A Matter of Decorum (Adrian/Open)

[seishounohana]

Emily was in a crisis.

She had to buy a book for her subject that's worth well over a hundred dollars. Oh god, where are all the cheap paper-backs? Why the hard-bound copies?

A sigh came out of her lips as she lay on the grass in the middle of the baseball field. The grass here was lush and green, and the lack of trees provided a great view of the clear sky. It was a fine day to search for some sort of inspiration for her manga at least.

She had been slacking on it for the last year. Emily even started to wonder if her manager's still patient with her.

Maybe she should retire and get a real job.

...

Ack, and she worked hard for her reputation too. Well, that wasn't much of anything anyway. Sighing again, the girl sat up and took an AnaPhysio book from her bag and began to review.

What fine weather they had today!

[Adrian]

"You know, it's much too pretty a day to be studying."

Adrian Hanlon, the young zillionaire, had spotted the white-haired girl he'd met what seemed like so long ago. Emily!

During his first few weeks at school at 259, Adrian had been badly beaten by Mathew Amtrum. It was a huge blow to his pride, and the recovery weeks had been hell, so much so that the boy had retreated back from almost everyone, hiding out until his arm and hand had healed. However, during one of his few trips out near the beginning, the girl had shown a kindness to him that Adrian wished to this day he could repay in some way.

He marched over to where she was seated. He looked around at the ground. The baseball field was very well-kept, watered and trimmed often enough to give it a luscious green look. Adrian, finding this satisfactory, pulled off his silk shirt[/i] so as not to risk dirtying it, and, clad in just a tight black undershirt, laid down next to the girl.

"How have you been, Ms. Delos Santos?"

[seishounohana]

"You know, it's much too pretty a day to be studying." Emily looked towards the voice. It was Adrian, a boy she had met in 259's school canteen. Emily remembered that encounter quite well, as it was hard to forget someone like him.

Why? He had that sort of air around him, it was probably something that was usual for those whom have the financial power. Emily was no zillionare, and had a few millions she had worked her ass off for, but she never really used them. It was sad, really.

He walked over ad laid down next to her. Emily just continued reading. "Old habits die hard." she said, smiling as she read on. She was reading the chapter about Neuropathology. Wasn't really hard when you put your mind into it.

"How have you been, Ms. Delos Santos?"

"Ah, quite well I guess. I bet you're doing rather well yourself, mm?"

Yup. A lovely day indeed.

[Adrian]

"Me?" He asked, almost innocently, as he stetched his arms out behind his head and shrugged.

"Well, I've got use of both arms again, so I suppose that's definitely an improvement."

The boy laughed a bit, punctuating it with a little, contented sigh. It truly was a beautiful day, wasn't it? He nodded. Today was good. He hadn't had to beat anyone up for, y'know, looking at him funny, or getting in his way, or looking too poor, or anything of that sort. Today, so far, had been nothing but relaxing.

"Well, I suppose if you have to have your nose in a book, then you have to have your nose in a book, right?" Adrian looked over at her and smiled. "What exactly is it you're covering, anyway?"

[seishounohana]

"Me? Well, I've got use of both arms again, so I suppose that's definitely an improvement." Emily laughed with Adrian, it pausing as she continued to delve into her book.

With just a few more years until she graduates, it was only a matter of time before she would have enter a Nursing school. It was all exciting to the female transfer, and she was more than looking forward to it. "Well, I suppose if you have to have your nose in a book, then you have to have your nose in a book, right?" Adrian looked over at her and smiled. "What exactly is it you're covering, anyway?"

"Mmm? You mean what I'm reading?" She blinked, lifting one side of her book higher so that he would be able to see the contents as they lay there. It had a picture of the human brain and several pictures of pathological things. It was interesting. "Just some stuff on Neuropatho-physiology. It's really cool stuff."

God, or whoever it is who made the world was surely engenious. Of course, he was God. For god's sake.

Oh well.

"Want to have a look?"

[Adrian]

"Neuropatho-what'sology?!" Adrian stammered, more than a little taken aback at the material the girl was reading. He sat up himself, leaning over to get a better look at exactly what was going on in that textbook.

Now, Adrian wasn't dumb. In fact, he was relatively booksmart. But this, this was definitely out of his league. He looked over a few diagrams and read a few lines over his shoulder. He could see himself understanding it, if he gave it the time, but there was no need to, at least not yet.

"Hmm, yeah, this definitely isn't my forte," Adrian admitted, almost sheepishly. "I can do any of the basic subjects in school, no sweat, but I never bothered to learn anything too advanced."

He grinned and scratched the back of his head with his right hand, keeping his left on the grass behind him for support.

"I suppose I figured I would just fall into line in my father's business when he became old enough to retire..."

Adrian shrugged and looked over at the book again. He didn't care too much for studying, to be honest. He simply did it because he knew he had to for his future.

[seishounohana]

"Neuropatho-what'sology?! Hmm, yeah, this definitely isn't my forte," Adrian admitted, scratching the back of his head "I can do any of the basic subjects in school, no sweat, but I never bothered to learn anything too advanced."

Emily closed the book, finally. Mmm... maybe it was time for her to start acting her own age. She turned her head towards Adrian and smiled back, letting the book down onto the grass beside her. "I suppose I figured I would just fall into line in my father's business when he became old enough to retire..."

"Mmm... want to know a secret?" Emily asked, to which if he said yes in any manner she would continue. "... I... don't really know what I want to be. The only reason why I'm pursuing a medical career is because Layla presented it to me."

She smiled, smiling sleepishly and letting herself be blinded by the sun for a second and closed her eyes. "I really don't know what I want to become. So I guess we're in the same boat..."

In truth, the only thing she knew she had was herself. Everything else were things viable to disappear and/or slip from her fingers. Everything was temporary, even her life.

She was even named after the word sacrifice.

...

Ever inch of her being was never for herself.

It was if she was created for the sole purpose of being used in some way or another, and be a victim of everything else. Though it depressed the girl to an extent, Emily found no reason to show it to anyone as she had hidden most of her feelings inside, as she always had.

[Adrian]

"Well..." Adrian paused, trying to decide the right words to say to the girl. Looking down at the medical textbook, he shrugged and gestured to it with his nearest hand. "At least you're good at what you're doing. That's got to count for something. I suppose, with that out of the way, there's only one real question left..."

Adrian paused, looking up into only lightly-clouded sky. He let out a little sigh, applying the same points he was giving her to his own life and coming up not as satisfactorily as he'd wanted to.

"Do you enjoy it?"

He shrugged a bit, and looked over at her once more. Something in her eyes seemed to say she didn't, but at the same time, Adrian had never really been one to care enough to be able to read people with any sort of accuracy.

[seishounohana]

"Well... At least you're good at what you're doing. That's got to count for something. I suppose, with that out of the way, there's only one real question left... Do you enjoy it?"

Emily thought for a moment. The answer from Emily was simple: "I guess I do. I've even considered giving up on being a mangaka to pursue it full-time after high school."

She smiled.

"The things I've learned in these Biology lessons are quite useful in fights too, so it helps me get by..."

[Adrian]

Adrian tilted his head somewhat at her as she spoke. He understood the idea of biology homework helping her in fighting, as that was simple enough to understand, but prior to that, Emily had used a word that Adrian simply wasn't familiar with. He paused, trying to remember exactly how she pronounced it so as not to sound stupid when he would attempt to clarify.

"Wait, one minute," Adrian began, still trying to work the pronunciation around in his head as he began to speak. "What did you say you were? A... man...gaka?"

Adrian, unlike a good deal of the people who seemed to populate the school, had little-to-no understanding of Japanese culture and their creations. In fact, he was often the first one to make fun of someone for being interested in it. After he first heard Leon Sudeki and Mathew Amtrum calling themselves 'Dragons' in the nurse's office that first day of school, in fact, his first reaction was to insult them for sounding like they just came out of an anime convention.

One could only imagine what his reaction would be when she revealed to him the meaning of the word.

[seishounohana]

"Wait, one minute. What did you say you were? A... man...gaka?"

"Man-gah-kah."

Emily nodded, sitting up. It was pretty often that some americans wouldn't know what mangaka meant. Well, there was no harm in telling Adrian more about her alternative means of living. After all, he didn't seem like he was one of those otaku out to get her for some of the pairings she had made.

She took her bag and took out a small, slightly thick book that was covered in plastic for protection. It smelled somewhat new, and of course -- it was Emily's manga. The new one. She handed it over to the Hanlon for an inspection, should he have interest.

"Mangaka make these sort of comics. I've gone several done, actually." She smiled before looking away, her eyes onto the basketball court a good distance from them. "The Author of that Graphic novel is Kari Aoyama. Kari Aoyama... is me."

The entire book was very well drawn, and considering that everything was in japanese...

Yeah.

[Adrian]

Adrian nodded at the correct pronunciation of the word, and accepted the proffered book. He would carefully leaf through it, realizing exactly what it was he was holding onto - one of those Japanese comics. His brow wrinkled in thought as she explained it a bit to him. As she spoke, Adrian's mind rifled through the girl's entire name.

Sacricia Emily Lourdes E. Delos Santos...

"But," he began, marveling silently to himself at how well-drawn these were, if, of course, you were into this sort of thing, "you're not Japanese, are you? Don't you have to be to write these sorts of things?"

Adrian paused, and shrugged again. "I'll admit I'm not really up to speed on these things. Definitely can't read Japanese..."

This, of course, would probably explain why Adrian was flipping through the book the way most American's would, from left to right. It was all Greek to him, or Japanese, if you will...

[seishounohana]

"But, you're not Japanese, are you? Don't you have to be to write these sorts of things?"

Emily smiled and shook her head, "By birth, no. I'm not Japanese." She explained, though hoping to keep it simple as to not delve too deep into her rather painful past. "I'm Filipino by birth, I only happen to have lived in japan for around 6-7 years prior to going here to America. It's a long, long story."

"I'll admit I'm not really up to speed on these things. Definitely can't read Japanese..."

Emily smiled, "Some japanese people aren't exactly good at reading their own language either, it's fine." She then looked at the way he flipped the pages, "Oh, you read it from right to left. It takes quite a while to get used to, ne?"

[Adrian]

"You do what now?"

Adrian flipped the book over, gingerly beginning to attempt to 'read' the book the correct way. It was slow going at first, but as he started to get the hang of how it worked, Adrian couldn't help but notice the pictures seemed to flow together much better than they had at first. He still had no idea what was going on, due to the language barrier and the fact that stories and ideas such as these were as foreign to him as the language, but he could definitely appreciate the art.

"I always thought the Japanese were backwards, but this just proves it," he said with a grin, for once not actually meaning the insult he just gave. "This artwork is very... well, it's very different than what I prefer, but I must say it's very well-drawn. Selling these things must make you a nice bit of money from all those... oh, what's the word they call themselves? Yo-tacoo's? I don't know,"

Adrian was attempting to say the word otaku of course, but hadn't the experience to explain himself properly. "Y'know, anime fans. I'm sure they eat this stuff up, right?"

[seishounohana]

"I always thought the Japanese were backwards, but this just proves it," Emily just laughed at this comment, not really thinking it was an insult. It was true. The Japanese were backwards in comparison to the western cultures of America.

"They are also vertical. They write from top to bottom, right to left, interesting huh?"

"This artwork is very... well, it's very different than what I prefer, but I must say it's very well-drawn. Selling these things must make you a nice bit of money from all those... oh, what's the word they call themselves? Yo-tacoo's? I don't know,"

"Oh-tah-kuh." She corrected him.

"Y'know, anime fans. I'm sure they eat this stuff up, right?"

Emily sighed. Sure, these otaku gave her money to spend on, but apparently pornographic doujinshi of her manga were already on the market, and it was slightly ... a mix of disappointing and amusing. Heh, everything has it's own pros and cons anyway, and Emily wasn't close to feeling like complaining.

"I don't really know how much I earn, I don't really count my money much." She looked up, trying to think, "Last I checked, I've made about ten million dollars total as of the royalty from two years ago. Eh, I haven't spent it at all... save for the apartment I bought prior to moving here."

She was just glad she wouldn't have to pay a mortgage.

It was nothing in comparison to what Adrian earned, but it could be admirable--- she earned it all on her own, without her parents or employees. Just a publisher and a good set of art materials.