Goals and Desires

Chapter 5.1 - Idle chatter with Miya (extra)

5 days after the meeting with Henry

When I returned from the library, the weather was getting darker.

I came back to the room we stayed with Miya. I entered the room with the new book I borrowed from the library under my left shoulder. To my surprise, Miya was already there. She usually practised in the hotel's garden until it was dark outside. I didn't want to seem too surprised, so I just changed my clothes and lay on my bed. As I was about to start reading my book, Miya interrupted me.
"Oh, you're back. Hello."
"Yes, hello, but it's been a few minutes since I came, you know."
"Oh. Sorry. I was going to rest a little but I fell asleep."
"Oh. Did I wake you up?"
"Not really, I kind of woke up by myself."
"Well, since you woke up, I might as well ask. It's unusual for you to come back from training this early. What happened?"
"Ah yes. About that. Using magic anywhere within the hotel is strictly forbidden unless you're staff. I believe it's for security reasons."
"And?"
"Someone snitched on me, apparently. That receptionist guy that let us stay here told me I shouldn't draw too much attention since it would get both of us in trouble, not to mention it's against the rules, to begin with. To be honest, I think he was way nicer than he was supposed to so I'm grateful for that. He could've kicked us out for all I know."
"That's true. Though, does that mean you won't be training anymore?"
"Not in the hotel garden, at least. I'm going to look for a dojo or something, anywhere I can train without having to worry about getting told off."
We both stared at the ceiling for a bit, before Miya broke the silence. She turned her head towards me and started talking:
"Say, where did you live in our old World?"
That question surprised me, but I pulled myself together and answered.
"I lived in the US, but I'm Japanese. In case you can't tell by my name."
"Wait, really? The same goes for me! I lived most of my life in Japan but moved to the US after graduating college to work there. Though... that didn't last very long."
"Well, for me, even though my parents taught me Japanese, I was born in America and lived there my whole life. My parents say they moved there 2 years after I was born due to my dad's job."
"You didn't get to experience Japan then?"
"Kind of. We used to go to Japan on holidays and stuff to visit our relatives and such. Usually my grandparents. It was pretty fun for the most part but I also couldn't make many friends because everyone bullied me for "being different". I still wonder why they were so bothered by it."
"Yeah, I don't get that either. I get that in the past, people were forced to help each other to survive due to the nature of Japan, but that's mostly not that big of a problem anymore, so I don't get why we're still supporting collectivism. Nowadays, it causes more harm than good."
"Collectivism?"
"Yeah."
"What's collectivism again?"
"Errr," Miya seemed like she was having a hard time. "We'll talk about that later, okay? I'm tired and don't feel like discussing such topics right now."
"If you say so. Let's change the topic then. What was your favourite food back then?"
"Salmon nigiri. It's underrated as hell."
"I assume it's still your favourite food then?"
"Yeah. Haven't found anything better than that in this world. Though Elvindom food is pretty good. It reminds me of Chinese cuisine to be honest."
"Yeah, me too. Elvindom resembles China in a way. Though Chinese people are way nicer than these Elves, that's for sure."
"I agree. Oh by the way, what's your favourite food, Sakura?"
"It's a hard question, but I think my favourite food is Korean dumplings."
"Korean dumplings? I never heard of that before."
"Me neither, up until a friend told me she likes it a lot. I decided to try it as well and it's been my favourite ever since."
"That sounds nice. Do you remember the recipe by any chance?"
"I wish I did. I miss it so much."
"What was it like?"
"Dumplings. Literally. There are many variations, such as filling it with meat, vegetables etc."
"Oh, I see."
We both stared at the ceiling again. After that, I think I fell asleep, because I don't remember anything after that.