23Okay everyone, I'm back, and I am still taking a break from Undisputed and Fight Back, but I had this idea swimming around in my head for awhile, so I figure why not give it a shot. Anyways here we go.
Oh! One more thing, the OC's name is taken from a John Wayne movie. For those of you who are John Wayne fans, I'm sure you will recognize the name, but that doesn't mean thats the character personality, I just needed a name, and I was having a John Wayne movie marathon.
Now in the beginning, he may seem like a Mary Sue, and I apologize for that, but its kind of hard to write someone's flaws in an introduction, so as the story progresses, you will start to see his flaws. And well, you will also see some of them in this chapter as well, depending on what this chapter looks like after I'm done.
ALSO, yes this chapter is rushed and clunky, but I plan on making them better after I get chapter number one out of the way.
Now for pairing reasons, Motoko is going to be a little older in this, so its not creepy that she gets paired with the OC.
Also while I am a civil war buff, I guarantee you I will probably get descriptions of the weapons wrong, because its a little weird to write down details, right now I'm going off details I have read in books.
TOKYO AIRPORT
A young man was waiting for his luggage to appear on the conveyor belt, all the while humming a tune to himself. To any other person in the airport, he was just another foreigner in Japan. But get to know him, and you would find there was more than what you would see at first glance. Finally, the man spotted his bag and rushed over to pick it up, he was not a man for fancy suitcases or expensive suits, as evidenced by his baggage which at this point was an old hiking backpack that looked like it had seen better days. Passerbys assumed he was just some kid there on vacation, but the truth was actually far from it.
His name was Sean Thorton, an exchange student from Texas. While he may have seemed like some plain old country boy from America, he was far more than that. Sure he had grown up like any of the kids in his town, shooting rifles, working on the ranch, going to school, that was just some of the regular stuff. However Sean didn't want to spend his entire life in that town without seeing the rest of the world first. He worked hard in school, eventually enough to get him into a good community college. It was there that he discovered a new hobby, Fencing.
He had seen a little on TV, and honestly though it was a little weird, not understanding how such small swords could do anything to harm the human body. Either way he took it just to see what it was like, he figured it was going to be easy, but he had never been more wrong in his whole life. By the end of his first day, it felt like he had been kicked by a horse multiple times. But having a new found respect for fencers, he went back to the class the next day.
Eventually he started to like it more and more, and when his school took the chance to expand it to include HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) He gladly signed up for that too.
He had two years of training, and while he did have some skill, he still had a lot to learn. And while he did enjoy swordplay, he also knew that if he wanted to defend himself in this life, he would need to have a fighting style that included punches and kicks. Eventually he found a judo school that he attended on the weekends, as well as a boxing gym that he attended twice a week. Once again, he was not professional, but he knew just enough that he could defend himself if the situation called for it.
He wasn't a large man, standing at only about 5'11'' and weighing 168 pounds. He had muscle, but not to the point of putting on a lot of bulk, he looked more streamline and wiry. But that was the way he preferred it, while he always idolized people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he did not think he could pull off the arms that look like they could pull a crocodiles jaws apart.
Anyways, why was he in Japan? Well, a few months ago, he was ready to transfer out of his community college, and while he did score highly, he couldn't find any universities in the area that offered what he was looking for. Lo and Behold, his academic advisor told him that he could always try and go overseas as an exchange student at Tokyo U, however, he would still have to take the entrance exams the same as anyone else. So that was when they set up a plan for him.
He would go to Japan, and he would live and study among other students attempting to get into the same university, he would still have a few months before the entrance exam, but luckily he did save up money for this occasion. And while his Japanese was not the best it could be, he was working on improving it, and even got assigned a personal tutor and translator. But for day to day activities, he also had a pocket translator to get the job done while he couldn't.
The main thing he had to worry about was his living arrangements, however, surprisingly as if by a god send. That was taken care of immediately.
An elderly Japanese lady happened to be visiting his advisor that day, as she was an old family friend. And when she heard about his little predicament, she informed him that she had a nephew who could offer him housing, but she did have some conditions.
If he did get into Tokyo U, he would have to remain at a steady GPA and enroll in a various amount of extracurricular. Luckily that was something he didn't have a problem with. And considering how badly he wanted to see the world, this was an oppurtunity he could not pass up.
Granted, he really should not have been taking offers from strange elderly ladies he had never met. But at the same time he was too excited to turn her down. She was offering him a place to stay, all he would have to do was ask her nephew Kei..Keita? Something starting with a K for help.
What he didn't know was that the old lad has some other plans.
"Hmm, this could help, maybe if there is another tenant that is a male, maybe the girls will be more comfortable, besides I was considering making the dorm co ed anyways...hmm, well if it doesn't work it doesn't work...but then that boy would be out on the streets...hmm, well I'm sure Keitaro could help find him a place, he was always sweet like that. Hopefully he can help Keitaro with his confidence issues." While the old lady was mumbling to herself, Sean was just confused.
After he left the airport, he had to stop by the local post office, because he had two items shipped from home that he could not take on the plane due to regulations and security reasons.
Item number one was a civil war cavalry officer saber, that one of his ancestors had used in the war. He was a Captain in the Confederate army. And while some people said he should be ashamed of that fact, he never saw the point in denying your roots and your history. After all, those who did not learn from History were doomed to repeat it. The other item was another sword, but this was an infantry officer saber, with a straighter blade. The biggest difference was that this was from another one of his ancestors who fought on the side of the union.
He loved the fact that he had relatives that fought on both sides, because he could see the Civil War from two different perspectives. He had read up on the history of both sides, and while yes both were flawed, it was hard not to respect men who fought for what they believed in. Besides once again, that was all ancient history. The Civil war was over, no sense thinking that its still going on.
He called a taxi, who did give him an odd look for carrying two strange packages as well as a dirty old pack, but as long as he was a paying customer, he didn't care if Sean stepped in wearing armor. As the car drove on and on, Sean took the time to admire the scenery through the window.
While it was a city no doubt, he couldn't help but notice the differences in architecture that made you realize he wasn't in the states anymore. It was still jarring to him, especially since he had to adjust to a new economy, new language, new city, and don't even get him started on the currency.
He was not talking trash about the Japanese at all, but he could not understand the currency, how was it that one american dollar could equal to an amount around one hundred yen? It was confusing, but it would just be an adjustment he would have to make if he wanted to be a student here. After all, it wasn't a smart idea to travel to another country and just expect everything to be adjusted for your comfort. Only idiots thought like that. And while he came here only half prepared, and that was not the brightest idea, he was going to make damn sure that he could live here without people thinking he was just a stupid foreigner.
He looked down at the slip of paper in his hand that contained the address of the place he was going to reside, the lady he had met had taken the time to write the address in both english and Japanese. It sounded like a nice place, after all, it had a hot spring, so he was not complaining, he could only imagine how useful that would have been when he spent his summers working with his grandfather on cars and on the ranch. Lord knows his muscles were sore after all that work.
"Just pull in here, I think this is the place." Sean said as the cab driver nodded.
"Thanks for the ride, eh, here I believe this covers it." He said as he saw the taxi drivers eyes widen for a bit before he drove off.
"I think...I may have tipped him a little too much..." He said as this was the reason that he couldn't understand the currency.
But he figured there was nothing wrong with that, so the guy made a little bit of extra money, Sean could live with that, after all, he still had plenty of money. Although he did feel pretty dumb for not knowing just how much he gave to the cabbie.
"Damn thats a lot of steps." He said to himself as he started the journey up to the inn.
Along the way he couldn't help but notice there were a lot of cracks in the cement, and also indentations, almost as if someone had made a habit of falling down the stairs, he could have sworn he even saw a blood stain, but he figured that was just his mind playing tricks on him. After all, why would there be blood stains on the way up to an inn? Unless of course someone fell and broke their nose on the cement.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
He knocked on the door with his pack on his back, and the two packages held in his arms. He didn't have to wait long until he heard a door being opened and a head poked out.
"H-Hello?" A girl with blue hair asked after she poked her head out.
"Uh, yeah is this the Hina Inn?" He asked as he tried to speak as best as he could.
"Yes it is, uhm, you're not from around here are you?" She asked as he nodded.
"No, I'm not, that obvious huh?" He asked.
"Well, considering you don't look Japanese, and your accent is strange, and the fact that you called this an Inn instead of a dormitory." She said as he raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Dang I thought I was getting better at Japanese." He thought to himself.
"Well, I though it was an Inn, I'm looking for a...Keitaro Urashima? His Grandma told me I could find him here." He said while still having trouble with the language.
"Oh! Sempai! Well, hes out right now, but if you want, you could wait for him in the living room." She said as she invited him in.
"Thank you, and is my japanese really that bad?" He asked her again.
"Eh, its not that its bad, its just that you can tell you need more practice...Sorry." She said as he waved it off.
"Don't be, I rolled the dice knowing what I would be getting into when I came here." He said as he sat down on a couch.
"May I offer you something to eat or drink?" She asked trying to be a polite guest.
"Uh, yeah sure thank you maam, I'll take water please." He said as she bowed.
"My name is Shinobu, what is yours?" She asked with a smile.
"Sean Thorton, Nice to meet you Shinobu." He said as he tried to shake hands, but she was already off.
"Well this is nice so far, I wonder how Gramps is doing, he didn't really like the fact I was going to Japan, I guess I can't blame him, the only experience he had with the Japanese was at Guadalcanal." He thought to himself.
His grandfather while supportive did not exactly approve of his grandson flying to Japan. The old man was one of the nicest men you will ever meet. But he was a World War two veteran who lost a lot of friends to the Japanese Imperial Army. And while the war had been over for a long time, the memories still stuck with him. Some people looked down on his grandfather for that, but he never did. It wasn't like his grandfather hated the Japanese, he just wasn't very trusting. And when you fight against someone for so long, you don't suddenly become best friends with them once the conflict was over, especially with what his grandfather had seen.
He still loved him, after all, His Grandpa taught him to ride a horse, fix a car, shoot a rifle. Hell his grandfather had even given him the cavalry saber that he had with him, it was a gift when he joined fencing and HEMA, and his grandfather gave it to him as an heirloom, since obviously his grandson would have more use for it than him.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" A voice cried out in anger.
He turned to see a very angry Japanese woman with what appeared to be a training sword.
"Uh, waiting?" He said not sure how to react.
"You shouldn't be here!" She said as she took a step forward.
"OH crap, this is not good! Not good!" He thought as this lady seemed to be pissed off for no reason.
He didn't even realize he was opening the package that contained one of his swords.
"I don't know what you're doing here, but if you do not leave, I will remove you!" She said as his hand was now on the grip of the CSA sword.
"Look, I'm just waiting for-" He tried to say before she attacked.
"LIAR!" She said as she swung at him.
He knew that he could not take the blade out as it was just a training sword. So he didn't draw the blade, he kept it in the sheath and deflected the blow away from him.
"Woah! Calm down! I'm just here to-" He tried to say before she attacked again.
"I just wanna-" Another slash.
"FOR GODS SAKE LET ME TALK!" He said as this woman was obviously better trained than him.
"MOTOKO! What are you doing?!" Shinobu said as she came back with a glass of water.
"This man is trespassing here! I am teaching him a lesson!" She said as Shinobu spoke up for me.
"He's not trespassing! I invited him in! He said he has business with Keitaro!" She said as that got her to stop swinging.
"You're here to speak with Urashima?" She said as she still didn't take her eyes off of me.
"Yeah! I tried to tell you that before you just attacked me for no reason! Seriously, who the hell does that?!" He said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Do not try my patience, you bring a weapon onto this ground, and you expect me not to worry?" She said as he resisted the urge to face palm.
"First off, you couldn't even see the sword as it was still in the package, I only opened it up after you came at me, secondly, the fact that I didn't even unsheathe it means I obviously wasn't trying to hurt you, so give me a break." He said but that did nothing to help the situation.
His responses only seemed to make her even angrier, luckily Shinobu cut in.
"Look! This is just a misunderstanding! Why don't I bring out some food so we can sit down and just relax!" She said as she rushed off.
Normally this wouldn't be a good idea to leave Motoko alone with a man considering her distrust of them, but if Shinobu trusted him, she could tolerate him for now.
"I'll be civil with you, but if you try anything, I will retaliate." She said gripping the bokken while He lowered his sword and sheathe.
"Fair enough, but seriously, you could have asked me what was going on before you attacked." He said as she scowled.
"You don't know when to shut up do you?" She said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm just being honest, I figured that was a good thing." He said as she was really starting to get irritated with him.
"I'm home!" A voice called out from the door.
A rather geeky looking guy with glasses came in through the door. Sean figured this had to be him.
"Urashima, this man was looking for you." Motoko said as Keitaro looked over.
"So you're Keitaro?" Sean asked as he stood up.
"Yep thats me." He said confused as to why there was another man here.
"Your grandma said you could help me out, she told me to give this note to you, basically I'm here to rent a room." He said as Keitaro's eyes widened.
Needless to say Shinobu who had come back from the Kitchen, Keitaro, and Motoko all had the same reaction.
"WWWHHHHHAAAATTTTTT?!"
