Roadkill? Nah, This Time It's Sushi! (Tomomi/ Nadia)

The weather was the same as it had been about 10 minutes ago, when Tomomi had separated from Nadia to go put his stuff away. Not wanting to leave her waiting, Tomomi found himself running his way back to the sushi shop after having disposed of the rubbish and his old gloves, and returning the tools to the nearest post.

There, he opened the doors to the sushi place, looking around to spot wherever Nadia was sat, quickly sneaking into the bathroom first to wash his hands from whatever germs he picked up when stroking a corpse. It was... Still difficult to think about how naïve he was to pet the corpse thinking it was alive. Especially with the state it was in...

The boy shuddered, and then as he finished washing his hands thoroughly, he returned to where Nadia was with a smile and wave, now no longer with the safety equipment on. "Hiya!"

The Platter of sample sushi had just arrived when Tomomi came in. Nadia waved him over. "Perfect timing." She announced. She had set her sketchbook on the table beside her, flipped open to some fresh drawings of the interesting dishes displayed in a nearby display case. The atmosphere and the smell of the food was doing wonders to get rid of the putrid odor that still stained the inside of her nostrils. It was something she was used to by now, but she was glad it was dissipating.

"The waitress will be coming back soon for drinks - I didn't know what you wanted." She replied. "But they had this nice sample platter, I thought it couldn't hurt, since I haven't been to this particular restraunt before." She offered in explanation of the sushi that was already on the table for them.

As Nadia waved Tomomi over, he said his piece, and sat down with a grin, looking down to the platter of sushi in front of them and tilting his head as he listened. "Ah, okay, yeah, um, that makes sense." The boy answered, rubbing at the back of his neck with a light laugh. "So um... Did you call dibs on any of the sushi? Like, um, any fish you have a preference for or something that looks appetising for you on this, so, that I don't uh, you know, accidentally take one that you had wanted? Because um, I like most sushi, so, if you take what you like first, then I can um, you know, pick from what remains."

Coughing, Tomomi quickly added. "And uh, hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Nadia smiled as Tomomi did his best to make sure she got whatever she wanted from the platter. She elicited a small laugh and propped her chin on her hands. He had a way of monologing like Cecil did, but his words were more geared toward making sure everyone was taken care of. Or atleast, that was Nadia's initial perception. "I like basically everything. I'm not particularly picky." she pointed out with a giggle.

"Relax. It's my treat, okay? So you help yourself and I'll help myself and if there's anything we want more of, we can order it separately." She shrugged. "And no, you didn't keep me waiting. I hardly noticed the passing of time." She replied truthfully. She often lost track of time in her thinking and drawing.

At Nadia's reply, Tomomi nodded, before looking over to the sketchbook that Nadia had been drawing in. So, it wasn't just corpses. Unless she counted sushi as a corpse? Actually, now that Tomomi thought about it... Did sushi count as a corpse? Was a corpse something that was dead, or something that was dead and still in the state it died? That was a philosophical question that he would never answer as he turned to face the platter of sushi before him.

"In that case... Um... I hope you don't mind if I grab the Ahi Temaki would you? I haven't had any in... Wow I think... Maybe something like... Six years? A-anything other than that, help yourself, but, that's a personal favourite of mine..." At this, Tomomi picked up a pair of chopsticks, waiting for any sign of affirmation or contradiction. At any lack of disagreements with this, Tomomi carefully and delicately picked up the ahi temaki, placing it in front of him with the most innocent grin upon his face, like a child opening Christmas presents.

"That's fine." Nadia replied with a small smile before picking out a couple for herself. She didn't have any particular rhyme or reason, just grabbed whatever struck her immediate fancy. It was one of the reasons she liked these kinds of mixed platters.

After in between shushi, she asked him easily, "How did you end up picking up trash? It's an interesting job to have, I'm sure, but not something most would go looking for, I think." She asked, before slipping one of the rolled bites into her mouth.

As Tomomi began eating the piece of sushi, Nadia posed a question, Tomomi pausing for a moment with the sushi in his mouth, just kind of staring for a moment, before swallowing and putting a finger to his chin in thought. "Um... Yeah interesting... Um... A-as for how I ended up picking trash, it's a... Um... B-bit of a long story. I've been working there since I was... Eleven? Twelve? I kind of can't remember... B-but, um, basically, I ended up it because it was an easy job to get into I guess? There's nothing really about it that drew me to it, although I've stuck around because um, I at least have relative job security in that, well, um, nobody else wants to do it? I was just in, um... Desperate need of a job, so, um... Yeah... That's to um... Cut a long story short..."

Shaking his head, Tomomi coughed a bit, looking around. Still no sign of the waiter or waitress. "A-anyways, um... So, what do you do for a job? I-if you have one, since, I know not everyone has a job a-and all... O-oh, and, um, if it's not personal!"

"I see!"Nadia wasn't particularly expecting a profound epic tale, but now she was curious why he had to start working so young. She wasn't much different, really, but she had reasons that weren't very good table conversation. Not that she knew what made good table conversation in the first place.

Their waitress came by to take Tomomi's order for drink, as well as any additional order they wanted to make now that they were both here. Nadia shook her head, content with the platter at hand for now.

When the lady had left, Nadia addressed Tomomi's question. "I live and work at the Inn in Sunlake Palms, and Some days I work down at the ranch as well. It's peaceful. I've been thinking lately I should find a more stable situation though. Life is Aaaalways changing, afterall." she giggled a little, taking a sip of her tea.

At the waitress taking Tomomi's order, which was just for some water, Tomomi took a bit more sushi, listening patiently at Nadia's story and explanation. So, she had two jobs? And she lived at an inn? Was that like, just constantly renting a room, or, did she actually live there? That was a story Tomomi was super curious about, but, manners were also a thing, so, that could be asked another time.

What came as a big surprise though was that she wanted to find a more stable situation. Was... Was that not stable? After all, she had said it was peaceful, and if she could work at two jobs, then it was good, right? Eh, that didn't matter. Another curiosity thing that would far too invasive to ask.

So, instead, Tomomi nodded along with a bit of a giggle of his own. "Yeah, I can definitely understand that. It's like... Um... What's the word... Woah? One minute you're doing one thing, and then, um... Something different? I guess? Um..."

Thankfully for the poor boy, before he could embarrass himself further, the waitress came back, handing the boy his water, Tomomi bowing his head slightly. "T-thank you very much." He declared, before finally eating that sushi he had just been kind of holding in his chopsticks. "So um... How did you find out about this place again?"

Nadia giggled a little bit at Tomomi's slightly awkward response. "yes, it can be overwhelming." she confided. Especially now that she was a PT, and had to figure out how to do all the things she normally did and go out at night.

"I like to walk around town when I can. See new things, old things, whatever there is to see, really
I find places that interest me along the way, as you might expect." Nadia replied in explanation, a slender finger tracing the rim of her glass while she at another piece of shushi from the platter. "I meet all different kinds of people that way." she smiled. "Like you and Cecil."

Tomomi nodded and listened, sipping some water while Nadia spoke. Walking around and seeing things makes sense. At her explanation that she did it to see new things and meet new people, Tomomi gave a light giggle before setting his glass back down. "Yeah, I could imagine that. A-although um... Pretty sure you met me because you knew to look for me?"

At this, Tomomi shrugged, grabbing another piece before continuing. "And about Cecil... I-I still find it weird that you and Cecil actually... Well... Built a pillow fort together. I-it took... A long time before he'd open up to do anything with me, and I just... Can't quite imagine him being willing to do something like that. D-don't get me wrong though! I-it's really nice!" Tomomi gave a wry smile, eyes seeming distant, before the boy shook his head, and continued eating sushi.

A small flush colored Nadia's face as she remembered the night not so long ago. It was a good and bad feeling, mingled with all her concerns and doubts over their situation...their friendship, if one could call whatever they had friendship. Was it something more? Something less? She couldn't quite tell. But despite her vague feelings, she was excited to find out.

"It was nice, and my fault. We got cornered by that Coffin Cadet and told to stay off the streets...and decided he probably shouldn't go out again after walking me home...Well, he seemed so awkward about sharing my room. Not that I mind either way. A room is just four walls and a roof but...I wanted to try something I'd never done before. There's many things I never got to do in my childhood. And Cecil...seems the same. So instead of seeing him curl up into his shell, I decided to make it a game to pass the time. Neither of us ever had the chance to make a pillow fort with a friend before." she sipped her tea, sushi forgotten.

"It was a good first for both of us. Even if I did ruin it near the end." she remarked fondly.

Coffin cadet? Tomomi'd never heard of them before, but from the sounds of it, they were someone on patrol. Then Cecil and Nadia went back to Nadia's place, and that seemed to make sense. Still, to hear that Cecil was so happy and got to do something he'd never been able to do before was a bitter sweet thing to hear, a sad smile crossing Tomomi's lips as he took some more water just to hide it. Then, swallowing the water, Tomomi also swallowed the expression, before tilting his head once more and deciding to try and force the thoughts out of his mind as he decided to bring up a thing she mentioned mildly.

"Um... C-coffin cadet? I've um... Never heard of a coffin cadet before... D-do you mean like a zombie? C-cadets have zombies?"

Luckily for Tomomi, he had picked a topic which was fascinating enough to keep her off the topic of that delightfully complex smile he'd just made. The coffin. Yes...what could possibly be inside it, she wondered.

"There are rumors about her. A Cadet that carries around a Coffin. I don't know her name yet, but I intend to find out. She says It's a tool for work, but what could possible be inside it? I wonder if it is a Zombie! Maybe she fights Terrorists with the reanimated bodies of fallen Terrorists! How scary!" despite professing it to be "scary" Nadia had an intrigued, excited smile on her face.

"I'm going to track her down at school, Monday and find out, I've decided. Yes...I want to know..." she looked out the window, dark eyes scheming.

Tomomi's eyes went wide at Nadia's description, the boy almost spitting his drink out at the description. She sounded absolutely terrifying if she was so scary she took a coffin everywhere she went for her job. Then as Nadia declared she'd start trying to track her down, Tomomi found himself coughing unexpectedly, smacking at his chest to regain his composure before speaking up. "U-um... I-if she's a scary cadet, won't she be... Um... Dangerous to look into? I mean... Wh-what if that coffin is for anyone, not just terrorists? I-I mean, that'd be terrifying! A-and I mean, wouldn't she also consider it a dangerous thing if you went looking for her? A-after all, C-cadets are kind of busy and are on edge dealing with the threats and s-stuff right?" Tomomi sputtered out his concerns, waving his arms frantically in emphasis.