maskormenacelogs | Locked in a room with your memory far

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Locked in a room with your memory far

WHO: Nagachika Hideyoshi and Annie
WHERE: Around Nonah
WHEN: Tuesday around noon
WHAT: A date that Annie doesn't realise is a date.
WARNINGS: Blood, maybe. Someone's getting punched eventually.

Enter your cut contents here.

Just as promised, Hide's pretty on the ball with showing up on time. Maybe it was because he can now run at a speed that's uncomfortably fast; but it's more likely that he doesn't want to be late for the first date he actually successfully managed to get in his life.

Even if the other party might not have taken the invite quite as seriously as a certain rabbit-boy did.

He'll take a minute outside to make sure he didn't catch a part of his clothes on fire--trust when he says he's done this before--before he knocks on her door. He hoped she was inside and didn't stand him up--it was his first 'date', okay, he had fears--and waits for her to answer.

...

Wait, shit, weren't people supposed to bring gifts to first dates or something.

Or was it second dates...

Said thoughts are going to cloud him up a bit by the time she answers the door, so don't mind the weird face he might be making at that point. When she does answer, though, said strange expression will be replaced with that infectious-or-irritatingly bright smile, and a wave of his right hand.

"Aaaaaannie-chan! Good morning! Are you ready to go?" Not that he's rushing or anything--

Oh my god calm down.

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"Ah?" She looks over to him, sitting back and dragging her waterglass closer. "No, not really. Not if you mean spicy like hot?" Even spices in general could wreak havoc on her digestive tract. Part of what had made her introduction to spices slow and steady is the unpleasant reactions she had earlier on by accident.

She shrugs her shoulders, planting her elbows on the table. "Which shouldn't stop you if you like spice. What I can't handle is my own problem to deal with. For your other question... water's fine. Tea might be nice after."

She quirks up her eyebrows, looking to him for confirmation. That so much food can be had in one place is still a novelty, but she does enjoy the relative freedom to linger over a meal. Tea seems like a decent way to do that... extra bonus that neither of them would have to handle dishes here.

"Yeah, that's what I mean. But honestly, spice isn't my biggest favourite. If I'm to be honest, my favourite flavour is sweet stuff.

Like honey, or cream coffee, things like that, yanno?" he flashes her a smile as the waitress comes back with their drinks, two glasses of water with a little lemon stuck at the top, for garnish. Of course, Hide's quick to push the lemon into the water itself.

"Do you have a favourite flavour? Or anything like that." Look at all these pushy, invasive questions he's asking. Are you suspicious, still?

She is... his game at throwing her off is strong. He gets a beat too long of a contemplative look before she breathes out, giving a small, definitive shake of her head. "Not really. I avoid things that are too sweet... if I'm not careful, they make me sick."

She traces the top of her water glass with one finger, briefly looking across the restaurant. The decor, the scant paintings hung on the walls, all are little details that registered when she came in. She's bringing them into sharper detail now.

"I've been told I'm boring before. Boring flavors are probably the ones I enjoy." There's a joke underneath all those words, but she doesn't pursue the joke all that far.

Don't worry about not pursuing jokes--Hide is quick enough for the both of them.

"Hey, boring flavours have their merits too! If not, they wouldn't exist, right? They'd have been eeked out of existence just like all other horrible things."

He flashes a smile. "You know. Like how you can only get Haggis in Scotland--because who the heck else would wanna' eat something like--"

And that's when the waitress lady comes back with their assortment of sliced meat and chopped vegetables, as well as a few small bowls of sauce to be used on the barbecue table itself.

"...Something like this, on the other hand, should exist everywhere. So. Do you wanna' try first?" The gentlemanly thing to do, after all.

"It's just tossed on that?" She indicates the grill, taking out the vegetables first, then one slice of the meat. Annie has no idea what he means about Haggis. Food is only picky to her for being preservative laden. Past that, edible was edible.

Her younger years had not been plentiful ones.

The sizzling and scent that rose from the small grill was enticing enough she breathes in deep, exhaling nice and slow. "Boring lets you see the exciting all the more clearly, I guess."

She opts not to touch the sauces. It's usually the better course of action for her.

The first time Hide had read about Haggis, he was almost sick. He was glad Annie didn't ask--he didn't want to ruin her dinner over exotic(weird) European dishes. A nod of his head, and he watches as she puts the first few bits of food on the grill. After she's had first choice, he's going to do the same. With a bit more meat, of course, and he'll actually use one of the sauce bowls. It added to the sizzling sound, as well as the smell curling up from the grill.

"You know, that's exactly it. They say monotony is a mind-killer, but yanno. Monotony sure can make you appreciate the not-so-mundane a little more."

He flashes a wide grin at his date.

"Kind'a like cooking your own food at a restaurant for a change."

She eyes him, then finally gives a slight shake of her head and pulls the vegetables back off the grill onto her plate with a soft snort. This isn't how she expected and information grilling session to go. There was a grill, but pressure for answers has been at a remarkable low.

"Cutting out having to do the slicing or clean-up is nice." Feels a little lazy, too, but not the kind of lazy she actually minds. (Sitting idle is closer to that kind of lazy.) "Contrast helps show us what it is we might not appreciate otherwise. There's enough of that around here as it is... even with all the fear in regards to what might happen in this war."

This war that is and isn't a war, at this point. Annie eats her vegetables slowly, enjoying the flavor of them grilled. It's not too much for her palate. That's something she can always appreciate.

"What do you think about that? The almost war we're asked to be a part of." Aside from Alaska, Russia has made no direct move she's aware of - only the indirect ones, such as the space shuttle sabotage, or dropping fliers over towns.

"... Or is that not good dinner conversation?"

He'll admit it, this definitely isn't run of the mill dinner conversation, especially when on a date. But learning about someone elses' thoughts and feelings was important too, wasn't it? Even if they were with 'current issues' of the world they were all working in and what have you.

Besides, it's not like Hide had a problem with serious conversation. Even if he came across as happy and carefree most of the time; it didn't mean he was vacant of any real thoughts on serious issues. "...Well. I don't like the idea of war. I never did. I don't like fighting or violence. Things can always be talked out if there's enough brains to be thrown around."

And that's his honest opinion.

"But I also get that this sort of working out issues is and can be impossible for a lot of people. 'specially large scale. So if fighting is the only way to handle things, then. I'll fight too, so long as it's to protect people." He will not, nor ever, fight just to end the lives of people who haven't done anything wrong.

He doesn't directly address her last question, just continuing. Taking a moment, first, of course, to take the first bite of his food. Maybe a little bigger than he should have, he might smear a bit of sauce on his face. Don't look, he's cleaning it up already.

"We're all here without much warning or reason, though. Even if I've started to adjust to that, fact is: we've all been kidnapped, in a way. And I don't really agree with that. To fight for a cause is to believe in it. Being taken from our homes and THEN asked if we wanna' fight..."

He shakes his head.

"Mm." Those are the lines her own thoughts flirt with. She eats as she thinks, falling into more quiet, usual patterns for herself. Those who are inclined to protect people will protect people. Those who are not, will not.

Annie is inclined to protect herself, Reiner, Rex... and a few others by now. But enough to lay down her life? It's hard for her to say. She doesn't think it goes both ways, so wouldn't that be a "no?"

When she's here, what is she fighting for? Not on behalf of the United States of America. "They've slacked in calling us in to act on their behalf. Among those of us who are Registered, at least." There is worse that could be demanded. She keeps waiting for when they'll hit that point, and wonders what happens then.

"Kind of strange, isn't it. Asking us to help and then slacking off on actually having us do the job they asked of us?"

He waggles his chopsticks a little as he re-loads the grill for a second helping. Cooking small amounts at once, so it's fresh and warm every time. "I can deal with it. My job here is actually the same one I had back home, so it's more or less just a change of setting." A pause.

"Oh, and you know. The fact added that I can run faster than a train, too. That's always helpful." A laugh, a bright, wide grin.

"Makes it a bit easier to just live our lives for ourselves, don't it?"

She rests her chopsticks on the side of her plate, letting her hand tip his way. is it easier? She doesn't know. Annie cannot fathom what it really means to live for ones own self, and in a way, she wonders if that's not what he's sussing out. What a monster does when not being monstrous.

She'd love to know. Maybe he has better answers.

"I don't know. I don't understand what it means, to 'just live our lives for ourselves.' How do you do that?" She lays another few of the vegetables on the small grill, expression softer than usual. "How do you learn to do such a thing? What separates living from surviving? What defines 'for yourself' when most of us are selfish as it is?"

Man, this was some serious talk for a casual date. But you know, he wasn't about to say that the conversation wasn't 'usual date chat', because hell. How did he know? This was his first actual date with a girl; so. Maybe this was normal.

And to leave her without an answer would be rude, wouldn't it? So he gets a thoughtful look on his face as he crunches a bit of baby corn between his teeth, flipping over a strip of pork on the grill before he nods.

"I don't know if there's any real specific differences between living and surviving. I mean. Most of us just take the day-to-day without any real thought to it. But. I think; personally for me. The difference between 'living' and just 'being alive' is in how much you actually enjoy living.

I mean, there are a lot of people who live but don't enjoy it. Each day is just another day to wake up, eat, go to a job or something that you hate, rinse repeat. That's what surviving is. Just living because you have to. But...

To live for yourself is to have something to do. A reason to greet the day with a smile, people to care about and a goal to work towards. Even if it's just something small and stupid like going on a date with a pretty girl, or to go shopping for that one comic book you've been waiting to read.

...Does that make sense?"

Does it make sense? Yes, and no, just like his examples at the end make her squint. She shouldn't read too much into it. (In fact, she really should.)

"If it's a goal you care about, then yes... I suppose." Goals aren't things that give people life inherently. She's had one all her remembered life. It never made her feel inclined to live, or all that alive, or much of anything notable. It simply was. "Though I'm not sure taking pretty girls on dates will do much for improving my outlook on that."

Her lips almost pull up into a sly smile, self amused at her lacking display of wit. Oh... she tries.

And she fails, but she tries.

(In fact you REALLY should. It's so obvious to him, but hilariously not to you.)

He can't help but to grin, anyway, a hand moving over his mouth to make sure he's not giving her a nice view of a mouthful of food he has at current. See, still a gentleman! "Well, if that's not your thing!" Of course you wouldn't take pretty girls out on dates, you already ARE a pretty girl yourself.

He sees that smile there, and honestly, it's his personal confirmation that she's enjoying the date she's currently on.

Oh ye of ignorance.

"Those were just examples, anyway. There are things you like to do, I'm sure. It's just a matter of finding real enjoyment in them. Like... walking your dog, maybe!" Yeah!

For shame, what if she really wanted to embrace her nascent bisexuality? Embrace all possibilities, Nagachika! She is enjoying herself... in that sense that she's no longer so on edge. With Annie, enjoyment comes in degrees. She finds his company acceptable, even while she still wonders at his end goal.

She shakes her head, choosing to eat one of the vegetables offered raw. It's after she's swallowed it down that she comments: "I'm not Will Graham." Flannel, doggies, and complicated histories with law enforcement careers?

She only has a little of all three. (Rex, it turns out, counts as "only a little.")

"I think I'd enjoy finishing this meal." Walking the dog is a necessity, not a hobby. Being lazy on that front only makes her life more difficult, and leaves everyone unhappy! "Eating counts as a hobby, doesn't it?"

WELL if she wanted to go on dates with beautiful women he would not even step in a single foot to stop her. Even while this date is going pretty swell in his head, the end goal being one that she would never guess.

He flashes a bit of a grin as she admits to not being that ... guy that Kaneki knows. "I'd hope not. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I wouldn't bring a stranger out for dinner." He still doesn't say the 'date' word, and maybe that's his own fault.

He nods his head, none the less, finishing his last few pieces of meat. It wouldn't be long before it was fully gone, and the lady would come by with the bill. He'd be paying, too.

"You're right, it is. There are people who dedicate their lives to eating and cooking. It's kind'a weird, but. Everyone has something."

What if she wants to go on dates with attractive men and women at the same time?

"Or lunch." A lunch that's quickly over, though Annie doesn't catch when the waitress first drops off the check. She's too busy pulling out her wallet - giving him the time to pay for it and have it gone again while she's sitting there, opening her mouth, holding on to the paper they call bills. "... Look, I'm not that poor." And he sure hasn't gotten decent information out of her yet, so what, was this a bribe? Worst bribe ever... since he hasn't gotten anything out of it!

She stands, shoving her wallet back in her pocket for a lack of anything else to do with it, giving him an odd look. "... Thanks."

If you're into polygamy, man, all the power to you. He'll be confused but you live your life, girl.

He waves his hand at her when she seems to get upset that he paid before she had the chance. "I'm the one who invited you out. So it's my treat, of course." that's how dates worked, Annie, sheesh. Get with the program.

You said yes, so that means he paid for things. Have you never been on a date before? He offers nothing but a grin in response, looking all too pleased that she said 'thank you' after all. "No problem, of course. So, shall we get going? I can walk you home if you'd like."

Sweeps everyone into her polygamous arms... her giant, polygamous arms...

As a matter of fact, she's been on one date, and she was the one who paid for everything. So no, she really doesn't see the pattern here - it's not a pattern she's dealt with. She doesn't object to him walking with her, but it's not like she says outright "feel free to do as you will." Annie makes an indeterminate humming noise, brushing her bangs back off her face and starting to walk.

If she doesn't say no, is it a yes?

It wasn't a no. And therefore, he's taking it as a yes. This is just how it's going to go. He fixes the collar of his coat, waving goodbye to the front of house before following after her, hands sidled into his pockets.

So far, so good. He'd call this a pretty successful for his first actual date with a girl. And he couldn't wait to tell Kaneki later.

"So, do you live far off from here? Not that I mind walking the full way." Superspeed, after all--he could run home if he was worried about time.

"Government housing. Closer to the train station, they keep things all just about in reach." Not anything she minds for the most part. She's being observed. How is that different from normal?

She still doesn't get what this was about. Talk about a terrible information gleaning session... unless in all that ambling discussion, she'd passed measure. For what? Being able to be friends?

"You don't need to walk me back if you've got other things to do." If he does, she'll catch one of the trains that brings them right by the government housing. They're half a block from the train station in this part of town as it is.

[Continued Here]

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