Distorted | Shimada Genji | g.s. / s.g.

act I: viii.

January 16th, 2058

"Do you know what day it is?" Genji grins at the Filipina as he obnoxiously sips on his ramen in a tayoudon bowl. Neala does not move out of plain annoyance of his actions but adjusts her line of sight as an indicator of her attention being grabbed. "In America, today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day." Neala perks up in amusement as she swallows her own bite of ramen. Unlike the spiky haired boy, she prefers the tamadon bowl.

"I'm surprised you are into those types of artifacts, Shimada," Neala nonchalantly comments. She devours another desperate bite of her food. The spices of garlic powder, onion powder, and ginger ached satisfyingly in her throat. "Everything that man did was necessary so that the Americans can step closer to unity."

Genji glances over challengingly, "And they still failed him." Once again, intentionally, he noisily sips his own bite of ramen. He rapidly swallows, "It only changed laws, not morals." The ombre haired girl's movements became slower as she got in her own thoughts so she could engage in the conversation that caught her attention. Shimada shifts his head to check on the girl to make sure he didn't say anything wrong and telepathically gets his answer as he observes her facial expression. He takes another bite before saying, "Japan could use some of that." Neala snaps her head in his direction and scowls with her eyes that he should not say such things so loudly in public. Genji gives a pearly white smile as reassurance; He knew everything would be fine because his family helps fund the secluded Ramen Takeout.

"It's much better in America," Neala states more quietly with a pause, "I mean– look at them. They actually have Omnics in the country whereas Japan discriminates against them entirely, though racism is everywhere."

"I want to live in America as soon as I graduate." Neala hastily maneuvers her head to look at the black haired boy. Panic erupts in her body but dared not to show it. "I have things to do and find out there." Neala swallows a bite of ramen and blankly looks ahead. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. Genji accounts her actions and mockingly sighs, "You can be honest about how you feel, ya know. I know you are obsessed with me–" Neala places her hand over his mouth and his cheeks are puffed up with his breath. She notices how chubby his cheeks are and heaves a breathy laugh. She shook her head to bring herself back to reality and glared at the boy evidently smirking from the way his eyebrows shifted.

"Don't be so sure of yourself about such ridiculous assumptions," The Filipina utters as she gives him a death glare and the Shimada sneakily licks her palm. She squeals and holds her wrist as if she was just infected with a disease. He widens his eyes and bursts out into a fit of laughter as he watches the scene in front of him unfold. "I'm going to kill you!" She playfully wacks his forehead as he acts scared and shields his face in his legs that are now clutched to his chest in the chair. Neala couldn't help but laugh herself as she continues to give into his trap of getting this side of her unlocked.

She pauses and fixes her posture in her seat as she takes a bite of her still steaming ramen. Genji raises his tucked head out of his legs suspiciously to make sure she wouldn't try anything and gently examines her. He follows suit to fix his posture in his seat and couldn't help but continue studying the precious girl sitting beside him. He was awfully sneaky about it, but Neala subconsciously felt a pair of eyes on her. She shifts her head to look at him, but before she fully turns, he swiftly looks at his food in front of him and takes a desperate bite.

"What are you looking at, Shimada?" Neala innocently asks with more emotion than usual. Genji internally melts but pushes the giddy feeling away.

"Y-Your hair... I found it funny." The ombre haired girl rolls her eyes but sneakily smiles, thinking he didn't see. Though, what she didn't realize, is that the boy has a third eye.