2022-02-26, 01:48 PM - Word count:
The sun lowered on the distance, from the corner of Squall's eye. In front of her, sat Ginger and his teammate, Mike Rup. Given Rup was the closest thing he had to a friend in the roster, while everyone else was people he was curious about but hadn't really dealt with; he could say that he was more used to his fellow centre-back. Probably because they were both more-or-less from the same region. Then again, he could say he was a bit familiar with Soderberg and he could swear Emiliano said hi to him once and...
Rup: So Squall here's a tough nut for anyone to crack, yanno.
Ginger: Oh, he's been like that ever since he showed up at my mom's orphanage.
Rup: Ah, so that's where ya know him from?
Ginger: Yep. Mom ran an orphanage on Staten Island and that's where we've lived at.
Rup: Ya kiddin'? I used to go to Staten every weekend on the way to Central Park.
Ginger: Oh, did you take the route by... y'know, that hotel?
Rup: The Carter?
Ginger: Yeah, every time my mom took me to Central Park, we'd have to make a huge turn because something was always wrong over there.
Rup: Eh, no surprises there. Oh, also, thanks for bringing me with ya for dinner, y'know.
Ginger: Not a problem, Squall here said he wanted to present me to a teammate, maybe to make friends.
Squall: Yes. So you'd get off my case for once.
Ginger pretended to look offended, which ticked Mike to a stern face.
Rup: You shouldn't upset her, Squall.
Squall: Eh, she's faking it.
Rup: I mean it, man. I'm on ya.
Ginger: Heh-heh.
Squall: ...Fine. Look, truth be told, she doesn't go out much.
Ginger: Because you don't go out too much.
Squall: That may be true, but you know you can live your life without tieing yourself to me. You could go with Mike, I imagine he's got nothing better to do.
Rup: Hey, now. You callin' me antisocial?
Squall: I'm calling you a foreigner. I'm a social chameleon.
Ginger: As in he's grumpy and serious at all times, regardless of whether we're in NYC, Tokyo, Tahiti or Montevideo.
Rup: Yeah, that I could tell. You know Isagi trolls the rookies by telling them you killed someone just for trying to start a conversation, right?
Squall: Hold on, what?
Rup: That's the impression you give to people, man! You're all serious and stuff. The only time you weren't like that was when we had to rock the boat when the GM had that bust-up thing and after that, you just went back to your usual 'grrr, me serious' face.
Ginger: That's a pretty good impression, Mike.
Rup: I aim to please, heh.
Squall: You know, I'll ignore that and focus on the ramen.
His eyes went towards the pot of ramen in front of him. Steaming water, pasta, bits of chicken, vegetables. Nothing amazing but it got the job done, so of course, Squall went for it.
Rup: Besides, I do go out, yanno? I fight on the days off.
Ginger: Oh, that's a nice hobby!
Rup: Well, I figured that since we're here, I could learn like... Kung Fu or something.
Ginger: You know Kung Fu's Chinese, right?
Rup: Eh, what's a nationality these days? I'm sure I can still learn it here.
Squall dragged one of the Hachi to form a swirl, twirling its contents in a fashion, not unlike a slow hurricane. Eventually, someone tapped on his shoulder. A teenage girl, likely to be from the region itself. She had a serene look on her face and, for some reason, she looked a bit like... his fallen friend.
????: You shouldn't do that, you'll summon an oni from that whirlwind, you know?
Squall: ...Alright.
Someone yelled the name Yumi from the kitchen, which caused the girl to hop back. The girl was a waitress, it seemed. Squall looked back at his friends.
Ginger: I never really tried martial arts. Not my kind of stuff... I'm a pacifist.
Rup: Eh, lady, you never know these days! Don't ya know your friend beat a burglar the other day with some karate kicks?
Squall: I just got a lucky hit and it wasn't a karate kick. Also, can you hold the table a little bit? I gotta ask something at the counter.
Once Ginger nodded, he hopped off, walking towards the counter, his thoughts encircling towards the girl he had just seen. It was when he arrived at the counter that he saw it - an older man, likely at the middle of his life, observing his own cellphone screen.
Squall: Hey, mister. Can I ask you something? Is your family name Narazaki?
The ramen master stopped checking his own screen, meeting Squall's eyes, who merely showed curiosity above anything else.
Kyotaro: Sure. Narazaki Kyotaro, that's me. Why are you asking?
Squall: ...You know where your father is?
Kyotaro: ...No. I lost contact with him decades ago when my mother cut our contact. I hope you have a very good reason to ask about it, sir, otherwise you better leave before I decide to do something about you.
Squall sighed, taking a good look at the man, who seemed to be getting angry.
Squall: He... He's not with us anymore, sir.
Kyotaro: You... How do you know that?
Squall: Your father befriended me when I arrived here. I play for Tokyo SC and your father was of much help to me. I, in high esteem, paid him with bread as he refused any other help. He... he even insisted I shouldn't look around for his family, so I'm sorry to only bring you the news now.
Kyotaro: Father... You...
Squall: If you wish, I know where he's buried. I can grab the address quickly so that you can pay your respects.
Kyotaro: That... that would be the best. Thank you.
Squall: I'm sorry that I couldn't save him. I tried to offer him a roof, you know, but he rejected it.
Kyotaro: Father's honour was something he prided above all else. That's what I remember the most about him.
He now looked upset. Saddened, even. It seemed like Squall himself had thought the worst about his old friend's family without even giving them a chance. Thankfully, his approach managed to avoid the worse.
Kyotaro: Well... I must thank you properly in some way. I... I didn't think about my father lately but I suppose that knowing what happened to him is better than nothing. Do you have any requests?
Squall: Just pay respects to your pops. I didn't have the chance to do it for mine... not like my father was much to talk about. Yours, on the other hand, was someone you could speak about with pride.
He sighed, walking back to his table, looking at the ramen again. Rup rose an eyebrow.
Rup: Ya feelin' OK, Squall?
Squall: I'll manage. Got something off my back.
Ginger: ...You know I'm still staying with you, right? Mike here says he's fighting the Yakuza on your days off.
Rup: I said I spar with a guy called Kazuya, not that!
Ginger: Heh-heh. Sure coulda fooled me!
While his two friends ran a back-and-forth, Squall seemed... pleased, for once. A weight now lifted from his back.
Rup: So Squall here's a tough nut for anyone to crack, yanno.
Ginger: Oh, he's been like that ever since he showed up at my mom's orphanage.
Rup: Ah, so that's where ya know him from?
Ginger: Yep. Mom ran an orphanage on Staten Island and that's where we've lived at.
Rup: Ya kiddin'? I used to go to Staten every weekend on the way to Central Park.
Ginger: Oh, did you take the route by... y'know, that hotel?
Rup: The Carter?
Ginger: Yeah, every time my mom took me to Central Park, we'd have to make a huge turn because something was always wrong over there.
Rup: Eh, no surprises there. Oh, also, thanks for bringing me with ya for dinner, y'know.
Ginger: Not a problem, Squall here said he wanted to present me to a teammate, maybe to make friends.
Squall: Yes. So you'd get off my case for once.
Ginger pretended to look offended, which ticked Mike to a stern face.
Rup: You shouldn't upset her, Squall.
Squall: Eh, she's faking it.
Rup: I mean it, man. I'm on ya.
Ginger: Heh-heh.
Squall: ...Fine. Look, truth be told, she doesn't go out much.
Ginger: Because you don't go out too much.
Squall: That may be true, but you know you can live your life without tieing yourself to me. You could go with Mike, I imagine he's got nothing better to do.
Rup: Hey, now. You callin' me antisocial?
Squall: I'm calling you a foreigner. I'm a social chameleon.
Ginger: As in he's grumpy and serious at all times, regardless of whether we're in NYC, Tokyo, Tahiti or Montevideo.
Rup: Yeah, that I could tell. You know Isagi trolls the rookies by telling them you killed someone just for trying to start a conversation, right?
Squall: Hold on, what?
Rup: That's the impression you give to people, man! You're all serious and stuff. The only time you weren't like that was when we had to rock the boat when the GM had that bust-up thing and after that, you just went back to your usual 'grrr, me serious' face.
Ginger: That's a pretty good impression, Mike.
Rup: I aim to please, heh.
Squall: You know, I'll ignore that and focus on the ramen.
His eyes went towards the pot of ramen in front of him. Steaming water, pasta, bits of chicken, vegetables. Nothing amazing but it got the job done, so of course, Squall went for it.
Rup: Besides, I do go out, yanno? I fight on the days off.
Ginger: Oh, that's a nice hobby!
Rup: Well, I figured that since we're here, I could learn like... Kung Fu or something.
Ginger: You know Kung Fu's Chinese, right?
Rup: Eh, what's a nationality these days? I'm sure I can still learn it here.
Squall dragged one of the Hachi to form a swirl, twirling its contents in a fashion, not unlike a slow hurricane. Eventually, someone tapped on his shoulder. A teenage girl, likely to be from the region itself. She had a serene look on her face and, for some reason, she looked a bit like... his fallen friend.
????: You shouldn't do that, you'll summon an oni from that whirlwind, you know?
Squall: ...Alright.
Someone yelled the name Yumi from the kitchen, which caused the girl to hop back. The girl was a waitress, it seemed. Squall looked back at his friends.
Ginger: I never really tried martial arts. Not my kind of stuff... I'm a pacifist.
Rup: Eh, lady, you never know these days! Don't ya know your friend beat a burglar the other day with some karate kicks?
Squall: I just got a lucky hit and it wasn't a karate kick. Also, can you hold the table a little bit? I gotta ask something at the counter.
Once Ginger nodded, he hopped off, walking towards the counter, his thoughts encircling towards the girl he had just seen. It was when he arrived at the counter that he saw it - an older man, likely at the middle of his life, observing his own cellphone screen.
Squall: Hey, mister. Can I ask you something? Is your family name Narazaki?
The ramen master stopped checking his own screen, meeting Squall's eyes, who merely showed curiosity above anything else.
Kyotaro: Sure. Narazaki Kyotaro, that's me. Why are you asking?
Squall: ...You know where your father is?
Kyotaro: ...No. I lost contact with him decades ago when my mother cut our contact. I hope you have a very good reason to ask about it, sir, otherwise you better leave before I decide to do something about you.
Squall sighed, taking a good look at the man, who seemed to be getting angry.
Squall: He... He's not with us anymore, sir.
Kyotaro: You... How do you know that?
Squall: Your father befriended me when I arrived here. I play for Tokyo SC and your father was of much help to me. I, in high esteem, paid him with bread as he refused any other help. He... he even insisted I shouldn't look around for his family, so I'm sorry to only bring you the news now.
Kyotaro: Father... You...
Squall: If you wish, I know where he's buried. I can grab the address quickly so that you can pay your respects.
Kyotaro: That... that would be the best. Thank you.
Squall: I'm sorry that I couldn't save him. I tried to offer him a roof, you know, but he rejected it.
Kyotaro: Father's honour was something he prided above all else. That's what I remember the most about him.
He now looked upset. Saddened, even. It seemed like Squall himself had thought the worst about his old friend's family without even giving them a chance. Thankfully, his approach managed to avoid the worse.
Kyotaro: Well... I must thank you properly in some way. I... I didn't think about my father lately but I suppose that knowing what happened to him is better than nothing. Do you have any requests?
Squall: Just pay respects to your pops. I didn't have the chance to do it for mine... not like my father was much to talk about. Yours, on the other hand, was someone you could speak about with pride.
He sighed, walking back to his table, looking at the ramen again. Rup rose an eyebrow.
Rup: Ya feelin' OK, Squall?
Squall: I'll manage. Got something off my back.
Ginger: ...You know I'm still staying with you, right? Mike here says he's fighting the Yakuza on your days off.
Rup: I said I spar with a guy called Kazuya, not that!
Ginger: Heh-heh. Sure coulda fooled me!
While his two friends ran a back-and-forth, Squall seemed... pleased, for once. A weight now lifted from his back.
