Pokemon, Eel, and Bears! Oh, My! (Ranarath)

OoC: If that title doesn't catch a few eyes, I don't know what will. XP It's party time.

Note: Anything that I felt required a translation which couldn't be picked up from the post itself is provided at the bottom.

Also, if it's hard to tell, there is a link to the song she's listening to contained within the post itself near the end, if you're interested.

IC:

It was a typical day in downtown Tokyo.

A sea of people swept through the streets, bustling to get to jobs or lunch or other pressing engagements. The air was filled with the smells Miyako had known all through her early childhood—a strange, yet pleasing, combination of exhaust, sweat, and unagi. Even though she had been away from Japan for a few years, Miyako could never forget the aroma and taste of excellent unagi in the summer, the time when the freshwater eel’s flavor was at its peak.

Her stomach rumbled but went relatively unnoticed by the people around her who were too intent on their own errands for the day. It was about lunchtime, she supposed, so she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and stood up. Currently, she was waiting for the next Shinkansen to arrive in the station. The bullet trains were fast in and of themselves, but loading and unloading all of the passengers took more time. While she waited, she tried to remember her favorite restaurant locations. She could make her own unagi to her satisfaction, but doing so would probably attract unwanted attention.

Several years had passed since Miyako’s strange and sudden disappearance, but she hoped those few years had been enough to change her so that she wouldn’t immediately be recognizable. Her hair was much longer than it had been when she was thirteen, and she certainly hadn’t been as concerned with clothes back then, either.

The train arrived at last, and she did her best to squeeze into one of the compartments without inviting the wrath of some stressed-out and overworked Japanese businessman. The overall morale of the Japanese people was positive, but it would be her luck that she would run into the one person ready to blow at the slightest provocation.

So far, so good. I haven’t heard anybody screaming out, “Akiyama! Akiyama Miyako!” If I can get some food without being recognized by some chef who religiously followed my short career here, then I should be able to move freely about.

The Shinkansen screeched to a halt, but with all the people crammed into the car, no one lost his or her balance. The doors slid open, and people poured out onto the landing like water released from a broken dam. Miyako, after narrowly escaping the swing of a huge briefcase, ducked around a corner and entered one of the streets.

Her nose detected stronger food smells here, much to her delight, and she soon found herself in front of an open stand occupied by a single busy chef. He was an older man, probably in his late forties or early fifties, but Miyako could tell he knew his way around a kitchen.

She offered him a pleasant smile and asked in a flawless Japanese accent, “Unagi wa ikura desu ka.”*

The man blinked, the only indication that he was surprised at her knowledge of the language. “Rokuhyaku en desu.”

600 yen, my foot. She shook her head in disbelief. “Takai desu ne… Mmm…nihyaku en?”**

The man looked practically insulted, and Mi couldn’t tell if it was because her offer was so low or because she had slipped into informal speech. He waved his hand at her. “Yonhyakugojuu en.”

Hmm…450 yen is a little better, but still too high, I think, especially for a street food stand. “Sanhyakugojuu en.” She slid a hand into one of her pockets and drew out 350 yen.

He stared at her incredulously for a moment. Then, his face broke into a grin, and he took the money from her. “Hai, hai.” Laughing, he passed some of the eel wrapped in paper to her. “Unagi to hashi o motteikite.”*** He pointed at a box containing cheap chopsticks.

Miyako returned the man’s smile and nodded. A nearby bench caught her eye, and she moved to sit on it. With her backpack nestled beside her, she eagerly took a bite of the unagi and chewed. While it certainly wasn’t five-star quality, it had a characteristic flavor of its own. Closing her eyes, she swallowed and enjoyed the morsel until the taste disappeared into her stomach.

The only thing that’s missing is…

She set her food down long enough to retrieve her iPod from her backpack. Placing the headphones in her ears, she shuffled through her music collection until she found Gackt’s “Wasurenaikara”. With a nice, upbeat J-pop song playing through her head, she resumed eating and forgot the rest of the world.
_________________________________________

*"How much is the unagi?"

**"That sure is expensive... How about 200 yen?"

***"Take the unagi and some chopsticks."

“Oh, wow.” The psychic simply could not get accustom to all the lights that played against the Tokyo skyline. Giant TVs displayed everything from the latest music star to the newest clothing line. Signs glowed brightly to attract customers into the various stores. Even streetlights seemed brighter and more fabulous in this exotic city. Maya practically danced around on the sidewalk, trying to look everywhere at once. Several people had to step out of her way as she milled around, oblivious to some of stares she was receiving.

“If anything screams tourist, it’s what you’re doing right now,” Jack muttered under his breath. He and Zoe dangled in the girl’s arms, trying their best to look ordinary. He hated that and would like nothing more than to give the staring people something really odd to look at before he poked them in the eyes.

“We’re not suppose to be talking, remember?” Zoe was always rebuking him for something.

“Then I guess you’d better shut up,” the bear shot back. Then he started struggling, as inconspicuously as possible, when Maya brought them up to her head and buried her face in their fur. “Don’t do that!”

She giggled, “This is so cool. I’ve always wanted to visit Japan, even if it’s only a dream.” Then she stopped and cocked her head at the latest commercial that was playing. Something about a new movie coming to theaters. Or, at least, that’s what she thought. Maya dramatically dropped her head in disappointment, “Now, if only I knew some Japanese.”

Zoe turned her head up to Maya, somewhat surprised. “You don’t know any Japanese?” Several people turned their heads at the sound of the teddy bear.

“Well, I know some. About the only thing helpful I know is konnichiwa.”

The teddy sighed, “Well, at least we’ll be polite when meeting people.”

The psychic kind of hoped she would met someone in Tokyo but, considering her amazing command of the language, that meeting would probably go nowhere very fast. Instead, she continued to gawk at all the sights the wonderful city had to offer. At one point, the teenager stopped inside a rather large arcade, larger than the ones she had seen back home, and watched several people play video games, including a duo trying their hand at Dance Dance Revolution.

Finally, not only was she surrounded by sights but smells as well. Several stands had lines of customers waiting at them, satisfied ones walking away with a carton of oriental food. Maya’s stomach grumbled slightly but she ignored the protest. She couldn’t get any food if she didn’t have any money. Nor would she even know where to begin. The signs told her nothing and the food certainly didn’t smell like anything familiar. The psychic let out a sigh and clutched her bears to her, “This could’ve been a little more fun.” She whirled around and promptly smacked into someone walking by, knocking herself to the ground. “Sor-”

“Watch where you’re going!” Jack shouted.