Seeing Red

[GGJ5]

Seeing Red is a store specializing in selling various formats of music, from CDs to DVDs to videos and tapes, and even some eight-tracks and records. The shelves are high and well-stocked, which means nearly anyone can walk in and find something they like. You can also find a lot of bargain deals on older CDs or records for a nickel if that tickles your fancy. Enjoy. (:

[GGJ5]

OOC: yay, first Erin/Yumi interaction! *cackles* I love it! BIC:

Erin Spenser

She needed to increase her collection of graduation gifts to Yukito. Erin had started making a basket of little gifts to give him, and she was also trying to make up for his birthday that she missed, too, so the more the merrier, definitely. So far she already collected a silver Phoenix necklace, a sound-proof fancy set of ear phones that her parents insisted were too expensive, and a framed picture of the both of them together, photoshopped just enough to give it better lighting and add their names in the corner. Three things-- that wasn't nearly enough, and her funds were running low, so Erin had finally settled on adding a CD or two to the collection. Even though she didn't know his entire library, and the thought kind of nagged at her that she might buy him something he already had, and that would suck.

She thumbed through the disorganized shelves before her, plucking this one and sampling that one... at the moment Erin was debating on whether to keep the Tool album in her hands as an option or move onto something a little older, like the Eagles or something... She sighed her frustration at her indecisiveness and pulled off the headphones customers used to sample the music, very Barnes and Nobel style.

[The Phantom of Paris]

OOC: First Yumi post! *dances* BIC:

Yumi Saito

She had been in America a few days now and was still getting used to the way things worked, becoming permanently attached to Sunnychan's side as she struggled to get used to the new environment. It was all so much to her, this new city with the funny name, filled with so many people she couldn't understand, and it overwhelmed her.

It was also eating away at Yumi that she hadn't seen Yukito yet. She had gotten his address from a mutual friend of theirs, and had it written on a piece of paper stashed in her purse, but she hadn't gotten the courage to go over there yet, or try to call him. Sunny bothered her about it, saying that if he was the reason for her visit Yumi should just go and see him already, but she didn't know if she had it in her to do something like that. It would be so much easier to just bump into him someplace, without it making her seem like she was stalking him or anything. I can't do that. I can't scare him away again, not when I've been given this second chance...

And so, with Sunny by her side, Yumi had begun to visit places she thought Yukito might frequent in a hope of seeing him there--places where you could hear and perform live music, the tennis courts, the hibachi restaurant...and had had no luck at any of them. Today's schedule had them checking out a CD shop that Sunnychan had said was really good, holding onto the desperate wish that this would be the place where she would find him. I know you're here somewhere, Yukitokun...

Sunny wandered off to browse on her own, wishing Yumi good luck as she walked away. Yumi walked through the aisles alone, pretending to scan the shelves of endless CD's with English words stamped on the covers, when really she was looking for the familiar slumped posture, the disheveled hair, the silently bored look in those eyes of his...

She stopped short as she bumped into someone sitting quietly, headphones in their ears. Oh, look what you did, you idiot...and you don't know enough of her language to apologize to her! "Go...gomen nasai," she managed to say, her head frantically searching for the English word. "So--soly."

That probably wasn't it...where did Sunny go? I'm useless without her as my interpreter!

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

Having found a song to listen to that she particularly enjoyed, Erin had turned the volume up and closed her eyes, swaddling herself in the music. It was a track she also had at home on a mixed CD one of her friends had given her forever ago, and it came with a whole collection of memories, so that made it all the more easy to become lost inside of the song. "Deep inside of your mind/You're forced to believe/That nothing's gonna change/So I take you by the hand/And I lead you to a place/A place of happiness/Like this--"

The chorus was forgotten, however, when something crashed over her feet and Erin's eyes reopened in surprise to find the something was a someone. A female Asian someone that looked about her age, looking back at her with a purely flustered expression. Oh, is that all? A smile emerged on Erin's face as she slipped off the headphones and as the other girl started to speak, still sounding as flustered as she looked. "Go... gomen nasai". So-- soly."

Hey, I know that word! was Erin's first thought, and then, She apologized. I should probably let her know it's fine, huh? "It's fine!" Though it didn't seem this girl would know what that meant, maybe... after all, just from one word Erin could already hear the thick accent. Oh, crap, what's the word for 'okay'? I totally knew that at one point! Shoot, shoot, shoot! "Eto...." She smiled apologetically for the missing words and offered a shrug, her hands raised in a "well, I can try!" manner. "Domo?" What does it say that the only words I can really remember in Japanese are things like 'kiss me' and 'I love you'? Erin thought, out loud giggling a little at their lack of communication.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Yumi Saito

The Amerikajin girl she had run into didn't look angry at her, but Yumi couldn't help mentally being herself up for being so stupid and careless. You shouldn't have even come here in the first place. This isn't worth it. I don't even know how to find Yukitokun, let alone if he'll want to see me or have anything to do with me, and this was a mistake from the start... She stumbled an apology to the dark-haired, wide-eyed Amerikajin, as awkward and clumsy in her native language as in English a moment later when she thought she recalled the right word. Where's Sunnychan when I need her...I should just leave and hope that I'll find Yukitokun another day.

Or maybe he'll find me, right when I'm not looking. Isn't that how love always is? Oh, Yukitokun, where are you?

"It's fine!" said the Amerikajin with a smile. Yumi gave her a nervous one of her own while she tried to place the word. 'Fine...' Doesn't that mean something like 'Okay'? Is she trying to tell me it's okay that I pretty much ran her over while she was trying to listen to music? Ohh...I hate English! Sunny, get over here, I need you!

"Hai," Yumi said with a nod, still not knowing exactly what the other girl had told her but figuring a simple 'yes' was the easiest way to go. She was about to grab Sunnychan and walk out the door, leaving the embarrassing situation behind her, when the girl suddenly spoke in Nihongo. "Eto....Domo?"

What? The Amerikajin knows my language?! Yumi couldn't stop the grin that came over her face. "Hai! Nihongo o hanashimasu ka?" she asked, almost breathlessly. Could it really be that easy to communicate with this girl?

But wait. Maybe that's all the Japanese she knows. Sunny said that some Amerikajin know a few words here and there, I shouldn't assume that she's fluent or anything...I don't know what to do! Suppressing a sigh, Yumi apologized again. "Soly. Engresh...no good."

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

Clearly she wasn't communicating right. Erin tried again, amused at her own limited vocabulary. "Eto....Domo?"

Maybe it wasn't such a hot idea, though, since all the sudden a rattle of Japanese came at her, and Erin thought she heard something about Nihon, but she couldn't be sure with all the sounds and vowels smooshed into one long and breathless phrase. Erin started laughing at their mutual confusion and held up her hands like someone surrendering.

"Soly. Engresh...no good," she said by way of explanation.

"Ni... hongo... not good, either," Erin echoed with another little laugh. Her finger twisted a strand of hair around itself as she searched through her tiny vocabulary to try to explain. "Nihongo kareshi." She gave a quick nod of confirmation, hoping she was at least making some sense to this girl.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Yumi Saito

"Soly. Engresh...no good," Yumi said sheepishly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and looking around anxiously for any sign of Sunny. If she could just interpret for me...or something. I wouldn't even mind if I just found her and left. This is too embarrassing...what was I thinking, coming here when my English is so terrible? Sunnychan can't be with me all the time, anyway, what am I going to do when I'm stuck somewhere without her and can't talk to anyone?

What if I'm forced to go home before I even have a chance to find Yukitokun, to talk to him? What if I leave before I can finally see him again?

"Ni... hongo... not good, either," the Amerikajin told her, giggling a bit. Yumi gave a vague little nod at that, wanting to acknowledge the fact that she understood what she had said but not wanting it to seem like she agreed with the girl saying that her Japanese was bad. Yes, her pronunciation isn't the greatest, and it looks like she only knows a few words, but at least she's trying, which is more than I can say for a lot of Amerikajin. She's at least making an effort, and that helps a lot.

"Nihongo kareshi," said the girl with a nod of her own. Yumi raised her eyebrows in surprise at that. Her boyfriend is from Japan too? Or does she mean that he's only of Japanese descent, that he's Japanese-American? "R--rery?" she asked, not really knowing what she was trying to accomplish by asking that but figured it would be the politest way she could respond under the circumstances.

"Yumi desu," she said with a smile and a slight bow. "Yumi am."

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Nihongo kareshi," Erin added in an attempt explanation, giving a little proud nod. She loved how she could squeeze Yukito into almost any conversation. He'd probably hate it if he knew how often she did that, and the thought amused her.

"R--rery?" The other girl looked surprised-- or maybe doubtful-- at Erin's words. Maybe her pronunciation sucked more than she thought it did, or maybe this girl thought she was a liar or something. Whatever... Erin nodded. "Yeah! Hai."

"Yumi desu," she introduced herself, with a little smile and little bow. "Yumi am."

Erin still smiled at Yumi that didn't know much English and tried copying her phrase. "Erin desu." Then, almost hesitantly she added, "Was that really bad?" In the back of her mind, Erin thought, Aidousan's old girlfriend was a Yumi, too... and she was Yukito's girlfriend before that. Weird.

[The Phantom of Paris]

Yumi Saito

"R--rery?" was the only response she could think of to the Amerikajin saying she had a Japanese boyfriend. Because, really, what else is there to say to that, anyway? I mean, it's not like I couldn't respond, that would be rude...but what else could I say? 'Oh, maybe I know him?' That's likely. The thought was so ridiculous she almost laughed to herself, but concealed it with just the tiniest amused twitch of the lips.

"Yeah! Hai."

"Is...cool."

It was then that Yumi realized that she had been talking (sort of) to this friendly girl for a few minutes without introducing herself, and the Amerikajin might find it rude. She stumbled on a quick introduction with a smile and a bow, knowing that Amerikajin didn't do that like they did back home but finding it a habit that was impossible to break. Besides, she said her boyfriend was from Nihon...so she won't think it's weird or too formal that I bowed. She knows why I did it, so it won't be strange. That's nice. At least she knows a little about my country, and she's trying.

"Erin desu. Was that really bad?"

Yumi's eyes widened dramatically, then narrowed as she gazed at the girl suspiciously, ignoring her question entirely. "E--Elreen Spensah?" she asked loudly, not caring who heard. Without waiting for an answer, she plunged on, reverting to her native language to give this Erin a piece of her mind. "You! You're Erin Spenser! You're the one who hurt Yukitokun! What are you thinking? Are you out of your mind? How dare you! How dare you hurt him!"

She hadn't found Yukito.

But she had found the next best thing--the source of his heartbreak.

The one thing standing in Yumi's way of getting what she wanted.

[GGJ5]

Erin Spenser

"Erin desu. Was that really bad?" Erin asked, not immediately registering the expression on Yumi's face. She was always so stupidly slow at registering people's moods from their faces... and after this incident Erin would look back on it in retrospect, cursing herself for being so slow and clueless.

"E--Elreen Spensah?" Yumi asked loudly. Erin nodded, feeling very confused. How does Yumi know my last name? Wait, Yumi??

Erin's thoughts were cut short by the tirade of clearly angry Japanese she was getting tossed in her face. It was so fast Erin couldn't have picked out a word if she tried, but her reaction only made sense if this was that Yumi.

The same Yumi that Aidousan used to constantly talk about on his LiveJournal.

The same Yumi that Yukito had mentioned a couple of time.

And now she'd come here?!?!

The only reason she would be here would be for either Aidousan or Yukito... which one? It didn't matter-- Erin's first thought was to make sure she didn't try to step anywhere near Yukito, that she knew good and well she didn't stand a snowballs' chance in hell of being in Erin's place. Just the thought that this girl would think of Yukito like that made her want to scream right back at her, right in her face!

As soon as Yumi silenced her little foreign tirade, automatically Erin went to top it-- louder and longer than hers, more real, more angry, more stubborn, more everything. "If you came back for Yukito, you can get your ugly a-- back on that plane and go home because he doesn't want you or need you and just so you know, he never even loved you, so shut up with whatever foreign bullsh--- you're trying to pull and stay away from him!"

Yeah, she was loud. And she wasn't quieting the curses, and apparently it was bothering one of the employees, who suddenly appeared at her side. "I'm sorry, we don't allow disturbances like that in here, you--"

Erin shrugged him off bitterly and dropped the CDs she'd been playing with in her hands. "Fine!" she snapped, then to Yumi: "Leave. Him. Alone." She didn't try to hide the hand gesture she gave Yumi from the employee, who then commenced to attempt to guide her quickly out the door. But Erin stormed out on her own, ears burning and hands shoved as deep as she could into her pockets.

She came here for him. She still has a thing for him! Screw you, Yumi! SCREW YOU!

Erin left Seeing Red... seeing... red.... [/u]

[The Phantom of Paris]

Yumi Saito

Yumi glared up at the taller girl as she regaled her in her native language, asking her if she was crazy and verbally assaulting her for all that she had done to Yukitokun. For this Spenser Erin had to be crazy, to have had her chance with Yukito and completely blown it, thrown it away without even realizing how lucky she had been to have what she had. She doesn't deserve him. She took him for granted, and then she just ruined everything with her jealousy and her issues...seriously, where is her mind? How could anyone be so stupid as to let him go?

I didn't. I know how lucky I was. I didn't let him go. He let me go.

But not for long.

Once Yumi was done, Spensersan launched into a tirade of her own, angry English words echoing through the store and making people stare, including the young Amerikajin behind the counter. Under normal circumstances, Yumi would have been embarrassed, but she was so angry she didn't care. I'm going to show you. I'm going to make you see just how stupid you were, and just how much better Yukito will be with me.

Yumi couldn't pick out much from angry Spensersan's speech, but she could understand a few words here and there. Yukito was mentioned several times, and she was able to pick out one word in particular: ugly. She knew this because Sunny had explained it a few days before after her father had used the term to describe the neighbor's dog. This, coming from Erin Spenser, was ridiculous enough that Yumi almost started laughing right there. Ugly, Spenser Erin? Yukito didn't think so, Aidousan neither. They both thought I was beautiful. When was the last time Yukitokun referred to you as being beautiful, huh?

An employee of the music store came up then and said something to the angry Amerikajin, and from the look on his face Yumi could guess that he was asking her to leave, telling her that fighting in the store was not allowed. Some things are the same wherever you go. This is one of them--yelling in stores means you get kicked out.

"I'm going to find him, Spenser Erin. I'm going to find Yukito, and he's going to realize that I'm ten times better for him than a stuck-up, selfish b**** like you could ever be. You'll see. I'll make sure of that," Yumi said with a smug smile that quickly morphed into a grimace as Erin snarled, "Leave. Him. Alone."

Alone. Another word she understood, and from just that one word Yumi was able to piece together what the girl had probably said. "Nice try. But no. Have a nice life, Elreen Spensah. Without Yukito Maki."

Spenser Erin stormed out of the store, but not without first offering Yumi a parting gift of a rude hand gesture, which Yumi returned without missing a beat. And then the door slammed behind her, and Sunny ran up to her with wide, shocked eyes.

"Want to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

"Not really, Sunnychan. Want to translate what she said about me?"

Sunny looked uncomfortable. "Um...not really..."

Yumi gave an agitated sigh. "All right then. Let's just go home, Sunnychan."

With one final glare out the door after Erin, Yumi walked out of the shop with her head held high, not wanting to show any sign of weakness to the world. She was going to get what she wanted, and Erin would see just how selfish and stupid she had been.

I'll show you, Spenser Erin.

A very angry Yumi has left Seeing Red. XD

[Elda Forever]

OOC: Writing up a short, lame-o first post for my sensei! I dunno what the store looks like or how big/formal/fun it is, and if they have many employees, etc. But I may be overthinking it. You can do Erin or Trent or whomever, I don't mind either way. <3 BIC:

Yukito Maki

"Okay, I think I've got it." He hated the first day at anything. How had he forgotten that? He was getting too comfortable, and too lazy, sitting around the hotel all day feeling miserable. It was almost as bad as the flu, except Erin's visits didn't always cheer him up like they had. He could tell she hated going to that d*** hotel all the time. There were probably a million little reasons why, but he never got up the guts to ask her about it.

I hate new things I have to jump into without knowing anything. He'd managed to get a job milling around the music store Seeing Red, which was sort of a good idea. He may not have been able to brag about knowing all the artists, or even most of them - they were pretty versatile here, actually - but he knew how to ring someone up, and he could suggest similar artists to a certain extent. And he could figure out where most of the right stuff was. Plus, it was a good excuse to secretly listen to his ipod for the really slow portion of the day. I'll just have to give it a shot. It's not like it's called 'work' because you get to frolic around all day handing out lollipops to strangers. Though that's technically a career...

He let out a sigh, walked over to a small group of college students chatting back and forth about a stack of eight-tracks. He tried to smile, and tried to keep the get-away look out of his eyes and offered them some help. 'Just browsing.' Heh. Back to the desk it was, as a familiar face showed up at the door.

[GGJ5]

OOC: Augh... Mascii, I don't think of the same things you think of. xD It's small but well stocked and with a good clientele, and maybe two or three staff it at once. Its hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m., so Yukito can work any time between then. (: There's a stock room in the back for vintage items not on the floor, deliveries, and overstock items. It's a pretty relaxed environment, and the employees don't have a dress code, either. So he can have fun with that. (: This is also going to be a short little post, but way shorter than my chica's and definitely lame. xD BIC:

Trent Fisher

Cassette tapes made him feel nostalgic. Even if it was getting harder and harder to keep a cassette player to play them in, and the sound wasn't as clear. They just had a different feeling than CDs, which had a different feeling than MP3s, than records, than live shows... They all had a different element to them.

So now Trent walked into the one store that he knew carried a decent supply of the old things, ironically named after one of Chevelle's songs. The place couldn't decide what decade it wanted to be from, and that added its own element to the atmosphere. If they sold equipment here I'd never bother with another place, he thought, rifling through the old-school cassettes. Poison.. Bon Jovi... Ha, Twisted Sister... you couldn't pay me to have hair like that. He smirked, plucking out the cassette from the big box and flipping it to the back to read the track list. He wasn't much of a fan, but they were such cheap deals, Trent went ahead and snagged up the first three he'd found. Plus another five or six, each labeled under a dollar each.

Cassettes in hand, Trent turned around to poke around the rack with old-school band tees and halted midway. Hey, new person behind counter. Then, Hey, not-so-new person that broke my nose... He smiled wryly at the memory, now with a permanent bump on the ridge of his nose as a reminder. Trent continued over to the shirts, thumbing the hangers with bored disinterest. Go ahead and try to pull another one on me. It'd be entertaining.

[Elda Forever]

OOC: LOL BIC:

Yukito Maki

Automatically, Yukito pulled his brand new cell phone out of his pocket and checked for messages for the hundredth time. He hadn't even had time to give the number to Erin yet - how was she supposed to text or call him? Yukito paused, then took a second to send her a message of minimal characters to let her know 'Hey, this is your boyfriend's new number'. He wanted to laugh since he had Erin's number memorized. But really, that wasn't so out of the ordinary, now was it?

A figure was wandering nearby that caught Yukito attention - since he was standing around with nothing to do anyways - and he wandered over to offer assistance while trying to sound as genuine as possible. "Hey, you need any help?" As his eyes met the other guy's, a surprised expression flickered briefly across Yukito's face. Then a smile. "Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first." He felt a very strong desire to comment that the cause of him not remembering the face of one on a long list of people he disliked was because his nose still bore signs of their last meeting. But he barely, barely refrained, getting by with a smug twitching at the corners of his mouth. "You...finding everything alright?" It was a requirement to offer, and Yukito was learning to phrase it so people could easily brush him off with a 'just browsing' and they could all go their separate, happier ways.

[GGJ5]

Trent Fisher

While he appeared now to be engrossed in some merchandise or other, half his mind was set wandering by memories of his last conversation with Yukito. Since then, Trent had come to the conclusion that he didn't like Erin enough to try to date her again-- it got boring fast. That nugget of truth had occurred to him before he'd heard her practically bubbling over with excitement not too long afterwards that she'd started dating Yukito again. And that made Trent realize just how protective he felt. Actually, despite wanting to return the favor of a snapped nose and spare himself humiliation, Trent was more concerned that a month or two more would go by, maybe a few more this time around, and she would be back with a broken heart again. And watching Erin with a broken heart, sleeping too much and practically starving herself and apathetic about music, it was something he never, ever wanted to see again. And he blamed Yukito entirely for making her feel that way. What they said about cheaters worked the same for jerk boyfriends that turned into heartbreakers. And Erin had set herself up for a reenactment. She was always so good about getting so excited and hopeful about things, that when it didn't work out or something went wrong, her hopes fell so much harder, and it was too obvious even when she tried to ignore or hide it. Maybe I did get bored with you but I don't want you to give him the chance to hurt you again. And that makes me the bad guy...

"Hey, you need any help?"

Trent looked up from the shelf, caught off guard in his own thoughts. "Oh-- You weren't here last time I came in here." Yeah, and now some of the reason I come in here is ruined. Thanks.

Yukito smiled, and Trent was sure he could feel the sarcasm in it. It wasn't hard to see that his right hook had done its job. And he'd gotten back with Erin, despite Trent's efforts. Granted, he wasn't as positively proactive as he should have been, but still... "Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first."

"Yeah." One word acknowledging the subtle insult towards the sign of his handiwork. The silent sarcasm was kind of sick to be around, really.

"You...finding everything alright?"

Trent looked back at the merch he'd been browsing earlier. "I probably know this place better than you, actually," he observed casually, stating a fact that was perfectly honest and valid. He'd been in the city way longer and frequented this place long before Yukito got off the plane. He flipped a CD case over to the back and skimmed the track listing as he added, "So when did you and Erin make up? She never said, just all the sudden one day she wouldn't shut up about you during practice..." He glanced up, a knowing smile on his own face.