This is My Story

After the plane landed, we went to visit Ridge, he filled us in on a lot of what's going on and with the new direction WE, yeah, I mean we, decided to take, I've been in sort of a high. A trance as some like to call it. We talked for hours that night, which was a week ago at this point and something clicked. I'm not the sentimental guy and I'm still not sure about her, but I'm as sure as I can be in the mom--

"Ready?" Rin asked me, extending her hand towards me, opening the door for me.

"Yeah, thanks."

But now, we have a bigger problem: Meeting her parents. And what the fuck, who can ever prepare for these?

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It's some Japanese (We're in Japan, duh but it's to give the audience an idea) restaurant that's supposed to be the equivalent to Nobu, but who know-no, yeah, it just is. Upon entering, there's this big chandelier that floats over the main dining area, all tables are rounded off with a white cloth draped over it, fancy shit, you know? I would never be able to afford this but to her, it's probably like McDonald's or something. Her dad somewhere around here, oops-

"Sorry." That table just gave me the dirtiest look as if I'm not supposed to be here. Well, I'll have you know I have a mega fan in Osaka that worships me! Nice lady, truly. The air feels different, like money. Maybe it's the air conditioning, who knows. We're walking side by side, holding hands and I wonder how real this is. We both realized that we had feelings for each other and I guess this is the next step? It doesn't feel real. Not like the dreamy "oooh lala" feeling, but like something feels off weird.

"You know my mom is joining us too, right?"

"What? Since when?"

"Since I told you about you meeting my dad, remember?"

No. And see this, is what I mean. I can't trust her, but yet each one of her words sticks to me like gum. She always lies to me, holds information from me, yet claims that she loves me. Wants to explore the world with me, our shared dream of fruit. Man, I really hope I have a job when I get back. These habits won't pay for themselves. And really, I just mean food. It seems anticlimactic, all this build up for me to still feel this way about her. Rin Osaka, elusive as ever.

We are following the waiter who's leading us to the table and the closer we get, the more it feels like I'm going to meet the boogeyman. That night, on the plane, I swear it felt like hours. I hadn't talked with anyone like that in my life. I've been on this pursuit of collecting all the fruit I can, that I missed out on what's important. I haven't talked to my mom in a while, who knows about my dad, but she just listened. And I listened, she responded back and who knew a conversation could feel as if we were playing tennis. But yet, these words of hers, I can't erase them. Something's missing. A hand stood in front of my chest.

"You must be Shin Suigyoku. Your name proceeds you. Please, please, sit. Where are my manners." He motioned for me to sit next to him as I grabbed his hand in return. "Hey, sweetie. Mfmph." 

"Father. Where's my mother? Will she not be joining us tonight?" She asked, sitting across me, why'd she let me sit next to him?! He makes me nervous, but in a good way. It's weird. Like I want to meet his expectations. For the audience, no, I did not tell her I loved her back and for now, it's completely best that way. You lie to me; I lie to you. 

"No, she will not be joining us today. Has my daughter told you why I've invited you here today?" He asked, very lightly.

"Yes, and no. Although, I don't know why I'm so special. There's many people who research fruit like I do, come to the same hypothesis as I do. If anything, I feel like I'm here meeting the parents more than anything." She shot me a look of...I don't know. It makes me feel jumpy. As if I should be more worried about her than him. I wonder how much of what she told of him that night is true, because he doesn't seem anything like that. 

"True, but not nearly as groundbreaking. Take a look at this." He tossed a piece of newspaper in front of me, although I'm sitting right next to him. Dramatic, much?

"This-" he pointed, "is what I want from you, and in return, there's nothing of me you couldn't ask. I'm going to be flat because I don't have the time to sit here and eat and chat. I want you to be a apart of my team."

"Huh?"

"This article, one that you wrote years ago, documented some findings of yours in the Bahamas about bread fruit. Simple, nothing stands out except..." he put my attention towards this line, 

"The exceptionalism of the world's food standards would be a lot higher if they paid attention to the diet of the indigenous people of the islands. They live off fruits, water, natural sugars and hardly if ever, eat any meat. The cycle of meat is what shortens the lifespan and produces cancerous cells, of course nothing is one to one. What's more is the locals took me to a location, secluded near the coast, in a cave where the legend of the island is said to harbor a stone carving of a tree that speaks of the first tree that grew of the island, and 6 more trees that were birthed from it, their seeds though, were carried across the oceans, growing at different periods of time. Rather peculi..."

"Do you believe what you wrote?"

"The scientist in me says impossible for a single seed to be carried out into the ocean, grow hundreds of years apart, but yet stem from the same tree and turn out to be genectically, physically, and locationally different."

"And the other part of you?" she turned to look at me for the first time since we sat down.

"Wants to desperately find out if was the truth or were they blowing smoke up my ass."

"Hahahahaha, I like you! Rin, you picked well this time." This time? "See, she is my star recruiter-"

"Excuse me, I'm going to run to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back." She rubbed my shoulder as she slid past me, grazing her body against mine, ever so slightly. Why does she do this to me? It seems like she's just waiting me out, but she might have to wait awhile. You may have captured my heart, but the words of reciprocity aren't ready to be revealed yet. This is my story, it ends the way I say it does.

She walked off, and I couldn't help but stare at her backside as she left. What is it?

"You seem like you're in love."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I never said it was, but with her, most certainly."

"Obviously, I can't believe you just because you told me so. Aren't you her father? Shouldn't you be the one who is wary of me?"

"You're no one to be wary of, I can see it in your face. And so can she. Do you know what it means to be a recruiter for Osaka? She goes around the world, looking for the best scientists to become a part of my team. She tells me you went to visit the greenhouse. That was the work of a few of them."

"And the point?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The point of all these scientists being collected."

He looked around for a second and checked his watch. Fumbling in his pocket, he put 100,000 yen on the table. 

"When I was a kid, my father told me about a tree that was hidden in the Northen part of Japan that one day, floated onto the island and immediately bore 1000 pieces of fruit from a single seed. Do you know the name that was given to the tree?"

"...no, but I assume you're going to tell me."

"Nothing in life's that easy, but you won't regret to know more about it. Let's keep talking, here's my number. Tell my, uh, hah, daughter that I left. Be careful, you don't want to do something that you'll regret. I would hate to be enemies with such a bright man like yourself."

He brushed off his suit, two bodyguards came from seemingly nowhere, and just like that, he was gone.

Sitting back down, it seemed like she perfectly timed his exit. "What'd I miss?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I don't know." She never fails to surprise me; I'll give her that. 

She smiled; the same one she always does. Is it real or is it fake? Do I love you after a week, or am I clinging on out of curiosity? She caressed my hand that laid on the table, running her warm fingers through mine. All's good on the Western Front, I meant Eastern Front. 

We're in Japan after all, no?

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