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Ten years in America.
Ten long, dreadful, stale years living in America. From studying to having a job in IT. Frustrating Americans. He didn't want to deal with his parents but he misses Japan dearly.
If anyone asked why he chose to go to the US, well a scholarship to travel abroad. Without needing to depend on his parents, and a way to escape, he took it.
Does he regret it?
If this was asked before, he couldn't give a clear answer.
But meeting her?
No regrets.
Shinji was alone at his favorite Japanese restaurant, drinking sake and eating his comfort meal, nikujaga, alone until he heard someone with semi broken Japanese speaking.
Shinji looked to see it was actually an American who places a lot of effort into speaking the language, despite the owners speaking pretty decent English, yet chose to speak Japanese.
"Thank you! I go take my seat." She smiled and bowed before taking a seat across a table from Shinji. Her blonde hair was tied into a neat bun, her brown eyes were soft as removed her trenchcoat and places it on the back of her seat.
Her eyes quickly darted towards Shinji, which made him flinch a bit before moving his eyes away.
'I did not mean to stare.'
Shinji cleared his throat and before he could try to look back to signal an apology, she walked up to him.
"Am I very American to be here?" A teasing grin was plastered on her lips as her brown eyes gazed at the man in front of her, even with the broken Japanese.
"No. You are respectful of my culture." Smooth Shinji.
"I spoke Japanese for two years. Japanese is hard." She looks at Shinji, analyzing him like another piece of the puzzle.
"What is your name?" Shinji wouldn't dare to be taken aback by this woman.
The blonde seems to hesitate as Shinji's green eyes looking up to meet her brown eyes.
A silent moment to analyze whether to reveal anything, even as simple as a name.
"Name is Amy. Amy Castro. What about you?" The response felt off and Shinji raised an eyebrow.
"Why was there hesitation?"
Amy pointed to the seat across from the Shinji, which he nodded as she grabbed her trenchcoat and sat across from Shinji.
"Detective makes trust hard. Even for my name." Amy looked down hesitatingly, "Very dangerous."
The raven haired man man couldn't explain himself why he did what he did, but he reached out and placed a hand on Amy's, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Shinji Sato. That is my name."
"Shinji... That's lovely..."
Time seem to have pause for a moment. He let out a soft chuckle, admiring Amy's audacity for such a comment, "You are a crazy American."
Amy laughed and noticed that the servers brought their foods to the table as they pulled their hands from each other while thanking the staff.
Shinji didn't know how any of this feels. He wasn't used to this feeling, yet it almost scared him. He only ever understood composure and never held much interest aside from basic interactions.
'This woman... did something to me...' Was the only conclusion the flustered man could come up with.
"If we knew each other before, this would be a date." Amy took a bite of her chicken katsu, smiling cheekily.
'This woman... Will be the death of me...'
Shinji cleared his throat and decided to speak up, trying to hold any composure, switching to English, "You are crazy."
Amy's laughter only grew louder and it seems that switching to English was probably a mistake, "You are so cute when your face is so red and flustered. Like a cute tomato!" She teased as she waved her chopsticks around playfully, "Are you always this shy?"
He could roll his eyes, "Eat." yet there was no disdain, just embarrassment, yet somehow, he didn't mind much. Just not used to this new thing.
But, he didn't mind it at all.
Shinji quite enjoyed Amy's companionship, not understanding how it got here but he decided to just wait to see how things go.
Idle chatter between the two, languages switching around between Japanese and English. Shinji was never a fan of speaking English and only learned out out of necessity, but for once, he didn't dread the language.
Amy grew more confident over her Japanese so even if Shinji did revert back to his native language, Amy can still understand.
"What got you into learning Japanese? You are pretty good with it." Shinji took a sip of his sake after finishing his meal.
Amy chuckled as she relaxed, "Thank you. My stepmother is Japanese so learned from her. I only learned for 8 years."
Shinji nodded as he processed the information, "May I ask for your age?"
"I'm 23. Even though stepmother did not fully raise me, she is good." Amy explained, not minding the bit of divulge of information.
"I'm 25." Shinji looked at his watch to check the time, switching back to English, "It is 9:30pm. Do you wish to head out?"
Amy pulled out her money but Shinji held out his hand to pause, "I cover for us."
"H-Huh? But um-"
Shinji's eyes gazed upon Amy's, giving a sly smirk, daring her to challenge him as he signaled for both checks, "I cover."
The way his smirk turned into a wide grin upon Amy flustered reaction made it all the better.
He paid for both dinners and headed out together. Shinji offered a ride but Amy politely declined due to already having her own car so instead Shinji escorted her to make sure she's safe.
"Drive safe. Take care." Shinji handed what seemed to be a business card, but she flipped it around and saw his personal number.
"Check your jacket pocket. I hope to hear from again Shinji. Goodnight." With that, Amy drove off, not elaborating on the previous sentence as Shinji didn't pay much mind, placing his hands on his pockets to warm his hands. Until he felt something in his right pocket.
He pulled it out and saw a folded paper and opened it carefully and saw a phone number. A smile slowly appeared on his lips, letting out a soft sigh of content before placing it back on the pocket.
'That woman... Is full of surprises'