Stroll In the Park (Private)

[yuri]

Meiko Jenoiu

Genetics play a huge part of who we are, but we must believe in free will.

feat.:Cali

notes: Outfit, Juno is a about a year old Husky
freewill

Her hand moved through the soft fur on the young dog that was sitting down in front of her. looking at her with those big blue trusting eyes. But things were just turning in her head more then she was really looking at Juno. Was this a good idea? She hadn’t seen him since she was, what? Thirteen? Not that Meiko really remember what he was like back then, most of her life had been spent quieter than a mouse and hiding from Valshe. She was far from the same girl she had been back then even though outwardly she couldn’t show it. It wasn’t the idea her ‘Family’ expected of their perfect little adopted daughter.

Meiko scratched Juno ears as she tilted her head to one side, still lost in her thoughts. Couldn’t act like she wanted because it wasn’t proper. Seen not heard, that’s what wellbred girls were, and they should sit in corners and gossip about birds or whatever that out dated logic dictated. But she wasn’t out here to talk to someone of her own family, she didn’t have to pretend to still be that girl or should she?

Would that be what Julius would prefer his wife to act?

Sitting up in the bench she had been leaning over in to pet her dog. Meiko ran her free hand through her shoulder length red hair. It was better to get this over with, right? Meet up again, talk, she was engaged to the man still, even if the arrangement had been made when she was nine. And then she didn’t really understand what the “grown ups” were talking about. After receiving the note, letter, whatever you call it, Meiko had been racking her brain about how he was back then. She remember very few things. Heck her life had been turned upside down so much back then...


It was a shame to the person she had become now. She was so much better at those things now then she could have ever been then. Her dog whined at her as he stood up, growing bored with sitting when he wanted to be walking around the park. What could be worse? He decided he didn’t like her at all and calling off the engagement?



That would be worse... Very, very, very much worse.


She needed this, it was the only way to be free.


“ What am I going to do...” At least if it got extremely awkward she had her escape goat right?

Made by Sifr @ THQ.

[Cali]

{

}

Some people, especially those who would gladly accept the term rogue, tended to believe that the aristocratic families of the unit world lived in the lap of luxury. And they were correct, if perhaps only up to a point. Yes, Julius Nakamura had been given life on a silver platter; he'd had everything he could ever ask for materialistically. And what had it gotten him? An assassinated father, an anger problem, and an arranged marriage.

Technically, the Nakamuras were an upsell for the Jenoiu family. Meiko wasn't their heir, Valshe was. Yet here they were, combining their lines and getting their foot in the door with one of their world's most far-reaching families. A trade-off of sorts: the second child and the connection to Japan's leading hospital in exchange for the connection to the National Bank, the underground, and Kibo's lively downtown scene. Not to mention his last name. But the Jenoius knew very well that the Nakamura "business" was not a joint affair - just as his mother had been the sole family head when her husband had been alive, Julius would be the sole family head despite the existence of his wife.

His wife. The thought bubbled forth the need to swallow thickly. Thankfully, she was still simply his fiancee. In all honesty, Meiko Jenoiu had been in the furthest areas of his mind for a few years now. No news reports had ever made, nor had any word circulated in the underground, but everyone was more than aware that her family had sent the young girl away to Italy's Seven Moons academy. It was akin to throwing a calf into a wolves' den. She would either fight to kill, or she herself would die. Remembering the meek, rather uninteresting child he had met when he was eight, Julius figured she had died.

When he received the message that the young woman had indeed returned to Japan, he had been just slightly surprised.

Of course, now that he knew she was back, it would be terribly rude of him to not reach out. And so he did. The date was set up to meet in Kibo's park: a safe, public place during the day, in order to assure Meiko's safety. The fact that they didn't have an escort was almost amazing; the aristocracy's morals were so medieval.

So there he was, strolling along a cement path and doing his very best to avoid all of the dogs (and their owners) whom he passed. He was looking for someone whom he hadn't seen in, what, six years or so? All he truly remembered of Meiko were were her red-brown ears and her short hair. Hopefully she had kept the same haircut, or this would be more effort than it was worth. And the dogs honestly weren't helping.

Catching a glimpse of red glinting in the sunlight, Julius curled the ends up his lips upward. She had indeed kept the same haircut, although it had been silly of him to assume that he wouldn't immediately recognize her. Only aristocratic children would sit that rigidly even in such a casual setting. It had been ingrained into their minds and bodies. He stepped around the bench upon which she sat, offering a charming smile before bowing. So she, too, had a mutt. Fun. "Jenoiu-san. Welcome back to Japan; I hope your trip treated you well."

| yuri | His Outfit

ulla

[yuri]

Meiko Jenoiu

Genetics play a huge part of who we are, but we must believe in free will.

feat.:Cali

notes: JUNO WILL TRY TO BE CUTE AND GET NOTHING FROM JULIUS,
tRIP WAS GREAT, MINUS YOU KNOW THE FIGTHING DEATH// GREAT TRIP/ PSST

You spend a bunch of time worrying about something, pulling at your nails thinking you will forget everything if you don’t try to hold on to it. She thought she had spent a lot of time since she had come back trying to catch up. Remeeting Ayane Umizo [who seem to know far more instantly that the ‘young daughter’ of the Jeniou head family had return sooner than she had her feet back in Japan] was like meeting a person she had honestly never met before. Now that she was sitting in the bench, looking up at the rather tall young man in front of her, it was like the same day sa vo all over again. Of course, she knew this person, after all being forced to those overly fancy get togethers to show who is richer or more powerful, rudding egos. But she had spent so much time trying to get away from Valshe, to not be seen.

That she knew about as much as his name.


But she knew he had black ears once.

That was something they had in common... Hopefully his experience was far more......pleasurable then her own.

Juno whine as he was sitting down in front of the newcomer brought her back. His tail wagging back and form as he tried to skooch closer to Juluis but his leash wouldn’t let him. Something she had been forcefully teaching him, you sit and wait for someone to give you attention. Meiko found herself quickly back on to her own feet, given the proper bow that a young woman should. But with head trying to make herself appear smaller. Fragial.


If that was anything, she would at least show she had a back bone.

But his words? A pleasent experience?

Did he not know where her so called Father had ship her off to the last five years?


“As it could be I guess, Nakamura-san” Standing up right from her bow, she snapped her fingers to call Juno back away from Julius. If there was something she was good at doing. It is a bit hard getting use to being back home


Whatever she could call home anyways.

Made by

[Cali]

{

}

Dogs.

Oh god, Julius didn't care for dogs at all. Not even one bit. He already had one drooling, jumpy, hairy child to take care of. Kyler Daniels. He really didn't care for another one. Would this dog be moving in with them after the wedding? Would it be alive by that time? He sincerely hoped not. And when Meiko stood, her mutt bounded up alongside her. It had already been whining and scuttling forward, large blue eyes watery, nose bumping upward in a vain attempt to earn a rub.

Julius openly ignored it.

For a woman who had grown up in Italy, fighting for her life and eliminating her threats in the process, Meiko's act of meekness was utterly unattractive. Why should she have to hide her strength - for the facade of being a "proper woman"? One could just as easily be both proper and possess great strength. Or, perhaps, was she acting this way in order to appease him? Poor girl... nothing could make him desire her. It wasn't that she was unattractive or unintelligent, for Julius knew she was both. Meiko was quite fair, physically, what with her large eyes and sleek hair, not to mention she had a lovely shape. And her education was bar none; her family had no doubt made sure of that. Still, it seemed as though fate had dealt her an awful hand in terms of love. Julius noticed her ears were gone... They had been atop her head when she had departed the country. Although he knew the story would be otherwise, he still found himself hoping that her experiences had been positive.

Upon her calling the mutt back to her side, Julius motioned for them to be seated. The bench was warm with sun, and he could see the dog eyeing him again hopefully. Small talk was always awful; there was no point in it. Honestly, there were no words to be found for Meiko Jenoiu at all. What was he supposed to say, "I'm sorry your adoptive father shipped you off to fight for your life in a place worse than hell?" He could hardly imagine what awful response she would have to that. So instead, he offered a simple "I am glad to see you doing so well. You seem to be adjusting to home rather nicely. At least, from the few seconds that I've seen." Offering the woman a wry smile, Julius finally turned to the dog. "May I?" he asked, feigning interest in her pet. Even if he had been interested, he would never simply reach out before asking permission.

| yuri |

ulla

[yuri]

Meiko Jenoiu

Genetics play a huge part of who we are, but we must believe in free will.

feat.:Cali
Meiko Jenoiu

notes:happy bday!    

“ Of course, Juno... His name I mean.” She stumbled a bit over the formality pet owner's hand when telling someone their pet's name as she sat back down on the bench. She had never had a pet prior to this one. Before, there had been no need nor was she allowed, as she was certain Valshe would have probably killed it in spite, and well, ‘pets’ were not the same thing at the Septimal Moons in Italy. The smile she had been so good at keeping on her face wavered a bit as he mention she seem to be doing well adjusting to home.


Home was someplace one was welcomed and felt safe.


She hadn’t felt welcome a single moment she had step off the plane, Valshe had made sure of that. And safe?


Safe was only because she went and got herself a dog, something that could be made loyal.

“I guess I am still adjusting... ” She turned away from him as he petted the wiggling Juno who was happy someone was finally paying attention to him besides her. The fresh memories of what is was like coming back home. The awkward feeling of not belonging, her adoptive brother’s unwelcoming welcome.... The dispute.


Her reminding Valshe what it meant to be a fighter. The rather UNhappy elders about their first and only Blank learning how to be a sacrifice piece as well as a fighter. Valshe fury at being temporarily bound. Being removed from the main house, having to find a place to stay rather quickly before the effects of making a temporary bond took effect on her.

That was the last thing she needed anyone knowing about

“A dispute has left with me being kindly ask to not live at the Estate. I am living near here in a townhouse until well....” She gestured between them as if she wasn’t sure if she would be making an accurate statement. “Its why I got Juno, a young girl should be by herself, right? “She had none to watch her back here, and after spending a week lying in an empty town house in absolute agony from creating and then breaking a temporary bound. It was a comfort she needed badly again, if only for something normal.

Even if it wasn’t really normal. She has a fighter, she could ideally take care of herself from any “normal” attacker.

She let out a light laugh before looking at him with a small smile.

" Our families have done a great job at making this awkward for the both of us. Thank you, though, for reaching out to see me."

[Cali]

{

}

Blue eyes narrowed a fraction of an inch as Meiko carefully picked her words, and as she carefully didn't choose some others. "Until our marriage, yes..." How silly, to avoid the word altogether. He pet her dog (Juno. Cute.) with his left hand, which positioned his body in such a way to exude the facade of rapt attention. Yes, Julius was listening to Meiko's every word. But his mind was split in at least a hundred different directions. This was nothing unusual for the Nakamura heir, really. The mixture of feeling around for other units in the area, of holding his red string in his vision so as to notice any minuscule wavers in its strength... of banking and finance, and a wedding that was approaching at what must have been the speed of light. Of the woman beside him, and her four legged guardian, and her little shit of a "brother".

"I am of the opinion that we should be able to discuss this union openly, Jenoiu-san." he admit with an ease that said he had given the matter much thought and had accepted it fully. "If we are to be man and wife, we should at least be comfortable around each other." a sly smile, like an inside joke for just the two of them, flitted onto Julius' thin lips. "Despite what our families have drilled into us."

The young woman had made a valid point: their respective families hadn't exactly kept them close throughout the years, now had they? Instead, they had been brought up very separately, in very different styles. It led to a suffocatingly awkward reunion. Looking down at Juno as his fingers slid through the dog's fur, Julius informed "I would have reached out to you whether or not my family dictated the action, and regardless of the engagement. Italy is... Well, the rumors speak for themselves. I am truly in awe of the poise with which you hold yourself after such an ordeal." His eyes flicked up from the dog's to the woman's, not blank, but also not as full of concern as a truly empathetic person's eyes would be. "Forgive me if I overstep my boundaries, but tell me, Jenoiu-san. Are you really alright?"

The question he had posed wasn't only regarding Italy, of course. He wouldn't ask about the "dispute" she'd had upon arriving to Japan, but he could put enough together to know that it was undeniably Valshe at fault. And if it had been bad enough to force Meiko to leave the premises, then it sounded as though it posed a threat either to her safety or to her personal health. Both of which were paramount if their families were to conjoin. Julius would place her under Nakamura protection if the need arose. All Meiko would have to do was ask.

| yuri |

ulla

[yuri]

❝

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

❞

She tried to control her facial reflex to his use of the words that she had danced around. The same smile just stay fixed on her face as she looked away to the wiggling dog finally getting some attention. The inward scream of relief knowing that it was still there, her own means of escape from the chains her family was known for. That the fate that was for all of her cousins would not be her own; even though she would only be trading one gilded cage for another. Someone would say it might not be worth in, but what could they know?



Live a life as part of a never ending experiment? At the end of a knife?



Or as a gilded bride to strength a name?



Lesser of two evils, if that was anyway to look at it. When one is born with a fancy spoon in your mouth, to an old tradition family like both of their where; one’s future depended on the worth you hold. By her family “tree” she was a long distant cousin from the head family, she was “adopted in”. Why? Because of what she was, a BLANK, and empty chess piece that could be bargained off to strength Jeniou name. So when her life was signed away at a young age, it had been something she had accepted, she would be married off, and claimed regardless of how she felt. At least it was something to hold onto in Italy, why she managed with great effort to remain unclaimed then. So when she had to come back here, if there was still the possibility that that life was still there, that escape; it could still be taking.



She was more valuable that way to them. She was the idea of what they wanted until she wasn’t a one anymore. Until she was like every other Jeniou, a fighter breed and claimed.



Or at least that would make Valshe happy. That card couldn’t be play against him again, not until his true other came around anyways.



Amber eyes turned back to the young man as he spoke, about glitter rumors, and caught herself before she could roll her eyes. Don’t roll your eyes, he doesn’t know half of it inward scull as she sat up straight again, not as stiff as she had been before since she was fighting off the irritation. Trying to keep it from appearing in her body language. She was suppose to be a “proper” young lady right now; frail and pretty not the dangerous monster she had been turned into. Not the masochist, not a killer, not the... breaker.. Not the unit leech. And even though she hadn’t mastered it without the pain, a somewhat universal BLANK. Meiko snapped her fingers a little harder than she meant to calling Juno back away from Julius with the silent hand motion to sit. Keeping that simple sweet smile on her lips as she looked at him.



Play the game, like the good well breed Jeniou you are.



“ I am adjusting still, getting use to the culture again” Meiko deflected the under meaning tone, the hidden question to answer she couldn’t give. Was she safe? No, but as long as she play the game like a good girl; she was safe from the knife. Kept her worth, that would keep her safe. “ Like using family names again. I gotten so use to calling people by their given name I’ve slipped up a few times... Speaking of which.... Meiko, Nakamura-kun, you can just call me Meiko. There is a crepe vendor near by, would you like to share one?”

to damn many ● Cali ● OMG new poster.. cuz i like this one...

PHARAOH LEAP.

[Cali]

{

}

He liked this girl - how she kept that insipid little smile on her face no matter how her body tensed or relaxed; how her fingers snapped with a harshness that startled the dog by their feet. She was seemingly the perfect example of a put-together aristocratic woman, able to hold herself together even when something offended or irritated her, and yet she also could command a lesser being with such ease... She would do well in his family. Julius straightened as Juno lay down beside Meiko. "I've irritated you, yes?" her polite smile couldn't hide her body language. "My apologies, I meant no offense." As he spoke the words, his lips tilted upward ever so slightly. She was very different than she had been in their childhoods, and it amused him greatly. Would she always be such a blank, empty-seeming woman? Or was there a personality in there somewhere - whether it be good or bad?

Even as he thought it, Meiko turned the tide. What a sweet gesture, to offer her first name sans honorific. One step closer to that suffocating thought that was marriage. Did she feel the same trepidation as him when she pondered the act? Was there a scorned lover on her side, just as bitter and angry as his own? Not that he could really call his fighter his lover... Did Meiko have a face that flit into her mind when she pictured their most opulent wedding ceremony - one that wasn't his own?

The entire ordeal should have felt just as numb to Julius as anything else in his life, and yet for some odd reason he felt... well, he didn't know exactly what it was he was feeling, but it wasn't a good type of thing. A dull ache of sorts.

"Very well, Meiko." he smiled warmly at her, pleased by how her name sounded coming from his lips, "But please reciprocate the favor. Julius is fine. I know our culture is quite different than more Western countries, so if I may assist in your 'adjusting' in any way, don't hesitate to let me know."

Her offer of sharing a crepe was a dilemma for a fraction of a second. Julius didn't care for crepes, really. They were too sweet, and he had yet to try one that didn't leave him feeling sticky. But his fiancee had asked, and it would be terribly rude to deny her of her request. So Julius took her hand gently and pressed his lips to it before standing. "If you so wish, I would love nothing more."

| yuri |

ulla

[yuri]

❝

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

❞

The hand kiss.


Was odd exchange, that of which she didn’t let the slip of confusion cross over her face for the brief moment. A throwback to old civilities; which should not be something so uncommon in families like theirs. So nose deep in old traditions it was amazing they all did have brown noses. Kept the simple smile on her lips as she let him help her up from the chair. They must have looked to be some cute couple to pass byers. She kept her hand rested on his elbow, as they made their way down the path away from the bench she has spent a rather longer time then she would admit waiting for him to arrive.


More then happy to finally be moving again, Juno tried his best to not behave himself after a few moments of walking jerked on his leash to try to be friends with another dog. Giving her a slight distraction to pull back on his gentle lead to pull him back. At a lost now again for small talk.


Small talk.


What was she suppose to talk to him about?


Be a bubble idiot and talk about their union?


Family stuff?


What, what?



“ I have heard your fighter, recently” Meiko said, stated, the odd unknown that she had to also deal with. The proposal of their union would have also dealt with her becoming claimed at some point. Offer the head of another family duel fighter’s. But time and trial had taught her the bad side of being a BLANK in an already complete unit while in Italy.


Would she have to tell him about that too?


The truth of it?


Or just play to what the “stories” are and nothing more.

● TAGGED ●

PHARAOH LEAP.

[Cali]

{

}

Ah, the public faces of Aristocratic families... It was what kept Meiko and himself so cutely close to each other as they walked. He was sort of surprised there weren't any visible cameras flashing, but then again, their union wasn't yet public knowledge, so he supposed this was rather normal. The aristocratic children had all "grown up" together in a sense, so their everyday meetings were no longer media fodder. Instead, they were slowly becoming business life. Bankers and Doctors and Fashion Designers and headmasters but that was just an inkling he had with no definitive proof. All of their bright, innocent faces were being twisted and melded into the dry, miserable adults their parents had been.


Sometimes Julius wondered what it would be like to watch the fall of the Aristocrats.


Was Meiko asking about Kyler? How amusing. If she knew how strongly his fighter disliked her, would she still attempt to use him as small talk? Ju was perfectly comfortable in silence, he didn't need to fill it with empty conversation. And yet, they were expected to actually get to know each other, considering they would make eternal vows and all that. "Yes, he appeared during our final year at Seven Moons." The vivid memory of Kyler's resistance and his own subsequent slamming of the blond's head against the bathroom wall tile played over in his mind. As fond a memory with his fighter as they came, honestly. "You may have heard of him in another sense, actually. My newly-appointed personal guard?"


The title was true, in a sense. Kyler had indeed been publicly appointed as Julius' personal "bodyguard". How else were they to explain his sudden and constant presence? It was tradition - one of many Kyler struggled to understand. Just like that of an arranged marriage. Julius figured that the belief that "love conquers all" was Kyler's way of rationalizing the fact that he and his sisters all had separate fathers. He couldn't seem to get it into the brain behind those pretty hazel eyes that aristocratic children - heirs specifically - lived by a wholly different set of rules and laws.


Was Meiko trying to hint at being claimed after their wedding?


God, that dilemma was an entirely different ball game. The political pros almost outweighed all other cons he could imagine. All except one, which in itself was a conglomerate of about a million other, lesser cons. If he were to claim Meiko, his own true fighter would quite possibly choose death over coexisting with the blank. Would Kyler insist upon a breaking of their bond? He was petty enough, and driven strongly enough by his heart over his mind.


The thought was filed away for pondering at a more private moment. They had ample time before he had to make that decision, and he could listen to each of the "fighters'" stances (not to mention his family's demands, ugh...) at later dates.

| yuri |

ulla

[yuri]

❝

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

❞

“ I had hope as much that was who the he was.” Meiko turned her head slightly to look at him, a little bit less of the normal forced smile that she had to keep replaced by more genuine one. The too many uncountable “unknowns” she had to deal with would always loom in front of her since she had returned to Japan. It was uncomfortable not knowing things, and what little information she could piece together without the familiar net work she had become apart of after her survival graduation was a struggle. There was a few souls she could reach out to here, that could give more reliable info at a cost Meiko had to weigh whether it was worth the expense.


But she could deal with the things she knew; it was better to confirm the existence of Julius’ fighter then deny his existence. At some point she would have to meet the other half of the man standing next to her.


Whether at some point he chose to claim her, wouldn’t matter in the short term. As a Jeniou she had the retrospect of having to command respect around other Fighters, because at the end of the day that was what was expected of her.



As an Italy BLANK graduated..... She’d been taught just to command respect for her position of being a unique BLANK, play nice with others or show them just what damage a Unit Leech could do. Knowing she had to contend with Julius’ fighter would have to be an evaluation made when she met him, for as a BLANK, all fighter most reactions were to view her as a possible threat to the single minded “two halves only make a whole” and there was no room for another.


But it wasn’t uncommon for Family Head’s to control more than one.


Wasn’t that the saying about the fallen Knatsu Family? Manipulation had been their Family Head tradition trade. She had only seen it's long since missing heir once... but never had spoken to him.


THe Umizo head Controlled the whole Fighter sub house.


But in the end it was his choice, even if her “Father” would declare it a requirement of the marriage to seal its more unbreaking bonds between the families.


So she could just drown in “family traditions” when it came to it.

“ The two of you met at the Academy? ” She let loose Juno leash a bit as he finally fell into being a good dog and walking next to her rather then pulling forward so that she could fold her other hand over his arm. “ That has the making of a far better memory than being introduced after your elders found him. Something I think I am glad a get to escape out... Unlike my sibling...”


She laughed then at that thought.

“ Though I can truthfully say I don’t think I want to be there when that happens. Are you attending college classes now?”

●Cali ● tactfully attempt at transferring from awkward small talk to "get to know you" talk >>

PHARAOH LEAP.

[Cali]

{

}

Her assumption make the tilt of his lips widen just a bit. A more pleasant memory than being formally acquainted in a businesslike setting? How exactly would Kyler have responded to something like that? If the Nakamuras held some sort of Fighter obedience training like, say, the Umizos... Broke them like green horses and flogged them into submission. Kyler was fiesty; seeing him broken of that would mean seeing a vital aspect of his personality be chiseled away. Julius was much more content with the fighter being as corybantic as he was.

Still... "Neither good nor better are words I would choose to describe our meeting, actually." Julius turned his eyes downward for a moment, glancing at the grass to the left of their cement pathway, before looking at Meiko herself. It was sort of... bellicose, honestly. Or truculent." He waved his free hand dismissively. "Regardless of our first encounter, his presence is now one I lean upon greatly." the open affirmation that he relied on Kyler was as much informative as it was a subtle threat to the blank at his side. Like feral dogs, fighters and blanks would sometimes make enemies of one another. Kyler had already decided this of Meiko, obviously. But Kyler was the namesake fighter, so it would be up to Meiko to not take offense or grow defensive in retaliation of Kyler's hostility. The day they met one another would be quite interesting.

"Meiko, did you not know my family has no elder council?" Her words intrigued him. Had she been so utterly enveloped in Italy that she had forgotten the basic family structures ingrained in them since childhood? Or was she possibly mixing his family's politics with another? "My mother, as head of our conglomerate, rules over every aspect of our family and businesses. Her word is golden law." As his would also someday be.

And as far as classes went... Her questions were beautifully casual, molded carefully before she asked them. He had yet to ask any in return (other than to inquire to her ignorance of aristocratic structure, but that wasn't exactly getting to know someone, now was it). "To answer your question regarding school, yes and no. I am not enrolled in our lovely college. I still have private tutors teaching me the aspects of finance, though I have already acquired preliminary degrees in both accounting and business." Hardly twenty-one and already holding two degrees - he was the shining beacon of the Nakamura family. Cramming eight years worth of schooling into his head, attending Seven Moons, and also shadowing his mother in preparation of his succession had left little time for much of anything else. He was glad to have at least graduated Seven Moons and slowed his education routine a bit. It left time for things like this, walking in the park with a woman he hardly knew and was about to marry, and her dog, a jumpy lump of shedding fur and saliva.

"Have you any plans now that you're back in Japan?" he asked, genuinely curious. What would Meiko do for herself now that she was out of the warzone that was Italy? Would she herself return to school, or pursue a career? Would she fall into the same divot that all aristocrats did and work within her family's sector? Julius found himself hoping she would do something else - something she would actually enjoy doing, and not simply what was expected of her.

Of course, that was as much a pipe dream as any.

| yuri |

ulla

[yuri]

❝

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.

❞

She puffed out her cheeks as her realized her error at his comment. Of all the things to get crossed, most of the Italian Families had the same bases unlike the Japanese that vary depending on the family. There, they were all ruled by an overhead system with the “head” being nothing more than a figurehead. Since she had spent several years there, it was something she had grown more accustomed too.


That and most of the Aristocratic families were all sacrifices.


Here, it was a mix, and so was the political system. Depending on the family, or what the family was made up of.



Before her adoption into the Head family, she didn’t learn any of it. That hadn’t necessarily been the plan for her life after all. If she hadn’t be discovered to be a BLANK it was unlikely she would ever have been standing here.

With Or without Julius presences.



And the years that followed her coming into the head family as their “daughter” wasn’t filled with much more. Valshe had seen to that, given that her “lack” of schooling was what ended with her being sent to Italy anyways.

Meiko stuck out her tongue before she sighed.


“ Seems I still am thinking of some place else. ” Of all things to get mixed up, but she didn’t really think about a refresher course in the Aristocratic system here since she had returned to. There wasn’t many family members she could actually trust for such a thing now. She a basics; who’s who; but Meiko wasn’t about to admit to the young man standing next to her that. Pediatric nurse..”


She didn’t even think that hard about her answer when he had asked. It was the choice after all, be useful to the Family partake it what made it great.

So the medical field was the only choice she could have.

Meiko shook her head at the thought . “ We were allotted time for other studies in the Academy. Though I probably know more field medicine, I think I’ve had my full of trauma. Crying children are far easier to deal with. ” About then it came to her she had lost that calm smile on her face, the one she was suppose to keep because that was the proper way of a young woman. “Look there’s the crepe shop.

● Cali ● Meiko think of sad things. Bad girl! Quick a distraction! >>

PHARAOH LEAP.

[Cali]

{

}

He watched the girl's reaction closely; how she puffed her cheeks out like an embarrassed child, stuck her tongue out as though she were mocking someone only she could see... It would be almost cute, were they not in danger of the ever present scrutinizing public eye. The "daughter" of the family who made so many medical strides for the world and the son of the entire financial system of the country, sticking their tongues out and rolling their eyes? Blasphemy.

"It was an honest mistake. I'm sure being away for so long - not to mention only having recently learned all of this before leaving - has blurred each family's details into one another." he offered Meiko a smile that he was positive his own fighter had never seen. It was as muted as he always was, but also sincere. It was an odd thing to do, and even more out of character to feel on his face. "If you ever have questions regarding the families and their separate politics, please don't hesitate to ask." Julius turned forward again to see where they were heading. "It's been ingrained into my very being at this point. I'm sure I could assist."

He wished he could say he was surprised at her immediate answer to his last question. Leave it to a Jenoiu to be face with free will and still choose medicine. Though Julius himself had no clue where (or who) he would be if he weren't playing the role of banking heir. Could he truly picture himself as anything else? No, not really... Even trying seemed silly. What would he be - a cop? Hardly. A criminal? ...More than likely. All of the aristocrats were crooks in their own right.

It didn't matter. He was who he was and that was the end of it.

"You would make a fantastic pediatric nurse." The words, like his previous facial expression, were unabashed truth. "There's a calming air about you. Ill children and parents alike would appreciate that." teasing her just a little, Julius glanced at Meiko from the corner of his eye and added "And the faces you make would surely bring laughter to an otherwise uncomfortable situation."

Choosing to skirt around the mention of Meiko's experience "on the field", and especially in dealing with trauma, Julius allowed himself to look toward the crepe vendor. It was a sort of pop-up looking stand, with quaint, folding metal tables and chairs peppered around. It wasn't the type of place he would usually visit, but he could easily picture Meiko frequenting the stand. It just... fit. And it must have been of fairly decent quality, considering there was a small queue waiting to order. He directed them to the end of the line and read over the list that stood above the vendor's head. Everything was sweet, which was exactly what Julius had expected and also didn't want. He waited silently for Meiko to decide what she would like (or perhaps what she normally got? He really did think she had been here multiple times before).

| yuri |

ulla