The Karate Kid (Emily)

[Ryuu]

"You sound like an old man." "Thanks," Ryuu replied sarcastically, smirking at Emily as she chuckled, "I appreciate being called older than my actual age." He then launched a surprise attack on Emily, knocking the wooden sword out of her hands, which succeeded, as she dropped the bokuto in surprise before laughing and saying he caught her there. He then strafed back, as Emily went back into her starting position, but before she picked the bokuto back up, he saw her take something out of her pocket, and tie her hair up. Ah, a hair tie. Good idea. "You're such a tease. You know that?" Ryuu just smirked even more at this comment. He knew he was sarcastic and cynical almost all the time, but he'd sometimes tease and joke around, though it seemed he only did this when Emily was around.

"And yet you play along with me, so I guess that makes you as much of a tease too." He retorted, as he saw Emily speed forward, the bokuto held above her head. The minute she got close enough, he saw she was aiming for his right shoulder, he immediately brought his bokuto up, pointing it straight down, and while it did block Emily's attack, it still sent some shock through his arm, as his arm shook from the blow. Holding it there, he then proceeded to swipe his bokuto out to the side, aiming to swat Emily's bokuto away from him. "Not bad, you're doing pretty well for someone who just started out." Wasting no time, Ryuu then rushed at Emily, as he raised his wooden sword above his head, aiming to bring it down and slash Emily, not hard though, but enough to inflict a bit of pain.

[seishounohana]

"Ojisan, you know I have to play along or things will get boring." She said, sticking her tongue out. "I wonder what Emi found in you. Maybe it's the Bishounen thing..."

She chuckled, her moment of humor gone as Ryuu retorted by swatting her own bokuto to the side. Fortunately for Emily, fluidity was something she learned from double-wielding. Her body moved along to the side, twisting her body as to build momentum as she then brought herself to a full circle in an attempt to ram the bokuto against Ryuu's side. Well, he also hit her at the shoulder, the slash making her wince. "Ow, I say. Ow."

Their faces were close, yet again. "Did that hurt, or are you just plain masochistic?" She smiled innocently, playing further. The two just hit each other simultaneously, "I'm a fast learner, I guess. The movements of Kenjutsu are a bit more uh... what do you call it..." She moved her head around, trying to remember, "Ah! Stiff, than how I fight. Need to get used to it. Gonna take a while."

[Ryuu]

"Ojisan, you know I have to play along or things will get boring." Ryuu smirked as Emily stuck her tongue out at him. "I wonder what Emi found in you. Maybe it's the Bishounen thing..." "First you call me grandpa, now I'm a bishie? Make up your mind, which one am I?" Ryuu rolled his eyes mockingly, as Emily chuckled, but the humorous moment dissipated as soon as Ryuu swatted her bokuto off to the side, though it seemed Emily flowed with the strike, for he saw her body move along to the side, before twisting her body to build momentum, bringing herself to a full circle as he felt her ram her bokuto against his side as his bokuto hit her on the shoulder, the both of them wincing in pain. "Ow, I say. Ow." "Ow. Pain..." Their faces close once more, he smirked evilly at her once more. "Did that hurt, or are you just plain masochistic?"

"No, I enjoy pain, I revel in it," He retorted teasingly, "Are you masochistic as well my dear Emily?" She may have been smiling innocently, but he was smirking evilly. "I'm a fast learner, I guess. The movements of Kenjutsu are a bit more uh... what do you call it..." Ryuu just watched patiently as he saw her move her head around, "Ah! Stiff, than how I fight. Need to get used to it. Gonna take a while." "I'll show you stiff..." He teased, as he moved his face closer, smirking at her. "I got all the time in the world to show you." No, he didn't have all the time in the world, but they were having fun, so why not go with it right? Bringing his bokuto behind and then above his head, Ryuu then swung it down, gripping onto the handle with his left hand to reinforce his grip on it, so it wouldn't slip.

[seishounohana]

"You look like a bishie, but you act like a old man. That's what I meant." She shrugged. "I don't exactly enjoy pain as much as you do. I and other normal people would like to avoid it."

Ryuu then quickly took back his sword, and swing it downwards with the force of both his hands. "Not even tired yet? Fiesty." She then swung her bokuto upwards from it's position on Ryuu's waist to try and defend herself against the wooden weapon. Emily's target would be his hands first, to weaken his grip with a sting of pain before moving her sword further up to attempt to disarm Ryuu.

[Ryuu]

"Thanks, I don't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult." He sighed, as he shook his head in mock exasperation, "And I like pain as much as the next guy, which isn't a whole lot, I tend to avoid pain as much as I can." It was pretty obvious that the two of them loved to tease each other a lot. He then swung his bokuto down once more to strike Emily, grinning at her. "Speak for yourself, you don't seem any more tired than I am." In retaliation to his strike, Ryuu saw Emily swing her bokuto upwards from its position on his waist, to try to defend herself. Ryuu didn't know what she was planning to do, not until the very last minute, she was targeting his hands, attempting to try and weaken his grip. He felt the sting of her blow, as he winced slightly from the pain, but he refused to relinquish his grip on his bokuto.

In retaliation to her strike, he would swing his bokuto out in a tight arc with just his right hand gripping it, but before the wooden sword connected, Ryuu would throw the bokuto to his left hand, switching up the direction of the swing, before completing his strike on Emily. Or so she would think. Before it connected, Ryuu stopped his bokuto in mid-swing, just lightly tapping against Emily. "Enough. Well, I've taught you all I know, the rest is all up to you, practicing is the key. If you don't practice, you'll never improve. Practicing by yourself is fine, though practicing with a partner is generally better." With that said, Ryuu would sit down on the floor, his knees bent, resting his hands behind him as he leaned back, his bokuto beside him. "I think the two of us deserve a break, wouldn't you agree?"

[seishounohana]

Ryuu didn't let go of his sword, and apparently he had managed to throw it to his other hand for a swing. Emily closed her eyes in anticipation, only to realize that it stopped mid-swing. She smiled as Ryuu lounged on the floor. She looked at the bokuto and grinned, "Mind if I know how much this would cost? Could be useful for practice. Might consider buying one once I get my next paycheck." She inquired. Emily was a hardworking girl, and she disliked freeloading on anyone -- no matter how rich they were. She was a self-made woman, and in a way... a workaholic.

She made her way to sit on the floor carefully, making sure her dress wouldn't expose anything indecent. "It's nighttime though. If you don't need me any further, I'll have to get home."

Yeah, she'd have to make dinner, do chores, homework, and feed the cat. That is of course, unless Ryuu tells her otherwise or tags along, both options of which she was quite open to.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu swung his bokuto at Emily, having thrown it to his other hand, as he saw Emily close her eyes in anticipation for the blow, except... The blow never came. Psyche! Ryuu had stopped the bokuto in mid-swing before it connected, before lounging on the floor, his own bokuto beside him. "Well, this bokuto was custom made," He replied, picking up his own black bokuto, and gripping the handle, pulled it apart slightly, revealing a blade hidden inside, "The one your holding is built exactly the same. For this one, it would cost about... mmm... $70. For a normal bokuto, it's relatively cheap, only about $20. Though you may have the one in your hand, I don't mind. But if you don't want it for free, I guess you could just pay $20, and I'll give it to you. And I won't take any "and's," "if's," or "but's," okay?" Ryuu saw Emily sit down on the floor across from him carefully, as he finally noticed that she was wearing a dress, he had been too focused on the spar to notice back then.

"Ah, it is," Ryuu nodded, looking out the window behind him, "Again, I am sorry for calling you here on such short notice. As an apology, if you have not eaten yet, how about you stay for dinner? Trust me, just because my father is filthy rich, does not mean we eat rich foods. If anything, what we eat, is typical Japanese food." Climbing to his feet, Ryuu picked up his bokuto, before holding out his right hand to Emily, to help her up. If she took his hand, he would pull her up, smiling and nodding at her. "You haven't seen the inside of my house yet, have you?" Heading to the back, he placed the bokuto away, before coming back out, and opened the dojo door, letting Emily walk out first, before following after her. He then led the way back to his house, before pulling out his key, and unlocked the back door, and opened the door, letting Emily first. "It is up to you whether you would like to stay or not, if not, I'll gladly walk you home, I'm sure one limousine ride is enough for one day."

[seishounohana]

Oooh, a custom made bokuto. Nice one. It would be quite useful indeed. She took her wallet from her pocket and looked at the contents, only to sweatdrop at what she saw. Yup, she's got money in there... but not really enough for the luxury item. If anything, Emily had spent her money on utilities and groceries for the week, so she was left with a couple of $5 bills and three dollars. Just great. "I'll pay you next week, if that's okay." She laughed before letting Ryuu take her hand to help her up. "Thanks."

Stay for dinner? Hmm... that doesn't really sound like a bad idea. "Are you sure? I'd not want to impose..." She laughed nervously, "I haven't been inside." The two then left the dojo, "Has Emi been inside your house yet? She's your girlfriend and all, right?"

[Ryuu]

Ryuu couldn't help but laugh at the look that appeared on Emily's face when she pulled her wallet out and looked inside it. "Never mind, never mind," Ryuu laughed, "I'll give you a discount, just give me 5 bucks and we'll call it even, and I won't take any "and's," "if's," or "but's," got it?" Pulling Emily up after she laughed, he merely bowed his head slightly in response. "Don't worry about it," He replied, waving his right hand casually when she asked if it was alright, not wanting to impose on him as she laughed nervously, "It's fine with me. I don't mind." They then left the dojo, walking up the path to the house, passing by the pool, the lights embedded in the pool sides shining in the water, lighting it up. "Has Emi been inside your house yet? She's your girlfriend and all, right?" Ryuu shook his head, as he unlocked the door and let the both of them inside, locking it as soon as they got in.

"No, she hasn't been inside yet, even though she's my girlfriend. I don't think she even knows I live in the same neighborhood." Ryuu replied, as he led the way into the kitchen. Once he reached the kitchen, which was pretty big, he walked to the fridge, and opened it, as he motioned for Emily to take a seat at the counter. "I don't know what you want to eat, so if you have anything in mind, just tell me, and I'll see what I can do. Just because I'm filthy rich, doesn't mean I don't know how to cook, if I didn't, I think I'd have starved all these years." He laughed, as he looked at Emily. It was true, if he hadn't known how to cook, he would've starved, seeing as his older sister liked to draw more than anything else. So Ryuu ended up having to learn to cook from the recipes his mother left behind by himself, and he wasn't bad at it, though he didn't like to tell people this.

[seishounohana]

Emily looked at her wallet and shrugged. She felt bad that she would have to need discounts now, when before she could afford anything she liked. Then again, she found comfort in the thought that Ryuu wasn't giving it to her for free. She liked working for her things, no matter how "cheap" they turn out to be. "Thanks." She said, passing him a five-dollar bill.

Now, Ryuu's place had a pool... a dojo... man, he sure was loaded (like most people within the public school system nowadays). Then again, it surprised Emily as to how simple he was, and in comparison to most of the richie rich houses she had seen, this was modest. She could see herself living in a house like this someday. She smiled to herself, staring at the pretty lights reflected on the pool before Ryuu led her inside. "You mean she's never even been here?" She blinked, "Does your family even know you have a girlfriend?"

They were now in a rather spacious kitchen. Emily LOVED to cook, and in all honesty, the kitchen was one of the three places Emily spent the most on for her townhouse. "Why don't you cook something for me, and I'll cook something for you." She chuckled, "I can't really just let you cook on your own, Ryuu."

[Ryuu]

"No problem," He replied, taking the five-dollar bill from Emily and bowing to her, "And thank you for shopping with Hikari Industries." Now while Ryuu's house was rather huge, since it did have a pool and dojo, the house itself was not fancy, it was actually rather modest looking. And let's be honest, Ryuu never acted like a rich kid, in fact, if you didn't know any better, you'd think he was a normal high school kid. He led Emily inside the house, locking the door behind him. "Hard to believe right?" Ryuu replied, as he poked his head into the fridge, "But my family does know about my having a girlfriend, though my older sister Kyoko knows more about it than my father." And that was the truth. Ryuu told Kyoko everything, and likewise, she did the same with him. The two of them were close to each other, despite being born a year apart.

"Deal," He replied, as he turned to look at Emily, "Just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll make it." Ryuu then began to boil some rice in the rice cooker, before turning to Emily, having decided what he wanted. "Shogayaki. I'd like shogayaki, if possible." He said, they had a grill in the kitchen, at the stove, and the exhaust fan located above it would be able to ventilate the area very well. "If you can't find anything in here, just ask, and I'll get it for you okay?" He said, as he gave her one of his rare smiles, it was rare because Ryuu, for the most part, acted sarcastic and cynical all the time. It was hard to find anyone besides Kyoko, that he wouldn't act cynical towards, and it seemed Emily was that person, at least, from what it looked like.

[seishounohana]

Interesting. Ryuu had siblings? Must've been really fun. Emily had an older sibling too, though not of the same blood. Rem and herself were just adopted into the Aoyama Family, and sadly she and Rem had now taken different ways. There was a slight bit of regret in Emily's heart about that, but what was done was done. She was on her own, as she had always been half her life. "They live here too right? Are you sure I'm not intruding, really?"

Asian humility sometimes can be a bit too much. One can admit that. However, now was the time Emily had to choose what she should have. Ryuu told her he wanted Shogayaki, which was a rather simple dish. That aside, what did Emily want? Katsudon was too oily for a night-time meal, Curry was her favorite, but it was going to be a bit of a 'chore' in comparison to Ryuu's request. She didn't think he'd know any southeast Asian dish either. "Gyudon, onegaishimasu." She said, "A~nd one bowl of Shogayaki coming right up."

Emily would wait until Ryuu took his ingredients before taking her own, which was some pork, ginger, soy sauce, Sake and Mirin. Though the first three were easy enough to find, she had to ask Ryuu for the alcoholic ones. She didn't put in much, but the recipe she knew had some on it. It tasted good to her; why the heck not?

Now, we timeskip to when the plate was done, served with some rice and some cabbage strips. Emily was particular with nutrition, considering that she studied that under Layla. There was a smile of content in Emily's face though. She loved to cook and create new dishes but never really found Culinary arts as her thing. She had placed it on Ryuu's side of the table, along with a glass of water and some chopsticks.

[Ryuu]

"Yes, they live here, but don't worry about them, my sister usually comes down to eat later, I usually leave her something to eat. Don't worry about it, besides, you're my guest, and really close friend, after all, I was the one who invited you, you're not intruding at all." Ryuu replied, waving his left hand casually. "Hai, one gyudon coming up!" Ryuu then dove into the fridge, pulling out the ingredients he would need, which was beef, 1/2 an onion, ginger, soy sauce, Sake, sugar, Mirin, and some dashi. He'd also need water to cook the eggs. Once he got all his ingredients from the fridge, Emily asked him where they kept the Sake and Mirin, as he headed to the walk-in cupboard and grabbed the two, he needed them as well. He didn't need very much though, and between the two of them, there would be plenty of it left over no doubt. After all, Ryuu didn't drink, and if he did, it was only a very small amount.

Skipping over to the completed dish, Ryuu scooped out some freshly steamed rice and placed the beef on top. He then garnished the beef with some beni shoga or Japanese pickled ginger and scallions, and garnished the egg on top of the beef with some shichimi, or seven flavor chili pepper. He then placed it down on Emily's side of the table, along with a glass of water, chopsticks, and a napkin, as he saw Emily had already placed the dish he had requested down on his side. He wasn't the best chef in the entire world, but his culinary skills were pretty good, they had to be, since he had been cooking to feed not just himself, but his sister as well. He then grabbed a bowl and scooped out some rice for himself, before walking back to the table, and placed the bowl down. He then sat down, crossing his legs, before clapping his hands together. "Itadakimasu." He then picked up his chopsticks, and picked up a piece of the pork, before eating it. The minute he placed it in his mouth, he paused.

"... This is the best shogayaki I've ever had..." He said quietly, as he grinned slightly at Emily, before helping himself to some more, finally shutting his stomach up, which had been growling quietly during the time he had been cooking. "You have a brother, Rem right?" Ryuu asked, looking at Emily curiously, "The two of you seem very different from each other, not just in personality, it's like the two of you have drifted apart from each other, well, based on what I observed. I could be completely wrong though."

[seishounohana]

"Itadakimasu." Emily said, picking up her own chopsticks to have a try at Ryuu's Gyudon. It was quite good, and not a lot of guys could cook. Impressive, actually. Emily grinned, "Oishii desu! Sugoi!" She said before taking another chopstickful into her mouth. She had blushed when Ryuu said that the Shogayaki she had made was the best he'd ever had and looked away, "Um. Thanks. Yours was too, I mean. Beef is hard to cook well normally, so I'm quite impressed."

Emily had the bowl by her hand, as with most means of eating with chopsticks. She was eating slowly, but she stopped at the mention of Rem. "Yeah, Rem is my brother." She said, "Rem changed ever since he got back from 259. He was taking over Militia, and I had to put him down. Good thing about my position in Militia as an Elite Guard, is that I don't take orders from anyone else but "Unfettered" himself."

In essence, that meeting that Militia had earlier that year had Emily thinking many things. One of which was if "Unfettered" really did leave Militia like this. Emily didn't accept it, regardless of the recording. Though now, Militia seems to still be thriving amongst a sea of troubles. She resumed eating though, though she obviously looked a little troubled.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu blushed slightly and bowed his head slightly to hide the blush that had appeared on his face. "Arigato..." He said quietly, holding the bowl of rice in his hand, before lifting his head back up, the blush gone from his face. "I'm the one that normally cooks, so I've gotten a bit of experience. I'm not that great though," Ryuu added modestly, "I think you're a much better cook than I am." Ryuu reached out to take another piece of pork, but his hand halted in mid-air, before he retracted his hand back. "I see, so you're an Elite Guard. If you want my opinion," Ryuu said, as he rested his hand on the table while still holding his bowl, looked straight across the table at Emily, "I don't think "Unfettered" wanted to leave Militia in such a state intentionally, nor allow it to be broken up into various factions. While he may not be here, not yet at least, the best that we who remain can do, is keep it united as much as possible." Ryuu paused for a minute, like he was choosing his words carefully, before continuing on.

"We who remain in Militia, while our group may be small, it may be better, for it means we can rely on each other and build up trust between each other much more than a gang who has a huge member base. I don't know what my ranking in Militia is, nor do I care much to know. All I know is, I am part of Militia, and no matter how low ranked a person is, they are important, and as such, they count and matter, no matter what. A leader is only as strong as those he or she commands." Ryuu never considered himself a leader. He did sound one at times, but beyond that, never felt to be one. "And besides, everyone has their own strengths and---" "Kazu! Did you make anything to eat? I'm starving!" Ryuu stopped in mid-sentence and turned his head to look behind him, as he saw Kyoko come walking into the kitchen. "Oh! Is that shogayaki? Don't mind if I do..." If this was an anime, Ryuu would have an anger mark on the back of his head as his sister took his chopsticks and picked up a piece of pork before popping it in her mouth.

"Kyo! I already made you something to eat, there's some gyudon over there." Ryuu calmly said, despite the fact he wasn't exactly thrilled with his sister stealing part of his food, as he pointed over at the counter. "Oh, um, hello there? Who is this Kazu? Is she your girlfriend? Is she Emi?" Kyoko asked after she took the bowl of gyudon Ryuu had pointed to, though she looked at Ryuu instead of Emily, Kyoko happen to be quite shy. "No, this is Emily. Big difference onee-chan." "I don't see the difference Kazu. Emi could be a nickname from the name Emily. Well anyways, I'll see you later Kazu. Nice to meet you... Emily." Kyoko said the last part shyly, before disappearing out of the kitchen with the bowl of gyudon in her hand. "And that was my onee-chan, Kyoko Hikari. Sorry, she's quite shy around people she doesn't know, she has a hard time opening up, besides our dad, I'm probably the only person she'll ever open up to."