Anonymous
Mar 2, 2013 17:47:53 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2013 17:47:53 GMT -6
It was a busy day, which was unsurprising. The Marketplace was always crowded on the weekends, when everyone used the time off from work and school to let go of their cares for a bit and shop. Naota was just another vendor among the many that lined the street, though his was a special craft, one that didn’t require that he shout out to the passers-by in hopes that they stop by and contribute to the “Keep Naota Able To Eat Fund.” On the other hand, given his code of ethics that made asking for payment impossible, it was difficult for him to make any money if he wasn’t going to do something to draw attention to himself. Still, he’d gotten along well enough so far without yelling at people or holding up a sign; he’d just have to be optimistic.
Of course, it helped to have kids around. Adults might not pay much attention to a young shirtless guy standing near a corner shuffling a pack of cards and smiling at anyone who caught his eye—especially the girls—but children were possessed of an insatiable curiosity that made them wander over to him to see what was up. And most important, kids, unlike their boring parents, still believed in magic.
Currently the magician was surrounded by a small group of four children, sitting down so as to be at eye level with his audience. He was busy doing whatever he could to entertain them. Card tricks, jokes, stupid faces, they were treated to his entire repertoire, and they were loving it. The kids’ laughter mixed with the countless other noises coming from the street, adding to the general cacophony of the Marketplace.
Unfortunately, magical as he was, Naota couldn’t stop time, and eventually his new friends had to rejoin their parents, scattering to the winds, last bursts of laughter lingering after they left. The magician watched the kids go with a smile, glad to have had the pleasure of entertaining them for as long as he had. Then his gaze drifted to his empty cap on the ground in front of him, and the smile shrank just a little. He would never stop making children happy, but he wouldn’t have minded some form of physical thanks. Smiles couldn’t pay the bills, after all. But this was the path he’d chosen for himself, and he’d stick with it, even if it wasn’t the most lucrative choice he could have made.
Sighing, the young man shuffled his cards again and turned his gaze back to the street, though in his current sitting position—his eyes were at about waist height on most people—there wasn’t all that much to see, and no one he did see looked interested in magic tricks. Well, he’d give it a couple more hours, then head home. Maybe today just wasn’t his day. He could live with that. There was always tomorrow.
Anonymous
Mar 3, 2013 2:53:30 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2013 2:53:30 GMT -6
As interesting as the Marketplace usually was, today, other than the kids who had just left, there really wasn’t anyone worth paying attention to. He probably wasn’t going to be entertaining any paying customers today. Still, he wouldn’t give up just yet. There was always the possibility of a sudden windfall.
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than there was the muffled clink of coins hitting his cap, snapping Naota out of the daze he’d been in. He looked up, and his mind went fuzzy. There, hair shining in the sunlight, was quite possibly the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen—and he’d seen many girls in his life. Was she the one who had dropped the money in his cap? Couldn’t be. Gorgeous and generous? He had to be dreaming. Any minute now he’d wake up in his bed, this girl a fading memory. For now, though, he’d enjoy this dream.
The girl spoke, and still all he could do was stare, mouth hanging open. Even her voice was angelic. She confirmed that she was the one who had given him the money, and complimented him on his performance. It took a solid minute before the magician could work up the brain power necessary to respond, and even when he did he was not at his most eloquent.
“I, uh…th-thanks. I appreciate the compliment. Oh, and the money, too! I appreciate that as well.” His words were stammered out, his attention still fixated on his staring. Realizing that he looked stupid gaping up at the girl, he stood, brushing dust off his pants. He was taller than the girl, but not by much. Now that they were at about eye level, he could appreciate her face even more. It was, quite frankly, ridiculous how good-looking she was. Bending down for a second, he pocketed the money she’d given him and placed the cap back on his head. Feeling a little more relaxed, he flashed a winning smile.
”Thanks again for the money.” He held out a hand to shake. ”I’m Naota.” All right, I’ve introduced myself. Time to turn on the charm. ”So tell me, what’s a woman as beautiful as you doing here with us bums?”
Anonymous
Mar 3, 2013 15:09:35 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2013 15:09:35 GMT -6
He had been doing so well in the past few seconds and not letting his mind go blank over how pretty this girl was, and then she had to ruin that by smiling. The expression was just as dazzling as the rest of her, and it was all he could do to actually hear what she said. Her name was appropriately wonderful, matching his overall impression of her. She was gorgeous, had complimented his magic, and had given money when he hadn’t even performed anything for her. She was unbelievable.
He hadn’t been expecting her to swoon over his honeyed words or anything so dramatic as all that, but he was still very glad that her reaction to his flirtation was positive. This was a girl he did not want to offend. The magician grinned when she called him sweet. That was, after all his goal. It was nice to have his other major talent recognized.
Asami explained the virtues of the marketplace, and Naota chuckled along with her, thinking of the many colorful characters he’d met in his time languishing on the streets. ”Yeah, Unique is a good word for what you find here,” he agreed. ”Just so long as you’re careful about who you allow to weasel you out of your money. Unique can also mean not worth your time.”
Asami mentioned the name Bolin, and that got Naota thinking. He thought he’d heard that name—or a similar one—somewhere. But maybe not. The man had difficulty remembering the names of anyone who wasn’t a girl he was planning to sleep with. Maybe his connection to this Bolin guy would come back to him later. For now, he had a conversation to continue.
”Tricks with a Fire Ferret? Hm, I didn’t know you could do that,” he muttered, honestly impressed. He had great respect for anyone who made their money doing tricks of any kind. ”Though, now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen something like that before. To be honest, I’m a little jealous. Cute animals are excellent assistants to have if you want to attract attention. All I’ve got are cards…” he pulled out his deck from his pocket and showed it to Asami. ”And those don’t really do much to get me noticed. Bolin sounds like a pretty smart guy.”
Anonymous
Mar 4, 2013 0:02:09 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2013 0:02:09 GMT -6
Asami seemed like a lovely person, but her friend Bolin sounded a little strange. He talked to his Fire Ferret? How did that even work? Did the two understand each other at all? If he saw more of Asami in the future—and he was going to do whatever he could to make that happen—he’d like to meet this Bolin guy, if only to watch him interact with his pet, Pabu. Going by the way Asami described him, he figured he and the other performer would get along. If nothing else, they’d certainly be able to compare methods, which was something he was always willing to do with anyone in a similar line of work.
The woman gave the opinion that he shouldn’t need more than cards to entertain people, and he smiled, appreciating that. He’d been worrying recently that his repertoire was too small to be worth anyone’s attention, and it was nice to hear that someone else could assuage his worries, even if Asami hadn’t actually seen what he could do with the cards. Naota didn’t easily accept compliments on his performances when they came from grown-ups—most adults said bland, nice stuff about his tricks without actual emotion in them, unlike their kids—but something about Asami’s tone gave him the impression that she knew what she was talking about. He nodded quickly to reassure her. ”Yeah, that makes sense. Props can be crucial, though.”
She kept the advice coming, suggesting that he find some way to attract attention before dazzling the crowds with his card tricks. ”Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, but I’m not sure what to do. I don’t think a sign would be appropriate, and shouting about magic tricks kind of defeats the purpose of performing them…” He scratched his head, trying to find the perfect solution to his problem. He sighed. ”I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Again Asami spoke with some authority. Naota looked her over once more. She didn’t look like she participated in any sort of work similar to his, but part of being a magician was being deceiving with one’s appearance. Well, staring wasn’t going to help him figure anything out. Might as well ask. ”You seem pretty knowledgeable about how to put on a good show,” he remarked. ”Do you do any kind of performing yourself?”
Anonymous
Mar 4, 2013 16:15:44 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2013 16:15:44 GMT -6
He was slightly disappointed to hear that Asami was not a performer, though it didn’t diminish his opinion of her in any way. Plenty of people found countless other ways to make a living that weren’t so fickle and were just as fulfilling. His older sister had a small, mostly unimportant job at City Hall, and though he thought it was one of the boring positions he’d ever heard of, she was happy, and had a constant source of income, which was more than he could say at any given time. He was sure Asami was just as successful at whatever she enjoyed doing.
The subject of mechanics went completely over his head, but he nodded all the same, perking up a bit when the woman grounded it in driving, which, though he never did it himself, was something he thought he understood. ”That’s impressive,” he responded, smiling to show that he was sincere. ”I don’t do any driving, but it’s always seemed like a lot of fun when done for something other than just getting from point A to point B.”
The magician wasn’t sure what to make of Asami’s talk of hosting parties. He could guess, though, judging from her overall appearance and her talk of hiring performers, that she was wealthy. His parents threw parties too, sometimes, but hiring performers was too expensive for them. Asami must have a decent amount of money. And she liked cars…
”Wait…” Naota tapped his chin with a finger as a sudden thought came to him. ”Are you Asami Sato? Like, the daughter of Hiroshi Sato, that really famous inventor?” He hoped he was right, and that if he was Asami wasn’t offended by the label he’d given her father. He wasn’t current on goings-on in the business world, but everyone knew who Hiroshi Sato was, and he did have a daughter named Asami. It wasn’t too much a stretch to make that connection.
Anonymous
Mar 5, 2013 20:25:52 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2013 20:25:52 GMT -6
He was grateful that Asami managed to talk about her experience with satomobiles without being too technical about it. From what limited experience he had with those in the world of business—and that was very little—he had found that such people tended to get caught up in what they were saying, assuming that everyone else in a conversation had the same level of knowledge and enthusiasm that they did. So it was good that Asami was not like that, meaning that he could actually understand what she was saying, even if he hadn’t had the same experience that she had. That was greatly to her credit.
So he had been right! That was good. Naota might not be too afraid of making a fool of himself when talking to girls—it was a rare occurrence—but to get Asami mixed up with someone else just because of a similar name and interests would have been horrible. That being said, now that her identity was confirmed, he wasn’t sure what that changed, if anything. He enjoyed the convenience that satomobiles added to his life, but wasn’t the kind of person to obsess over famous business people, even if this woman’s father happened to be the man who had revolutionized transportation. Besides, she was probably used to living in her father’s shadow, being known only because of his success. She would likely appreciate it if they didn’t talk about her dad much. He was more than fine with that.
Unfortunately, Asami had to ruin things by revealing that she had a boyfriend. That was unfortunate. She was beautiful and intelligent, and it was definitely a blow to find out that she was taken. Still, that was a clear signal, and Naota took it as such. Given that her boyfriend lived with her, it sounded like the relationship was pretty serious, and he had no desire to mess things up for a happy couple. Still, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends, did it?
”Makes sense,” he said, nodding. ”Sounds like things are getting pretty busy at your place. I can understand wanting to get away from it all for a bit.” He hesitated for a bit before continuing. ”Do you maybe want to walk around for a bit? N-not like a date or anything!” He was quick to clarify so as to avoid a misreading of his intentions. ”Just, you know, if you wanted some company. If not, no big deal. I’ll leave you alone.”
Anonymous
Mar 10, 2013 2:43:27 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2013 2:43:27 GMT -6
Asami seemed like a very generous person, judging by the way she talked about Bolin and his brother. He didn’t know many people who would just take in two people like that, even if one of them was her boyfriend. Her father must be an extraordinary man to have produced such a kind daughter. Naota couldn’t help being jealous of her boyfriend, who was definitely a lucky guy.
The magician was relieved that Asami had understood him and that she didn’t think he was trying to come between her and her boyfriend. Even better, she accepted the offer of his company. When she resumed walking, he joined her, glad to have an excuse to do something other than sitting there hoping that someone would notice him. That was not really a fun way to spend his day, even if it was his only source of income.
The woman’s question made him grin. Naota made it his business to get to know as many different performers as he could, and he said as much. ”Sure, there are all kinds of performers! Everyone’s good at something. As long as you can find enough people who are interested in what you can do, you can make a living off of your performances. I know this guy who makes loads of money just by juggling knives. Sounds crazy, I know, but he’s good at it, and people will pay a lot to see stuff like that.”
Anonymous
Mar 19, 2013 18:07:05 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Mar 19, 2013 18:07:05 GMT -6
Asami’s description of the sword-swallower brought a grin to the magician’s face, though he was disappointed for Asami when she said she’d never actually seen the trick performed. ”You missed out,” he told her. ”It’s fantastic.” As one of many performers on the city’s streets, Naota made a point of seeing as many acts as he could, and he had witnessed the ingestions of blades a few times. One man had offered to explain the trick to him, but he had kept his desire for hidden knowledge in check. Some tricks should remain magical, he felt, and that was one of them.
The mood of the conversation shifted slightly when the woman asked about his finances. She quickly apologized, but Naota help up his hands to show that she had caused him no offense. ”It’s fine. I’m used to getting questions like that from my parents all the time. I have just the one job, and yeah, it’s not the most lucrative career ever, and I know that. Money’s always tight, but I don’t need to buy all that much to be comfortable, so it’s fine.”
He kept the conversation going to keep the mood light. ”What about you? You said you drive for sport…have you ever thought about turning that into a career? Like, racing or something like that?”
Anonymous
Apr 5, 2013 3:11:29 GMT -6
Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2013 3:11:29 GMT -6
What Asami said was interesting. Was he comfortable with his life, really? He liked to pretend that he was, and if asked would always say that he made enough money. Always enough, but never as much as he would have liked. He envied Asami, who, he guessed, had more money than she could use in an entire lifetime. Anything she wanted, she could have. That was something that had never been true for him, and he wondered what daily life was like for the woman walking beside him. But he didn’t ask. His parents had taught him not to be rude, and asking probing questions about strangers’ lifestyles certainly qualified as inappropriate.
The answer to his question was a bit disappointing, but not unexpected. Of course she would take over her father’s business when he retired. It was understandable; still, he kind of wished she’d expressed some secret desire to become a race car driver or something equally fantastic. But, just because he ran in exciting, unique circles didn’t mean that everyone did, or that there wasn’t value in owning one of the most successful businesses in the city, if not the world.
Well, at least she entertained the thought. That suggested that she wasn’t as serious and stuffy as might be expected given her position. Naota nodded. ”Well, even if you don’t become a world famous racer, at least you can still drive for fun and hang out with other people who do,” he said. ”The best part of being a magician for me is talking to others who are into the same stuff.”
