[soup-posedly]

If anyone’s following this blog, you can find Nico on @bibinqka - my new multimuse!

[soup-posedly]

       ❛ o’hara…? ❜ was it something he said ? maybe he shouldn’t have led with the discussion angle…he knows firsthand how intense their debates can be. akane sits back on his butt, watching as the other regains his composure. ❛ take some time to think about it, ❜ he offers, returning to his usual monotone.  ❛ the ticket to the future is always open. ❜

   He gathers himself, finally snapping out of his initial enamorment to realise that yes -  Kashiwazaki is most definitely a real and normal person. His head hurts. A lot. Maybe that’s why he says, “yeah. I’d love to join.” It wouldn’t hurt to join someone who wasn’t judging him for basically reading smut in the library.

[soup-posedly]

       ❛ then definitely join us ! ❜ amber eyes come alive in a way only manga can make them, body lurching forward into o’hara’s space. he can’t help it — his heart got a little too excited at the suggestion of another member to their group. ❛ we meet every week to read manga together, all genres welcomed. you won’t find more spirited comic-related discussions anywhere else. ❜

   oh no. A spirited bunch. That meant... that. Commitment. He just had to open his big mouth, and now Kashiwazaki was glowing brighter than - well, he was blinding enough. “Waitwaitwaitwait.... Wait.” O’hara shuffling back in his chair, arms raising in defence, and about this close from being balled up into fists. “This is way to sudden I”- he shuffles too far back and falls out of his chair.

“I’m okay.”

[soup-posedly]

       nico, huh. akane hopes the name isn’t derived from a fondness for nicotine similar to his senpai’s. ❛ kashiwazaki akane, ❜ he says, sweeping a hand beneath the curtain of bangs over his forehead and flicking it to the side. ❛ or prince. you have good taste in manga…have you ever considered joining a club ? ❜

   he has a pretty name. and an even cooler nickname. He must not have been real. That little hair sweep of his seemed cool as well. “I’ve got too much on my plate right now with my school’s newspaper.” In fact, he was already hiding from his responsibilities behind this manga. “But if you’re inviting to me something then I wouldn’t be against it.”

[soup-posedly]

Rin  is  a  little  surprised  why  the  other  would  be  nervous.  After  all,  he  seems  quite  professional  about  it.  Unlike  him  who  is  more  or  less  free  diving  into  these  sort  of  things.  Starting  more  with  a  small  "accident  blog“,  the  thing  turned  out  bigger  than  he  expected.  

However,  for  now,  it  seems  to  be  a  good  way  to  dive  into  a  proper  conversation.  Hopefully,  that  helps  to  break  the  ice  between  them.  Rin  would  like  their  flight  to  be  relaxed  and  fun.

    'Hm,  why  don’t  you  tell  me  some  more  about  it?  I  feel  like  it  is  not  so  much  of  a  biggie  then  you  might  feel.  Diving  into  new  topics  is  always  rough  but  with  some  confidence,  you  can  handle  all.  And  don’t  worry,  it  is  not  like  it  will  define  all  of  your  future.  See  it  more  as  a  lesson?’

Nico clamps his hands over his mouth realising his massive blunder. He shouldn’t have been talking about such a thing. In an instant, his face flares redder than the other’s hair as he struggles to find what to say. Yet again.

“It’s uh- uh. I’m not supposed to say much but uh. Brexit. That sort of stuff. It’s real, real boring so don’t bother. And I’m never supposed to give my opinions on this sort of thing anyways. What about you? I’m sure you must have some interesting stuff to talk about. What about your job?”

Still, his advice on seeing it all as a lesson is welcomed. Rin really is kind. Super cool too. Nico needed to stop fawning over random people he’d met. He quickly grabs his water bottle for a drink - only to choke on a massive gulp.

[soup-posedly]

       a blink. akane has his doubts, but he doesn’t press the matter. instead, he goes back to his reading, making small talk at the same time he glances over each page — multitasking has always been a strength of his. ❛ what do you think of fukami-san ? ❜ he asks. ❛ personally, i find him too one-dimensional to be the main love interest. ❜

  “you aren’t wrong about that.” He could definitely do with a better read than this but... he just thought the art style looked pretty. “It all moves way too fast and I find it hard to believe that someone like him’d fall for Risa. The story’s cute and all, but... it’s a lot straight away.” He manages a small smile, at least happy that this guy isn’t so loud and totally in your face about his choices. “I’m O’hara Nico by the way. Nice to meet you uh...”

[soup-posedly]

“His reasoning behind his sudden approach fell rather short of what she might have been expecting - though she wasn’t even sure what she had expected. His quick swept determination had begun to visibly fade away as if pulled out by a tide. Perhaps she wasn’t what he really desired and was beginning to realize it.

He seemed like a genuinely nice boy. Human or no, there was something about first impressions that always seemed correct. There was no harm in sticking around to talk to a curious human, was there?

Deciding there wasn’t, she pulled herself back up onto the rock. “If that’s all you wanted to do, then by all means, it’s fine by me. Although, my story isn’t as interesting as other people’s, I’m sure. I’m just an offshore-maid.” She carded fingers through her mess of long wet hair to tame it, maybe remove a string of seaweed that had gotten snagged.

“My name is Lynna, by the way. Does your job usually have you taking pictures of crabs and the like? What is your job? And what’s a ‘picture’? What’s your name? Oh - you already told me. Something.. Kujirahara right?”

Did she not get that? Nico sighs. Maybe he shouldn’t have talked like a rapper at gunpoint. If he wanted something interesting, then he’d have to at least be understandable.

“It’s Nico.” Her name and appearance strikes a chord with him, yet he takes to reiterating himself instead. If there were something familiar about her... well, he wouldn’t have approached someone who seemed so ‘ordinary’. Mermaids weren’t that sort. 

“I’m a journalist. Writing about really cool things is my job. Today just so happens that you’re the coolest thi-person around.” Oh no. He almost called her a thing. She didn’t catch that, did she?

He raises his camera to snap a quick photo of her then shuffles close to her to show it to her. It’s blurry, but it at least shows the function of a camera.

“Cameras can take pictures of something you want to remember. Someone or something really important. So in this case, the camera thinks you’re the most important someone here.” He hides a laugh, realising how cheesy that must’ve sounded. “Basically I just want to talk with you... or- wait. Can you actually leave the beach? Cause I could take you somewhere cool in town, if that’s alright with you.”

[soup-posedly]

Now  the  other  really  seems  to  be  undecided  whenever  he  feels  comfortable  by  Rin  or  not.  First,  he  reacts  really  oddly  but  now  it  is  all  chill  and  open,  trying  to  make  conversation.  Well,  not  that  he  minds  it.  Everything  is  better  than  the  awkward  behavior  the  other  had  shown  just  a  few  minutes  ago.  

      'I  see,  being  a  good  kid  is  more  or  less  a  must-do,  right?  After  all,  it  is  important  to  show  respect  for  our  parents  and  to  support  them  as  good  as  we  can.  Even  Christmas  isn’t  something  we  celebrate.’

Rin  already  spends  not  enough  of  his  time  at  home  so  he  tries  to  use  such  event  to  get  his  own  butt  moving  there.  'Well,  I  guess  you  are  right.  Then  let’s  make  the  best  out  of  it,  right?  Now  then,  what  should  we  do?  Maybe  you  want  to  tell  me  more  about  your  job.  I’m  feeling  curious.’  

   Just when he’d thought that jobs weren’t a good conversation topic.

Matsuoka seems really cool. Someone who probably made dull conversations lively. “Ah. Well, I’m a journalist, hence why I get to travel a lot.” Nico didn’t think he was the same.

“I was just in England for a bit, where I grew up. Funnily enough, it’s just as cold as I remembered - and about as cold as Japan is right now.” He leans his cheek against his palm. “Though, I wish I was back writing about sports or something.” 

Being suddenly thrown from sports journalism into bigger stories was a lot of work. Because he was ‘the only one available’, he was now stuck with a political piece that was probably way over his head. Seemed like to big of a jump up.

“I’d be glad if you could read one of my articles some time though.”

[soup-posedly]

       ❛ it’s bold of you, to read that kind of thing in public. too many don’t understand the nuance of shoujo. ❜ in fact, he’s holed up in his corner of the library with the latest edition of hana to yume, himself. akane lowers the magazine from his face. ❛ …do you have a favorite ? ❜

   he flinches. he’d been buried in his tankobon and hadn’t realised the magazine he’d used to cover had slipped down. Coffee & Vanilla wasn’t a manga to read anywhere but a secluded corner - or at home. “I’m more into slice of life stuff. T-This is just a friend’s,” he stammers, hiding the book behind his back.

[soup-posedly]

A  little  odd,  he  cannot  deny  that.  Surely  the  guy  isn’t  used  to  deal  with  people  out  of  his  environment  or  at  least,  it’s  the  impression  he’s  having  right  now.  Brushing  the  hair  out  of  his  face,  he  closes  the  open  windows  on  his  screen  again.  No  reason  to  share  private  data  with  any  strangers  right  now.  Okay,  sounds  a  little  ironic  for  somebody  who  lives  on  that  literally.

’Flying  home  for  the  holidays.  My  family  always  was  into  Christmas  even  it’s  a  Western  thing.  Ah,  a  smaller  town  not  too  far  from  Japan.  Just  two  hours  by  train  but  before  that,  I  mostly  gonna  visit  friends  who  live  in  Tokyo  first.’  There,    giving  a  good  answer  without  too  many  details.

For  a  moment,  Rin  considers  returning  the  question  but  then  decides  not  to.  ’I’m  not  too  often  in  Japan  and  if,  only  for  a  short  time  so  it’s  nice  to  come  back  for  the  holidays,  you  know?  Spending  time  with  family  and  friends.  If  it  works  out,  we  maybe  even  manage  to  bring  the  friends  together  for  something  quick.  I  won’t  be  here  for  New  Year  so  it  has  to  replace  it  for  me.’  

Rin  hopes  a  light  conversation  helps  the  other  to  feel  a  little  more  relaxed,  stopping  to  make  this  panicking  face.’

His shoulders relax a little, seeing that this bipedal shark person isn’t about to bite. If he didn’t live in Tokyo, they wouldn’t have to see each other for much longer after the flight. Not that his new ‘friend’ was someone that he wanted to avoid… just that their earlier predicament almost forced him to retreat into his heavy jacket in shame.

“Oh I’m the same. I’m going back to my mother’s since she’s usually alone this time of year.” He stretches his feet underneath the table, feeling his worries start to melt away at even the mention of her. “I’ve got to be a good son sometimes. Travelling around a lot doesn’t really let me see her very often after all.”

At least, he hopes he’s not imposing too much with this conversation. Nico was used to this sort of exchange – one where someone would only say ‘what was necessary’ and avoiding talk about anything else. If anything, Matsuoka seemed more like the defensive subject that he’d usually be interviewing. Would it help him if he tried to pry as if he were just another job?  He physically shook the thought out of his head, remembering that normal people did not rely on their jobs to make conversation.

He manages a laugh at the thought. “But if you’re heading to Tokyo first, then that means we’re kinda stuck with each other, huh?”

[soup-posedly]

He had a point, but any chance of her reply was cut short as the distance between them was quickly closed. Now she really wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hang around or quickly leave as this could be a bad sign. It was how they were so easily snatched up in the past. Never to be seen or heard from again.

Her mind caught up in the old tales told to her as a child, she didn’t grasp much of what the boy said next besides a bunch of.. words. What she did catch, she wasn’t sure if it was just a part of his name. Everything was happening so fast she felt rather winded without having moved from her failed hiding spot. His request felt more like an order, giving her less incentive to run away. He was bending over funny, but it was a gesture she recognized  as it was similar to one they had. His request was only that. It couldn’t be that bad, could it?

“What do you want me to do?”

Ah. He hadn’t thought this through properly. Sure having a mermaid in the paper was nice but… what was he supposed to say? He raises his head, taking his hand back.

“Uh. I just wanted a few pictures and… wanted to know what it’s like being a mermaid?” He was definitely pulling all of this out of his own ass. Sure, there would definitely be people who’d read his writing just cause it had a mermaid in it but… this wasn’t something he could call ‘proper journalism’ – maybe schoolyard gossip at best.

“Or, should we start by getting to know each other? It might be better to understand you before I start writing something.”

Nico hops up onto the rocks to sit with her, his camera held safely in his hands.

“I’ve never written anything about mermaids, and I wanna make sure that I capture the whole truth of what it’s like.” He pauses, realising how awkward it must’ve been to suddenly spring this upon the girl.

“Oh, uh... Only if you’re fine with it.”

[futuretage]

Fiery blue..

[soup-posedly]

This  guy’s  reaction  makes  him  suspicious.  The  smile  on  his  lips  is  more  a  polite  one:  ’Store  at  the  other  side  of  the  world,  don’t  think  it’s  a  place  you  would  visit.  But  you  probably  could  find  it  somewhere  online,  if  you  look  for  a  little  bit.’

With  that,  he  simply  is  getting  comfortable  and  most  likely  just  will  ignore  the  world  around  him  with  his  headphones.

Rin  takes  them  out  together  with  his  headphones:  ’My  teeth  are  all  normal,  you  are  slightly  staring.  It’s  rather  impolite.  You  are  Japanese,  right?  it’s  weird  you  would  do  so.  You  belong  to  a  rather  small  group  of  people  worldwide  who  even  bothers.  Would  you  look  at  anyone  like  that  with  freckles  or  green  hair?  Find  your  inner  Japanese  and  politely  lower  your  gaze.  If  you  wanna  do  any  normal  chat,  we  can  but  otherwise.  I’d  prefer  not  to  feel  like  some  science  object.’  

He  types  something  into  his  own  notebook  so  that  the  screen  unlocks  and  a  photo  gallery  lightens  up.  He  still  has  seven  hundred  photos  to  go  through  to  pick  the  best  for  the  next  article.  

‘Matsuoka  Rin,  nice  to  meet  you.    I  got  a  package  of  cookies  if  you  want  them,  I’m  not  too  much  into  sweets  but  rejecting  gifts  wouldn’t  have  been  very  nice,  right?’  

He’s even scarier than he’d imagined. Sure, it was most definitely rude of him to have been staring, but now that he was caught in the act, Nico swore that he could feel a steaming kettle being poured over his head with how embarrassed he was. He nods in affirmation of his identity – half Japanese albeit – his hands retreating from his laptop to mess about nervously on his lap.

He lowers his gaze as told, lip trembling as if he were back in high school being told off for staring out the window for too long. Nico’s words blur in an apology as he shifts onto the edge of his seat.

“I-I’m really sorry. I didn’t realise I was staring. I swear, I’m not weird. I just didn’t know what to uh- sorry. I’m rambling aren’t I?” His palms are already sweaty enough, and it doesn’t help that he doesn’t have his soup to hide behind anymore.

The man’s final words bring him comfort though, bringing a light to his eyes at the sound of something sweet. Still, he feels bad about staring at someone and then suddenly being offered cookies. He gets out of his seat to sit in the one closer to Matsuoka, knowing that if he gets too excited about things he’ll start shouting across the café.

“O’Hara Nico,” he responds, unsure of whether or not to raise his hand to shake. “I uh couldn’t help but notice that you’re flying back to Japan as well. Where’re you coming from?”

[soup-posedly]

@bittenback

Nico's hands type away nervously at his laptop, deleting almost every sentence he writes whenever he looks up at the man sitting a table away from him. Though his vision is weak from constant nights drilling his device with the pressure of deadlines, his eyes can't deny the sight of a ticket hanging out of a passport sat on the other man's table. Near to the end of the aircraft. 30B - The seat next to his own. There's no way he wants to be sitting next to someone like that. Those teeth of his could probably tear through his throat as easily as it tore through his food. It only takes the pen dropping from his hand - almost into the cardboard container of his soup - for him to realise that he's made eye contact. "Y-Your jacket," he stutters out in English. It takes a second for him to realise that the chrysanthemum pattern on the man's passport is one that he himself couldn't get. He begins again, repeating in Japanese. "Where'd you get your jacket?" A nice save to excuse his terrible obvious staring. Well, at least the jacket's nice on him... but god was he terrified for the next few hours on the flight sitting next to this guy.

[soup-posedly]

Lynna had seen humans before. Lots of them, in fact, but she had never seen one so focused. So determined and yet also so small. He was hunched over on the shore with his eyes and …object-thing fully attentive to something probably lurking in the tide pools. And that was fascinating. Humans were strange creatures.

They were also very loud creatures as the noise he proceeded to make was sudden and jarring. She nearly lost her perch on the rock but a good grip secured her in place. He looked disappointed, therefore she was disappointed as she had been rather invested in his venture of whatever it was he was doing.

She didn’t even falter when his attention turned towards her, it was when he yelled in her direction that she was so startled she fell backwards right into the water. She had been spotted, obviously, but what was she meant to do now? Swim away? Wouldn’t that be rude? Or expected. Mermaid - human contact had never been taught to her. So she remained near the rock, floating head and shoulders above the water and peered around.

“D… do you mean me?”

Nico turns around, looking out over the very empty beach with a sigh. “There doesn’t seem to be any other mermaid with pink scales around here.” He raises his camera, already too enamoured by the prospect of getting a mid-paper place in the school’s publication.

Just as he’s about to press down on the shutter button, he lets the fall from his hands, swinging around his neck as he draws nearer to her. He forces his hand towards her, hoping that mermaids actually understood what a handshake was, an excited glimmer in his eye.

“I’m O’Hara. Nico O’Hara. Sports genius of the Kujirahara High School News.” A bit of hyperbole, but she didn’t need to know that he was the only person writing about sports – or that he was only here because an upperclassman had cancelled on a photography submission last minute.

“You’re really pretty! And we’ve never ever had a mermaid in our papers either. So please work with me here.”

He bows his head, practically standing at ninety degree angle as the back of his knee screams ‘this pain probably isn’t worth it’, waiting for her to agree.

[soup-posedly]

@edenslostwallflower

Nico presses his face close to the camera, one eye closed as the other peers through the view finder. He just had to take a picture of her – she was too beautiful. His shaking finger slowly presses down, not enough for a click just yet as he waits for her to move into a better position. This wasn’t weird. It was definitely normal to take pictures of beauties he’d found so captivating…

This crab was stunning. With a click, he finally takes his perfect shot.

He turns away for a moment, burying his face into the crook of his elbow as he waited for it. His breath hitches unnaturally as he did his best to hold it back until.

“ACHOO!”

Nico’s sneeze blows sand everywhere and the crab disappears into the stand burying itself away from him. How disappointing.

He stands up again, flicking back through his shot with a sigh. The only other interesting thing left on this beach was the mermaid atop the rocks, scales vibrant in pink glimmer against the sun. Somehow the glaring of her tail irritates his eyes and he can’t help but feel a pain inside his head as the longer he stares at her.

“Hey! You with the pink tail!” he calls out as he trudges through the sand in heavy sand-filled trainers. “Can I get a picture of you for my school’s newspaper?” Even if mermaids were everywhere nowadays, he could still make up some story – even if it went against his own code of rightful journalism. Though, he was definitely running low on ideas if his most successful shot today was a picture of a crab.

[soup-posedly]

@ursusxarctos

Click after click, a nearly empty pen presses against the man’s lips as he watches people flit in and out of the cafeteria. Nico’s deadline was coming up way soon, and the lack of inspiration from this university’s udon offers him absolutely no help – maybe he would’ve been better off cracking open his pen and downing the ink instead of finishing the meal.

What was the easiest way to write an interesting non-sports related article? Maybe something controversial. Something that was undeniably true, but people were too afraid to speak about. He sighed in defeat. If he’d figured out how to write like that, he’d have already thrown himself at the foot of the Aera or Yomiuri offices by now. Instead he was stuck as the ‘back-up slave’ of Naribusawa’s newspaper team.

His eyes perk up at a different figure coming to sit across from him.

Someone who isn’t from around here as well. Hopefully his next big break.

The pen drops out of his mouth as a whine of surprise erupts from his throat. Does she speak English? Hopefully she does, otherwise he’d be making a fool of himself.

“You’re foreign!” he announces, quite obviously. “I’m t-the same!” A bright smile plasters his face in the sheer joy he finds in the girl.

“O’hara. O’hara Nico.” He shoots forward his hand for her to shake, practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.