Waiting game - Takumi (open tag!)

[fryn]

"Yes, she makes it fresh every morning. I am very lucky," he replied. "I am bad at making sushi... It never looks tidy and seems to always collapse. There is a definite skill needed. Sadly," Takumi added with a wry shrug, "... it isn't one I possess!"

He went on to ask her to go exploring with him on Sunday and his face lit with pleasure when she said yes. "Sugoi! I am already looking forward to it!" he stated. "A picnic would be very nice," he continued. "You can decide where we stop to eat it." He was already planning a few areas they could visit. "If the weather is warm we could even go for a swim. I read that there is a secluded bay south of here and the water is very safe for swimming." No way would he suggest that unless he knew it to be safe as the undercurrents could easily take them both out to sea. But the beach was known to be a good place for swimming and so he had no worries on that score.

"There is also a second lighthouse... "Taki went on to tell Lia about the adventures he, Izzy, Thad and the others had faced a week or so ago. "It was great fun!" he told her. "I am not sure if the one at Point Vincente is haunted or not, though. Besides," he added a little regretfully, "... it will still be daytime when we are there and no real ghost hunt should take place unless its after nightfall!"

He reached for the chopsticks again. "What one would you like to try now? Do you like fish? That one has smoked salmon in it...."

[Lia Juarez]

Lia was getting very excited. "Oh I love to swim. I haven't been there before. This should be a lot of fun. I will bring snorkeling equipment for us too. A bay should be perfect for that. "You should be able to wear Saint's stuff. Have you ever snorkeled?" Lia was definitely an ocean baby. She was one of those kids that it had always been impossible to keep her out of the water.

Lia's face went through a rainbow of expressions as she listened to his Lighthouse story. "That's amazing, I wish I had been there. That poor woman waiting for her true love for eternity. I wish there was someway we could help her rest. But I am not sure how we could bring her lover to her even if we could find where he died," she said seriously. "Well we could do a preliminary search of the light house, maybe find out if there are any legends regarding it. I can check the internet anyway. Maybe we could do a camping trip up there one weekend."

Lia was distracted from ghosts and lighthouses by the offer of Salmon. "I LOVE salmon, it's one of my favorite things in the world, especially smoked. I love the way it just melts in your mouth."

[fryn]

"You do? That's great!" Takumi replied. "But I have never tried to snorkel." He paused. "That is the one where you have a tube to breath through, yes?" Lia nodded and Taki filed the word 'snorkel' away in the recesses of his brain... Just in case he needed the word in the future. "I am more than happy to try it and put my life once more into our hands, Lia-chan," he added in a formal tone. That same tone was completely belied by the glint in his dark eyes.

"Ah yes the lighthouse was an evening to remember. It was a shame that Thad and a couple of the others ended up arrested but they weren't kept by the police for long. It would be nice to be able to help that woman find her peace but I don't know enough about that to be even know where to start. I would like to work with you and try and see what we can discover, though." It would be most pleasant to do that with Lia and if they could help the spirit of the poor lady then it would be even nicer.

"A camping trip? Yes! We could have a lot of fun at the same time!"

He laughed when she told him that salmon was her all time favourite and he passed one of the three remaining sushi balls to her. "I think one of the last two is also salmon... If you would like that one as well..."

"We should definitely make some plans to explore the lighthouse properly. The night ended too quickly after the arrival of the keisatsu and I am sure there was a lot more fun to have been had!"

[Lia Juarez]

Takumi's enthusiasm about everything was one of the reasons Lia was so attracted to him. She put her hand on his arm and smiled. "I'll teach you to snorkel. I'm a registered life guard. That is how I raise money in the summers to save for college. I also teach diving and surfing and I think this summer I will be trusted to teach swimming to the kids. I promise I will keep you safe," she vowed, the thought of Taki being harmed was abhorrent to her.

Thinking about the female spirit in the light house, Lia knew she wouldn't be able to rest unless she helped her. "I will do some research on spirits. There must be a way to help them. perhaps some religious rite that will send them on their way. The internet seems to have much information. Surely we can find something about this." She thought about the way she had felt yesterday and imagined how much worse it would feel not knowing the fate of the one you loved.

She sighed and heard Taki talk about camping. "We have a couple of tents and some other equipment and have friends with other stuff so we could have a great camping trip. There are great places all around here and I am sure there must be haunted ones. Maybe Jandro would come along too... though he would worry about his nails and hair," she said with a fond chuckle, for her twin was very vain about his appearance.

When Taki offered Lia took another roll and discovered it was tuna. "This is good too, Taki. I love sushi I think... but I am still not sure about squid though. I really want to be included on your spirit searches though. I think maybe I can be helpful. There are spells.... charms that attract or repulse spirits. If there are those, there must be other ones meant to deal with them." She smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out a can of green tea. "Would you like to share, Taki?" she asked as she popped the top.

[fryn]

"You are a lifeguard?" Takumi's eyes widened slightly in awe. "You are an amazing girl, Lia-chan!" he declared. She knew how to do so much! "Then I will be perfectly safe with you there to watch over me," he added in confidence. His guardian angel, it seemed, and on more than the one occasion.

"It would be good if Jandro would also come. I haven't seen him since..." Takumi knew he didn't need to continue with his sentence. Lia would understand he meant that day in the cafeteria. The day when their lives had changed for ever. "We will just make sure his nails are safe," Taki added with a grin.

He brightened even more when he saw the drink she offered to him.

"Matcha! I love matcha," he said. "In Japan we call it 'matcha uji'," he continued. "It means... aaah... 'froth of liquid jade'... I think. My English is still not that great." A wry shrug accompanied his words. "But I would love to share it with you!"

He took tha can from her and tilted it upwards, having a sip. "It is good," he stated. Not like matchi back home but then he hadn't expected to find it here in the USA. "There is a special ceremony that is done back in Japan. One day I would like to prepare matcha uji for you and perform such a presentation... That is, if you would like that?"

[Lia Juarez]

Lia shook her head when Takumi praised her for being a life guard. "It is something I enjoy doing, especially the teaching. When I was young I saw a young boy almost drown and the life guard saved him. It really impressed me and I decided I wanted to help people like that when I was older. The lifeguard... he was probably about the same age as I am now. People our age can make a difference if we want to. So far I have been lucky enough not to have to save someone, but its good to know I can if I have to," she said feeling a bit embarrassed that she came off like a hero when she was just an ordinary girl.

"Jandro has been taking the whole thing with Saint really hard. He's always idolized him. Even though Saint has a helper, Jandro hovers. Since Saint is kind of dating the helper too, Jandro keeps an eye on them because he doesn't trust Jonah. So I will have to drag him away to do something I suppose. He will get burned out if he doesn't have some fun soon. Maybe protective gloves would help?" she quipped with a giggle.

"We all love green tea, it comes in so many flavors now, Mom is really into antioxidants and the foods that keep you healthy, so it is big in our house. I would really love to see the ceremony for making it. I find ceremonies fascinating, especially cultural ones. I think we keep the spirits of our ancestors alive in our hearts by continuing with such traditions. In Sweden my grandparents celebrate Walpurgis by building a bonfire to chase away the winter and celebrate the light. It is a national holiday and it is from Pre-Christian times though the Christians have incorporated into their beliefs by calling it after one of their Saints. My father's family have other traditions as well. I think it is a shame that so many traditions get lost these days," Lia blushed as she realized she was lecturing. One of the reasons she had chosen the Wiccan Way was their emphasis on traditions and ceremony.

[fryn]

Takumi nodded a little and smiled when Lia told him she'd like to take part in a tea ceremony. Taki hadn't performed it all that man times but he'd watched his mother do it and had memorised her actions. Besides, if he happened to make a mistake Lia might not even notice and surely wouldn't care if she did.

"I too believe traditions are vital and I do m best to hold on to those from my country of birth. That said, Japan has so many it would be impossible to keep them all going!" he added with a short laugh. "I would very much like to hear more of our traditions, Lia-chan," he said with feeling. Taki knew they would be ver different to his own but learning all he could about his new home made a lot of sense to him. He hadn't heard of Walpurgis before and the name sounded intriguing.

He broke the final sushi piece in half and shared it with Lia just as the end of lunch break bell sounded. He threw her a rueful look. "I have enjoed spending this time with you," he told Lia. "It was a shame that Izzy couldn't have been her as well as she would have also liked to see you I know. I will tell her later that she missed out on a very nice lunch!" He beamed at Lia with a bright smile before packing away his bento.

Taki scrambled to his feet and reached a hand down to help Lia up also. She seemed a little less tired looking to him but then again, what did he really know about girls? Precious little. "We will make some plans," he stated. "Camping would be fun and exploring the lighthouse also. We can ask our brother and I can ask Izzy and maybe Evan." Should he mention it to Thad? Mabe not as he'd already landed the boy in too much hot water as it was!

(tag for a wrap maybe?)

[Lia Juarez]

Lia smiled and took Taki's hand, sighing at the shiver that seemed to run through her as their skin pressed together. It didn't seem possible that she was the only one that felt it, but she knew it must be true. As she stood, she quickly hugged Taki, refusing to let herself linger in the embrace. "Thank you, Taki. I feel much better now, maybe I just needed some intelligent conversation. And now I have some fun plans to look forward to. I will talk to Jandro and pinch him if he tries to make an excuse.

"When you decide what time to pick me up, let me know," Lia said with a smile, now eager for the weekend.

(ooc:ok wrapped. according to Isaac, the jam session is sat. afternoon and the bowling is sun. afternoon so this will be difficult to squeeze in lol but we can try, just let me know )

[fryn]

(in a typical Taki manner I seem to have got the weekend totally addled in my brain I forgot that was all happening the same weekend - duh me. Probably a bit hard to squash it all in so maybe the trip out will have to hold on for the weekend after... He'll make it up to Lia - promise LOL! Oooor... Saturday morning? That might work?)

[Lia Juarez]

OOc: yeah the jam could be later in the afternoon so they would have a little more time. I messed it up too, you should see Dare's social calendar, he is ready to faint lol.