[D1 - C3] Skipping Class pt I (Ask)

So he was being especially careful around her. Chiyo expected as much. Tarik was acting pretty stiff and she assumed it might have had something to do with Rokugani culture in a nutshell. She still finds him to be rather...well, unrefined. He was putting in a good effort to blend in despite his obvious disadvantages. Still, was there a nugget of truth in one of the rumors she had spread? Does he see them all as a people he is ultimately superior to?

"You haven't been anything but hospitable and friendly towards me," she begins with a touch of amusement. "I understand why you've been taking care to not offend--we were strangers not too long ago, and well, as you've observed the Scorpion have somewhat of a reputation. We are not very popular friendship material."

That was a bit of a gross understatement, but there have been a few exceptions over time. As broad as it could be, it still held true a majority of the time.

"And you've found it," she states simply with a nod of her head. "I apologize if I haven't been clear. Our trust is earned, so if anything we have both been maintaining an emotional distance from one another."

It was rather strange how he mentioned arts and crafts. She supposed he meant along the lines of conversation, but if he meant literal, liberal arts that wouldn't be wrong either.

Honestly this is getting kind of...deep for my tastes. I hope we don't talk about motives and shit because I signed up for a shiatsu session, not a shake-down.

And he doesn't really need to know. As far as he's concerned, we can say it was a legitimate mix-up just outside of the mall. But now he's proposing that he'll be asking something of her. Chiyo's had nothing BUT requests as of late, and all they've served to remind her was why she didn't have a host of friends by now. They seem to all be in the business of trading favors and feelings like goods. It's so daunting.

Truth be told, she had no idea what to ask of Tarik that wouldn't in some way betray her intentions. She was using him to establish connections. Even though he was a gaijin, he was a popular one. Perhaps because of the novelty factor, who can say?

"I enjoyed your company," she says with a small shrug. "Isn't that how relationship between two people typically develop?" Chiyo had a feeling that wouldn't be enough; he might take insult just because of how evasive she was on the subject. You can't just be blunt with these people, but still. "You also seemed to be rather handy at making friends, to what end is your business, but better than I have ever been. In a way, you are acting as a sort of guide."

Well...he is. But that isn’t the answer Tarik is looking for. To him that’s a detriment, but it puts him in the perfect position to do something unexpected and grandiose without the same kind of consequences that would fall on a samurai.

“You’re in an interesting position. I’m sure you don’t think you’re presumptuous or without a soul. I’m sure where you were born and raised, you mean something significant to them that we refuse to acknowledge or understand. It doesn’t make you any less right or wrong.” She decides she’ll let go of one, measily nugget of truth. “I find different interesting, possibly powerful, possibly profitable. I don’t think the gaijin are wrong because they don’t fit into our story. You’ve been woven into our tapestry. I am far more drawn to what is different than much of the same.”