Fond Memories (Sharaku)

She would whistle a quick little tune, “If any pet runs away and does not come back, doesn’t that mean it didn’t want you as an owner? I mean, I’ve never actually had a pet run away. There was the one time that Midnight got out of my grasp while I was trying to take her to the vet, but she didn’t run away from me. Well, she did, but she ran toward one of the windows and tried to hop back into the house. That didn’t work since it was, you know, closed. Plus, I looked into it. They actually sell leaches for birds. It’s kind of weird. Thankfully, I wanted one of the more intelligent birds. Something like a grey parrot. They are supposed to be the most intelligent bird species.” She liked the ones that were smart. Plus, they seemed to be a healthy species.

She would nod at his statement, “Money may not be everything, but it’s nice to have. Better to have than to not have, at least.” She flipped over another card in the deck and raised her bet by two green pieces, “You know, Stanasen is actually pretty nice once you get used to it. Mom didn’t trust me walking around the streets though. She used to never let me go out by myself, so I didn’t know most of the area outside of the immediate stuff around my house or the way to the subway system. Didn’t stop me, of course, but I’d get in trouble every time. You become very street smart while living there, which is pretty useful. Still can’t deny that it needs some serious renovation. The place is falling apart.” Well, compared to the other islands as least, “You’d really let me visit your home? I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you have to, but I would like that.” She had never had a moment like this before. It made her feel fuzzy inside.

Naomi would shrug, “I guess so. Maybe you’re right, but I still like seeing animals more free than not. Also, the fact that you can put a leach on a bird makes me wonder why they needed it. Can’t most people train birds to come home? Isn’t that what carrier pigeons and hunting falcons do? Or is it for when you’re training them.” She laughed when Sharaku mentioned the bird hunting her cats, “Thankfully, those birds don’t eat meat, so I doubt they’d have an issue with hunting. And you’d be surprised what those cuties can do.” She’d motion to Yuki, who at some point had curled up next to Sharaku and started sleeping, “They both have their claws and they knew how to use them. They don’t usually use them, but there was been times they have.” Like when they jumped onto the screen door and caught their claws in the meshing. That would never not be funny, “From what I researched about them, they seem to be a docile species. They also appear to be a loyal pet, and grow attached to their main care taker.” She thought they were the best option for a bird.

She would only smirk at his comment, “You know what they say.” She flipped the next card and threw in an extra two red pieces, “Never judge a book by its cover. You’d be surprised what you miss when you do that. And, in my opinion, he deserved it. The only way to knock sense into people like him is to literally knock it into them. Haven’t you gotten that vibe from him before?” She knew she did, “Besides, it’s not like I willingly get caught.” Yes, she was quite the delinquent when she was younger. Actually, she still was, in a way, “I’m not someone to be taken lightly.” She would wink and fan herself with her cards, telling him he couldn’t take her lightly with this game, “I am a woman of many talents, Sharaku. Want to see?” She’d add another blue Lego just to make the game more interesting.

A small laugh escaped her when Sharaku mentioned the damage cats could do with their claws. She knew that firsthand, as well, “That seems to be a thing most cat owners understand. I don’t think anyone else really gets it.” She nodded before adding a comment, “I would say that’s true about most of them. Well, except for fish. They don’t seem to care who is taking care of them as long as they’re getting food and their water is clean.” Obviously, her opinion on fish wasn’t very high. She preferred animals that seemed to have some sort of upper brain function. Plus, you couldn’t pet fish. It was just how she felt. Not that they weren’t entertaining to watch, especially the tropical ones.

Her eye moved over the cards in her hand once more, “I guess you’re allowed to be. I try not to show it. I mean, if you knew I was a delinquent just by looking at me, wouldn’t you get suspicious? That’s why it’s important no one can tell. I need people to trust my innocent face.” As if to make her point, she would smile wide to show just how innocent she was. She shrugged, “I would rather it not come to violence most days, but he strikes me as the type that doesn’t understand words. Maybe I misread the situation.” She seemed to look into the distance before looking back, “Nah. I still think the only way he understands anything is through extreme emotions and actions.” She’d flip the next card. This was the second to last one. She considered her hand for a moment before just pushing the rest of her Legos into the pile. She’d pound on her chest triumphantly before placing both her hands back on her cards, “Thank goodness this isn’t real money, or I’d be questioning our sanity in doing this. Oh well. You only live once, right?” Was she bluffing, was she not? The only clue as to what she was thinking was a smile on her face that dared Sharaku to match her bet. He had been playing it cautiously this entire time, and Naomi was going to see how far he was willing to go on this gamble. There was one thing she knew, Sharaku was going to lose this hand.

She eyes would shift slightly downwards at Sharaku’s words, “Does that mean you’re disappointed?” It’s not like all she thought of herself as was an innocent face and some tendencies of a delinquent. She thought of herself as much more complex than that. Still, that didn’t change how other people saw her. Now that she thought about it, maybe she did come across as two-faced, “I mean, it’s not like my smiles aren’t me. They are… Or maybe they’re who I want to be. I think they’re real, at least. I don’t know anymore.” She would look of into the distance while she thought about it. As a kid, she didn’t smile all that much. There was nothing to smile about. She hadn’t started smiling until about five years ago; probably even less time than that, since it took her a while to get the habit down. Five years was a long time to remember if something you did was for yourself or for something else. She would roll her eyes at her own thoughts, “Nevermind. I hate philosophy and that thought is making my brain hurt. I’m just who I am because I am that way.” In other words: she had no idea.

Naomi would hang her head in shame, “I’m actually really bad with words.” She remembered that she could barely get a sentence across when they first met, “It’s much easier to do things instead of saying them. Besides, I don’t punch that hard. All my strength is in my lower half. If I meant to do any real harm, I would kick his ass instead of knocking sense into him.” Oh how she loved the colorful word game. It was fun. She would give a cocky smile, “That may be true, but it’s more fun to think about the living part than the dead one. I mean, death is death. It’s pretty permanent and sounds kind of boring. I prefer life.” She flipped the last card over, “Besides, we can always play another round. I just wanted to see how far you would go for a hand when you had no idea what I was doing.” She put all of her cards down and showed him that she had three eights and two fives, “I may not be good at poker, but I know this hand is good.” Unless he had something better. Once he reveled his hand, she would shrug, “It’s okay. You probably won anyway.” As if from nowhere, she would begin fanning herself with three cards that she hadn’t had before, [color=#ffcc00] “I told you I was a woman of many talents. I concede that this round is my loss, but I just had to show you that I had some skills.” She would split the Legos up evenly again and reshuffle the deck, “So, how about a fair round this time. I promise, no funny stuff from me.” She hadn’t planned it in the first place. It just sort of happened.

She quickly moved to rub the spot on her forehead that he had flicked. She would give a small pout before speaking, “What was that for?” It didn’t hurt, but it was a surprise. Didn’t he just say he was the type to use words instead of violence? This was definitely not a finely crafted sentence. What he said afterwards was, however. He was actually pretty good with words. Still, it was kind of cheesy for coming from Sharaku. She would actually laugh, “I didn’t know you had a motivational speech deep inside of you.” She didn’t mean it in a rude way. It actually made her glad to hear someone say it. She just never expected it from him.

She shrugged, “My mom and I never really needed words. It’s been just us in one house for so long that we learned to talk without really saying anything. Mostly, it’s just a bunch of bad jokes since neither of us has a sense of humor. For us, actions mean more than words ever could.” Plus, her mom had little faith in words alone, and Namoi had picked up that habit. She wanted to trust words, but she knew they weren’t certain, “Even when life is boring, it’s still exciting. Well, at least it’s not nothing. Death would be the equivalent of nothing. I guess if you have nothingness you can’t tell what’s boring and what’s exciting, but still…” And her brain was hurting again. What was she even saying anymore? Her mouth would actually gape wide when Sharaku showed his cards, “I went easy on you because I didn’t think you’d get a hand that good. Next time I’m just sticking all the aces in my hand.” Even though she said she wouldn’t cheat, “You’re going down this time.” She shuffled the deck again and dealt the cards. She flipped over the first one, “Bring it on.” This was for her pride. She threw in two reds and a green.

She looked at him with wide eyes, “If I don’t know that much about you, I should learn. What other secrets is Sharaku hiding away?” She would ask the last question, pretending to be a news reporter all the while, “Please, sir, the world is dying to know just what else goes on inside that head of yours.” And by the world, she meant herself. It was a joke, and she hoped he would get it, “Well, the walls to have eyes, so maybe they have ears too.” In that case, the walls could listen to him. “Nothing is nothing? Actually, is nothing nothing and therefore is something?” That was the only thing she knew what to say. What else was nothing except nothing? This is why she wasn’t very good at philosophical questions. She couldn’t think of it that way. She would roll her eyes at him, “I only cheated because you said you wanted to see my talents. Cheating is no fun, otherwise. What’s the point of playing a game of wit when you know your hand is going to win? It’s boring that way.” In other words, she only did it to prove that she could do something besides smile, “Besides, you didn’t see my hands move to grab the cards, did you? That’s the talent I was talking about. I have fancy hands.” She’d take off her jacket and throw it to the side. Now she was without sleeves and had nowhere to hide any cards, “See, I’ll even put it all to the side so you know I’m not hiding anything. We good?” She wanted him to know she didn’t usually cheat. She just wanted to prove she could do something.

She had to think for a moment before answering, “Well, it’s not like I want to know everything in your head. I’m interested, but there are some things that you can keep to yourself. I’m not going to make you revel all of your secrets. I was thinking more along the lines of what kind of things do you wonder about or maybe things you dream about. Actually, that may still be too broad. How about just how you got your cat for now. I can’t imagine you brought him with you when you came here, so you must have gotten him recently.” That was what she assumed, at least. She could have been wrong, but it would make sense, at least. Besides, she had told him how she got her cats. Start a campfire and toast some yummy marshmallows because it was story time. She would stop and make a note to herself to make sure she wasn’t losing her mind. Where had she even come up with that analogy.

“Well, the only way to get a response in a language you understand is to talk to another living creature that speaks English… or Japanese and whatever your native language is. But you said you live alone, so I assume you’d have to find someone to talk to. Unless you understand cat.” She would look over at Yuki who was still curled up next to Sharaku, “They’re weird, but they listen. They are very compassionate towards their owners and they will try to help you. They can’t give you advice though.” She would laugh, “Well, I hope you weren’t looking at my hands. If you were looking, it would have been harder to pull off. Instead, I just move fast and play with sleight of hand.” That short time she had wanted to be a magician was paying off. Although, that isn’t why she learned in the first place. She would shrug when he asked if she used her talent often, “Depends. I don’t use it to cheat, except in special situations. I mostly learned how to do it because it seemed useful.” That was a long story in and of itself, “I admit I didn’t learn to do it for the most noble of reasons, but I’ve found it helps out nowadays. Mostly, I use it to get things done faster. Speedy hands make light work.” And it was the reason she could throw her boomerang so many times in a fight. If only it came back faster.