. Find a home and all it's necessity's. Find some cash. There was a never ending to-do list and after five days of living in the twentieth century, she had gotten no where.

Coming across a bench on the sidewalk, Rini wearily made her way up to it, her legs casually giving out as she seated herself onto the bench. Her arms folded over the black spherical toy in her hands, Luna-P, and her chin rested between the toys cat ears as her eyes briefly closed. In truth, Rini was a bit... Homesick. She had never been this far away from home before. She was in a different time period. It wasn't the same as... Rini just hadn't been this far away from home before for this long either. She knew how to go back, of course. She was wearing the item that would take her back around her neck. The Key of Space-Time. It was on a chain that hung around her neck and under her shirt so it wasn't out for the world to see. But, if she went back now, what would everyone think of her? Rini had wanted to do this so bad, she couldn't just give up when she was stuck. No matter how much she felt like it. She refused to give up. She just... She wished she had something to go on.

[IKARUS RICHARDS]

Ikarus was going crazy. Or so he thought. Sleep was falling into the category of wishful thinking, and the few hours he managed to get were filled with fragmented recurring, and not entirely pleasant, dreams. It wasn’t until a month ago that he had put stock in dreams being anything more than a byproduct of information processing. That in and of itself raised a red flag.

“Better watch out, Rus. Next thing you know, you’ll be visiting psychics and obsessing over ouija board messages,” Athena teased.

In the dreams, there was a silhouette of a woman with exceptionally long hair, and every time they met she pleaded with him to find something. When she would say the name of what he needed to find, the words became incoherent. Another language, perhaps a made up one, or simple gibberish -- he couldn’t be sure -- all he knew was that he had to find it and soon, for both their sakes.

The entire idea was crazy as hell, but, maybe if he found whatever it was the dreams would stop.

Ikarus was wandering the Ginza district, making an effort to explore a different place in the area every week until he had formed an accurate map in his memory. Unfortunately, those days he was spending a lot more time in his head than paying attention to where he was going and making mental notes about the area. Eventually he would realize he was hopelessly lost and get a cab back to his apartment, then start over the next day.

Lightly calloused fingers slipped into the inside pocket of his jacket and withdrew a sterling cigarette case -- a gift from his grandfather, despite his insistence that he shouldn’t smoke. In practiced motion, he slipped a cigarette into his mouth and lit the end, taking a long drag. He held it in his lungs until he had to let it go, releasing a deep sigh with it. Maybe I should see a doctor. he thought, his thumb scratching at his stubble before taking another deep drag.

As he rounded the next corner he saw a girl sitting on a bench; she couldn’t have been much older than fifteen. Then, suddenly, something in his brain just clicked. Everything he had been struggling with was suddenly gone, as if it made sense and was a distant memory. For the first time in weeks he felt like he could breathe. As Ikarus neared the girl, he noted her disheartened expression. Maybe she’s lost. he thought, taking a final drag of his cigarette before grinding it out and putting the butt in his case to properly dispose of later.

Ikarus approached the girl and cleared his throat a little before greeting her. “Hello,” he said, his Japanese good, despite his all too apparent American accent. He offered a somewhat awkward smile, then added, “Would you mind if I joined you?” As soon as the words left his mouth he half regretted approaching her at all. Oh this isn’t creepy… He cleared his throat again and stuffed his hands into his pockets, unable to justify leaving yet. There was something about this girl that he was drawn to, something that cleared his head. Even if his own selfish purposes went unfulfilled, perhaps he could help her with whatever it was she clearly needed help with. “Do you speak English?”

[/font][/blockquote]

[SELENE ILONA CROSS]

This wasn't her world.

That thought alone was enough to make Rini's spirits fall. This wasn't her world at all. She didn't belong here. Hell, she wasn't even born yet! It was still quite awhile before she would be too. So that only furthered her "not suppose to exist", in this time at least. Normally, she didn't care about that kind of stuff. What did it matter if she wasn't suppose to exist here. She was here still, right?.. But lately, she had been feeling so down that she... Between not being able to find the senshi and... Her family... She missed her family... Her mom... Her dad... She missed the senshi from her time and the other friends that she had made. She missed everybody; but mostly her mother and father.

Rini knew that she would be queen one day and that she had to be tough, strong, independent. But... That was natural though, wasn't it? To miss your parents when you were separated from them? Granted, most kids who felt like she did were separated from there parents by a few miles or a city or two, and not for very long either. For Rini however, she was separated from them by not miles but years. She was in the past and who knew how long she'd be here. She could always just go home, easily. But what would they think if she showed up without completing what she had come back to do? Rini couldn't help it if she was sad. She missed them. She wanted to go home. She...

Before her depressed thoughts could continue, the sound of a voice drew her attention away from them, making her head raise off of her black, cat like toy and turn to look at who had spoken. All in all, Rini hadn't expected anyone to really care about a girl sitting alone on a bench, and if they did, she surely hadn't expected a man that looked to be a lot older than her to stop and speak to her. Or maybe it was just here and that was normal around here? Who knew.

As Rini looked at the man with the awkward smile, she noted that he didn't look to be Japanese at all, but the language had come out of his mouth. But that was completely understandable though. They were in Japan after all. If you didn't speak Japanese or knew someone who did, it be hard to get far. She probably wasn't the right person to judge either, seeing as she herself looked to be American as well, which she was, and she also spoke the city's native language. Rini had been born and raised in Japan; Crystal Tokyo to be exact. And because she was a princess-in-training it was only natural that she had been required to learn more than a few languages, Japanese without a doubt being one of them.

But... While she could speak it, she replied to the man in english. "Yup." It was a simple answer, but it answered his question. The second one anyways. The first she took a second to think about. Did she mind if he joined her... She honestly didn't know. Well, she did. She thought it be a little odd for a grown man to be hanging around a teenage girl that wasn't her father or a close friend, but at this moment, she didn't really care. She was depressed, frustrated, and kind of tired. So she shrugged her shoulders in response, her eyes falling back to Luna-P. "I don't mind."

[IKARUS RICHARDS]

Ikarus grinned slightly at her response in English. “Never thought I’d miss speaking English,” he commented casually, shifting his weight slightly, unsure if her simple answer had also meant he could sit on the bench with her. There was a bit of an awkward pause -- a little awkward to Ikarus, anyway -- before she spoke again, this time accepting his request to sit on the bench. He offered a grateful smile and sat on the opposite side of the bench, putting an appropriate distance between them.

Another silence followed while he tried to figure out how to have a conversation with a perfect stranger. An interaction that he had engaged in for no tangible reason. It was very unlike him even on his best days, and truth be told, he had absolutely no idea what social script he was supposed to utilize. “My name is Ikarus,” he said, figuring an introduction was a good and logical place to start. He pulled his right hand from his pocket somewhat awkwardly and extended it for a shake.

“So… how long have you been here?” he asked. That’s a safe question, right? Ikarus leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and pivoting his head so he made eye contact with her. “Japan, I mean,” he added, realizing his question may have been a little vague. “Or this bench. Either or, I suppose.” He half-smiled, a little embarrassed at the rambling quality of his conversation technique, and the fact that a teenager was making him nervous.

ooc: Sorry it‘s short!

[SELENE ILONA CROSS]

From the moment the man sat down, another silence seemed to have begun. A long one, that was slightly awkward on top of it. To break the silence, Rini would have opened her mouth, said something. Anything. But, she couldn't think of what to talk about. It was kind of odd for Rini to have nothing to say for she always did, whether it be good or bad. Perhaps it was because of her current mood; that it was down. That her emotions were all tightly wound with a cork on it. But if that were true, there was nothing that Rini thought she could do about it. Or, there was nothing that she was going to allow herself to do about it. She wasn't going home. She wasn't giving up. And she wasn't going to cry.

As much as she wanted to.

While she was lacking in things to say, and letting her mind begin to run rampant again, luckily the man was not. If only the silence didn't have to go on for so long before he did so.

Looking at the hand he extended, a slight weary look upon her face, she then reached out her left hand and shook his right. "Mine's Rini." She said, adding shortly after. "It's nice to meet you Ikarus." I guess. The last part was said mentally. She didn't want to be rude to the first person to really talk to her since her arrival.

At his vague question and half smile, a tiny smile of her own was at her lips before she knew it. It faded as she thought however. Or tried to think. Her mouth was faster than her mind. Looking down at Luna-P, her legs swinging back and forth. She spoke. "Not long. A little over a week I suppose. I'm visiting family." Who that family was remained to be seen. Would they be the same people they were this week? Or would they be someone else next week? It all depended if her compulsion lasted. And if she liked them. That eldest girl was getting annoying.

Drawing a breathe, she then made eye contact with him again. "And this bench... I don't know. I lost track of time." She hadn't counted the minutes. Getting lost in your mind could do that.

A small uhm sound came from her throat before she asked. "What about you? Lived in Japan long?" She didn't really care, no. But, it was better than letting the silence start up again.

OOC: No worries! I like short, haha. ^.^

[IKARUS RICHARDS]

He smiled politely and agreed it was nice to meet her too. Right? “Rini…” he said softly, testing the name on his tongue and trying to think if he had ever heard it before. It seemed familiar enough, and yet, he was certain it was unique to his ears. “That’s a pretty name,” Ikarus complimented.

Ikarus nodded to her answer. “That’s cool that you have family here. Your friends back home must be jealous.” He was glad to see she was starting to warm up to him a little. At least as much as one stranger could to another. Which made him wonder why he sat next to her in the first place. What had drawn him to her? What was it about her, exactly, that quelled his stressful thoughts? And why did she seem so sad and lost? Why did he feel… home? When he realized his expression had morphed into something serious, almost like he was trying to see through her, read her mind, he forced his face to relax before she took notice too.

He realized she had asked him a question, it took him a moment to remember what it was. “Uh, a few months.” Ikarus looked away, staring out across the street. “My sister started college at Infinity a few weeks before the kidnappings began. Maybe I’m being overprotective, but, I need to make sure she’s safe.” He couldn’t explain why he was comfortable sharing with her; then, there was a part of him that felt like he couldn’t withhold anything from her, either. It’s not like she asked for your like story, Ikarus.

“So… how do you like Tokyo?”

ooc: so so so so so so sorry for the wait! && phone post