Two Equals One

Author's Note: For all my ATTFIL fans, here is what could be considered the "prequel". Or at least this is a glimpse of it. Depending on the reaction to this chapter, I will either keep it, or completely scrap it and start over. I haven't decided yet. This is the story of Rika and Shin, Osamu's parents. It will cover from the time that they meet, until . . well, I'll let my readers decide. You have three options. I hope you will love them as much as you do Osamu and Sara, for I am actually starting to have more fun writing Rika and Shin! They're absolutly nuts.

I will admit, I hate this chapter. I think it is choppy, I think it jumps around. . but my roomate, and a few of my friends love it. As my roommate told me "This reminds me of how a first conversation should be. Long moments of silence, and complete awkwardness." So, let me know your opininos on it. And don't be afraid to tell me you hate it. If you do, tell me. (However, flames will be laughed at. If you think at "You suck" is going to hurt me, you're sadly mistaken. I write for myself, not for you. Don't like, don't read.). If you do, please tell me!


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Chapter One: Why Does My Wallet Hate Me?

There were many things someone could considering to be humiliating. Arriving at your school with only your boxers, or having your voice crack in front of the girl that you really like. It comes in different forms for different people, and at one point in time, everyone is humiliated.

For Rika Brown, she had reached her limit on humiliation for the day. To start with, she had been late for class this morning, with the worst professor possible. He had raised his eyebrows as she entered the room, and announced to the class she would be the first to perform her solo. As a music major, Rika was no stranger to solos. She enjoyed them, and excelled at them.

Unless, of course, her voice cracked.

Rika shook the memory out of her head and tried to convince herself the teacher was nothing but an asshole. She found it hard, considering he had not been the only one that had snickered. She brushed it aside and walked with confidence into the Barnes and Noble. After the day she had been through, Rika wanted nothing more than to curl up in a chair with a book and a coffee and forget about the day.

There was quite a line at the Starbucks, but she figured it would be worth it. The woman in front of her was determined to take her time, going through the list of coffees, and asking which was the best. The exasperated barista ran through the list of prices, and finally had the woman settle on a white chocolate mocha. She was completely grumpy by the time Rika stepped to the counter.

“A venti hot chocolate, please.” Rika ordered, and began digging through her purse for her change. Where was her wallet?

“Two dollars and eighty cents” the barista muttered, and proceeded to examine her fingernails.

Crap. Rika had left her wallet in the car. She scrounged around for spare change in the bottom of her purse and found one dollar bill and a handful of change.

One dollar and sixty five cents.

The barista sneered. “Anything else?”

“Actually yes,” a voice said behind her, and he tossed a ten on to the counter. “A pumpkin spice latte. Grande size, please.”

The barista took the change and began to work on their drinks while mumbling to herself about how she hated this job, and could not wait until she was actress in Hollywood. Rika rolled her eyes and turned to her saint. “Thank you.” she muttered, refusing to meet his eyes. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have found my wallet someway or another.”

“Well,” the man said, a small smile beginning to cover his face. “You were holding up the line, and I really wanted my coffee. I figured this would be the best solution, and it solved both our problems.”

“Let me pay you back,” Rika insisted. “My wallet is in my car, I think.”

“You don't have to, I promise.” He offered.

“No really.”

A frown suddenly took over his face. “Miss, you are taking all the joy out of my attempting to be kind. Take your damn hot chocolate and enjoy it. That is payment enough.”

“A venti hot chocolate and a pumpkin spice latte!” A worker announced, and both grabbed their respective drinks.

The man followed her to a seat nearby. “So, do you go to the college here? At University of Oklahoma, I mean.”

Rika shook her head. “Actually, no.” She could not help but notice the man’s features, and the small accent he carried. Obviously, not from Oklahoma. “I go to the community college in the city. But obviously, the south side of Oklahoma City is on crack and refuses to build a bookstore there. So I'm forced to drive ten miles out of my way just to find a damned bookstore. it is annoying.”

He blinked, but did not seem confused by her sudden tirade. “That sounds ridiculous.” he declared. “But interesting. So, miss, might I ask your name?”

She suddenly blushed, and her eyes once again dropped to her feet. “Rika.”

“Rika?” He parroted, and waited for her nod. “Nice to meet you, Rika. I'm Ichi- Shin Ichijouji” He shook his head. “Sorry. I'm still attempting to get used to the given name before your surname.”

Rika nodded, unable to think of what to say next. Instead, she decided to concentrate on what Shin looked like. He was not bad looking at all. He was tall and slender, yet not so thin that he looked unhealthy. Black hair fell into his eyes, and was cut in a style that was both a little shaggy but still professional looking. His features were obviously Asian, and his accent gave away his nationality despite his near perfect English.

She would have been lying if she were to have said she was not attracted to him. “Where are you from?” she blurted without thinking.

He didn’t seem fazed. “Tokyo. Or rather, a district in Tokyo.”

This caught her attention. Years ago, after Rika had discovered her adoption, she began looking for her birth mother. After years of having her parents talk to adoption agencies, investigative reporters, and scouring websites, they managed to track her town. Her location: Tokyo, Japan. This had been no surprise to Rika’s parents, of course. It was where she had been adopted from. Rika’s dream, however, was to find her birth mother.

She swallowed her excitement down, and reminded herself that Japan, more specifically Tokyo, was a large place and there would be absolutely no way the two could possibly be connected. Her face must have given away her excitement, for Shin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.” Rika muttered, stirring her hot chocolate. She decided to change the subject away from herself. “What brought you here to Oklahoma? Shouldn’t be somewhere like New York City, or Harvard?”

He looked uncomfortable with the question, but he still shrugged, took a sip of his coffee, and answered her question. “I wanted to get away,” he said with another shrug. “I wanted to go somewhere that my family, except those who I can stand, could not find me. My dream in high school was to leave Japan and come to the United States. That is about as far away from my family as I possibly can get.”

“So you are a run away?”

A sneaky grin passed over Shin’s face. “I guess you could call me that.”

Rika snorted. Despite only meeting him fifteen minutes before, Rika felt unnaturally comfortable with Shin. He seemed to posses this cool, collected personality. He was friendly but sarcastic, and had one of those faces that told you that you could spill your entire guts to, but piss him off and you would be hurt.

“Do you come into bookstores for only the coffee?” Shin asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Does this state not have Starbucks around every corner?”

“We only have one in Moore, thank you very much.” Rika snapped, giving him an indignant look. “No, actually, I came to get my hot chocolate, find a good book and a comfortable chair, and read the day away. I screwed up in my class this morning, and basically got laughed at. I admit, I'm childish. This is my comfort zone.”

Shin nodded slowly. “A comfort reader. Not completely uncommon. Are you looking for any type of book in particular?”

She received a headshake. “Anything that sounds interesting to me.” A hand gestured to the lobby filled with books of all shapes, genres, and sizes. “I'm a fan of anything from romance, to horror, to mystery, to science fiction and fantasy. I have read and covered just about every major genre we have. Even most of the religious sections have books that I have covered.”

Well, he did not look scared away. Then again, if a guy was in a bookstore, it was usually a good sign he was there for reading, and not just for the coffee. He did not say anything in reply, but simply took a sip of his coffee and nodded. His dark eyes scanned the bookstore, and he leaned back in his chair. “I used to read a lot,” he said, setting his coffee on the table, and folding his hands together. “That was before high school, and before I had to achieve the grades I needed. I never believed my friends when they told me college was so much easier than our high schools. I feel like I can actually breath now.”

“So you are a good student then?”

Shin shrugged. “I could call myself one, I guess.”

Rika did not say anything in return. It was difficult to talk to someone about good schooling when you yourself had difficulties with it. She was not stupid, by any means. Most teachers had expected Rika to far surpass those in her grade. But college was all together different. The teachers did not care if you showed up every day. There was no one to hold you accountable for how many classes you missed. Once her Mom had left for work for the day, Rika found she had trouble compelling herself to get up out of the bed.

Her once flawless GPA was slowly plummeting.

Now was not the time to dwell on such matters. If Rika was not careful, she was about to send herself into a panic attack in front of Shin. As if he did not already think she was insane.

Shin leaned forward suddenly, and his dark eyes were instantly connected with hers. She backed away a little bit, to give herself from breathing room, and she prayed to God her breath was acceptable.

“You interest me,” he said, cryptically. “you are different. I can't put my finger on it, but you are different.”

A blink was what he received in return. “Is this good?”

“I have not decided yet.”

At least that was not a no. Rika could deal with that.

Shin suddenly stood, and grabbed his coffee with him. “I need to be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Rika. I hope we bump into each other again.” He gave her a short bow, out of habit it seemed, and made his way through the coffee shop.

Well, that had certainly been an interesting experience. In less than two hours Rika had ruined her chances at passing her music class, found she was completely broke, met a nice man . . And apparently scared him away. Go figure. It was the story of her life.