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[Colin/V-Day] A Little Lunch Date
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Feb 17, 2021 23:48:57 GMT
Staring at her reflection in the glass, Honoka looked and felt ridiculous. It was a simple white dress, but it was probably the most date-worthy outfit she had. But wearing it just felt so... off for her. She didn't particularly hate such feminine clothing, but it was never practical for her to wear it. But while the young gymnast could dance and do the splits in a leotard in front of a crowd and a panel of judges, wearing something as simple a dress out in public just made her feel so exposed.
But here she was. On a blind date. Wearing a relatively economic dress. Sandals with heels. Her mother's earrings. Lip gloss and make-up. Bright red ribbons in her hair. And of course, holding a small bouquet of flowers in her hand. It was utterly ridiculous.
And all of this for a simple lunch date. Still... she didn't want her date to think that she wasn't taking this seriously... even though she never signed herself up in the first place. Sure, her body may have physically accessed the tamernet and signed up for this blind date, but Honoka Nijimura's body wasn't completely her own anymore. And of the four spirits that resided within her, there were three main culprits at large, and while none of them had fessed up yet, all three of them were thrilled to see her go through with it.
But... it would be wrong of her not to, right? After all, someone was expecting a pleasant companion for the afternoon. Sure, all they would be getting was someone like... her... but... she couldn't just let some stranger down, could she? And... she could use some time to relax. And since the date was taking place in the Digital World, that meant that there would be plenty of time later in the day to focus on other matters and-
No! She needed to focus! Her date could be arriving at any moment now! And she showed up early just so she wouldn't keep him waiting! But she wasn't used to her shoes and to be honest, her feet were starting to ache.
...Perhaps showing up three hours early was a little too much, even for her.
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Feb 22, 2021 11:18:40 GMT
In the preparation for the “date”, Colin really didn't appreciate just how much that his twin partners Luke the Elecmon and Bellamy the Impmon were fussing over him in the hours leading up to it.
“Look, I think I'm well dressed enough for it, okay?” Colin said, irritably. He had settled for a neat ironed maroon shirt and grey slacks, with nice polished black dress shoes, and was getting irritated as his partners were arguing over what sort of tie or bowtie he should also wear.
“But you really wanna 'wow' her, Col.” Bellamy insisted. “An elegant tie should settle things, yeah?”
“Sure, scare her off by making him look 10 years older than he really is.” Luke argued back. “A bowtie makes you look young and fresh, Colin~”
At this stage, the 17 year old tamer had had enough input. He thought he looked fine as he was. “With all due respect, I think I'll keep fashion advice from you guys on notice, particularly because neither of you understand the importance of pants with humans for a start...”
“...well, you've got us there.” Luke admitted, shrugging. “Still though, you gonna be alright with meeting her?”
“Yeah, I think I am.” Colin said, steeling himself so that he felt this answer was honest. While the Japanese-American boy had been raised in the states for 11 years, he had spent the 6 years after that in Japan, and had hopefully learned enough so that he wouldn't be a total clumsy oaf when on an actual date with a girl from here. If all else failed, there was the fact that they both knew about digimon, and could hopefully use that as a means to grow a bond over.
Yet, at the same time, there was so little about his date that he knew. What grade was she in? How far into the digital world had she dwelled? Colin mulled over these questions as he held his digivice up to his bedroom wall, forming a portal to Terminus City in the digital world, where they had agreed to meet. At the very least, Luke and Bellamy had said they'd follow him to give support where they could, and of course, provide the basic security expected of a senior member of the AEGIS organization. But... Colin had never dated before. So of course there was that hurdle to get over first.
Eventually, the portal opened. Supposing any hesitation would only make him late, Colin stepped through it, as well as his partners.
After orientating themselves in the digital world, the three of them kept an eye out for their target – a girl around Colin's age wearing a white dress as specified. Eventually, Luke spotted her, quietly pointing her out to Colin.
“Alright, guess this is it.” Colin said, mostly to himself. Reassured by a wink from his partners, who excused themselves into the surrounding city crowds. However, they would not go out of sight of Colin, and would go to him if he showed any of the agreed signals or if any trouble looked afoot. Other than that, it was just Colin that approached Honoka.
“Hello there...” Colin said as he was within speaking distance of her. Seeing her up close, he realized that he was at least a foot taller than her, which he hoped she wouldn't find too awkward. It was nothing unusual though, at 6'1", Colin was easily one of the tallest students at Shibuya High. He pressed on. “Are you... the person I spoke to on Tamernet, by chance?” he asked, holding up his D-Terminal with the exchange they had made in which they agreed to hold a date in Terminus while remaining semi-anonymous.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Feb 23, 2021 22:52:11 GMT
Honoka... What are you planning to do when he arrives?
Lili's head rang clear in her mind, unheard by anyone else nearby. But Honoka wasn't in a good position to reply. Her spirits shared Honoka's senses, so the only way for Honoka to directly communicate with her them was to speak aloud so they her own voice. Which wasn't something Honoka was too keen on doing in public. But then again... she wasn't in the human world anymore. Would some human talking to herself be that strange, really?
"I'm not sure, yet..." She looked down at the small bouquet of flowers in her hand. "I guess, start off by handing him these? Though... I guess a girl giving a guy flowers is pretty weird, isn't it? Well, I guess if I explain that I work at..." Her words were cut off by her voice's spirit screaming out inside of her head.
And... you're just going to hand them to him like that? Lili's voice seemed rather incredulous. Honoka, you're on a date, not advertising your family's business! Just hand them to him without saying anything!
"I guess... I could do that..." Honoka muttered.
Actually, I have an even better idea! When you go and hand him the flowers, drop them at the last second!
"Wh-what!?" Honoka couldn't believe that Lili, the fairy spirit of a flower Digimon, would recommend mistreating flowers in any way.
Honoka, the whole point of a first date is to show off your best features so your date will come back for more! You're cute and fit, so show off your body a little, and it won't matter how awkward you are during the date! So stick out your chest when you go to hand them to him, then when you drop them, turn around and bend over when you go to pick them up!
"Absolutely not!" She gasped aloud, her cheeks flushing from the thought of it.
Yeah... If Lili has her way, you're gonna have like, six accidental kids by the time you're twenty... Another voice suddenly cut in, replacing Lili's. Honoka, if you want to make sure the date goes well, there's only one way to go about it.
"And that is..." Honoka was immediately suspicious of the mischievous Kazemon spirit's words. She didn't exactly seem like the dating type. For many reasons.
When he gets here, immediately knee him in the crotch. Tell him you've been waiting for hours.
"That's... that's only because I wanted to be early!" Honoka answered back.
Yeah, but if he finds out that you're crazy enough to do that then that's something he can take advantage of in the future. So you have to assert your dominance early on. Otherwise when you're thirty, you'll be stuck looking after your three kids while he's off philandering with his secretary or something.
"Hold on, you're getting way ahead of yourself here!" Honoka warned the wind fairy spirit. "And I'm not going letting you listen to any more radio dramas when I'm studying!"
Tch... Fine. But don't blame me when you're too busy looking after Frederic, Anastasia, and Carlos Jr. to do anything fun with your life.
"What kind of names are those!? And this is just a date, so quit it with the talk of having kids!"
Umm... may I offer some advice...? A third voice, one much more timid and quiet than the other two rang softly in Honoka's head.
"Lala? Yeah, go ahead..." Of all the three, Lala was the least brutal or fanatical, so maybe she would actually offer up some useful advice?
Maybe if you serenaded him right after meeting him, he'd appreciate how good your voice is! And if he joined in, then maybe he'd even join in! If your voices mixed well together, that would be a good thing... right...?
"Lala... I'm not looking for someone to harmonize with..." Honoka stated as gently as she could. Hell, she didn't sign herself up for this in the first place! She only decided to go through with this because it seemed like the right thing to do, and...
It was too late for her to back up now. Because a young man around Honoka's age approached her. Much less Japanese than she expected. But he was involved with Digimon, so it was only natural. It seemed like every foreigner in Shibuya was involved with Digimon these days. He was much taller than Honoka, and carried himself well. Looked fit, like an athlete.
"Yes, I'm Honoka. Nijimura Honoka. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She said, giving a polite bow. "And... I guess it's kind of strange, but... here!" She handed him the small bouquet she had been holding. Daisies with white acacias. "I guess it's kind of weird, but my family runs a flower shop, so I figured, 'why not'... you know?" She let out a nervous chuckle before abruptly cutting it off.
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Mar 13, 2021 9:56:12 GMT
If Colin was expecting anything from this encounter, having his date give him flowers was pretty low on the list of probabilities. He blinked for a moment, but as Honoka introduced herself and gave him the flowers, explaining that her family ran a flower shop, he understood and gave a smile in response.
“Well, I’m very flattered, Honoka-san. Thank you very much, these flowers are delightful.” Colin replied, bowing politely in return. “I’m… Colin James.” he tried to hide his awkwardness at hesitating in how to introduce himself. James Colin or Colin James? It wasn’t the first time that he felt kind of annoyed at having his first name and surname both be common first names in English.
It was in the next moment that Colin suddenly realized that he had failed to procure a gift in return. God… how could he have messed up so much? Yet, he tried to keep himself calm, knowing that it was still probably workable from here. But, how would he approach this?
”The answer’s easy!” a voice spoke from his right. While Colin didn’t react to it in any way on the outside, internally, he was very aware of a small transclucent furry Impmon with red horns, wings and holding a pitchfork with a devilish grin being present on his right shoulder. ”Just tell her you look forward to returning somethin’ exciting to her later on if all goes well, heheh.”
”No! Absolutely not!” a second voice spoke from Colin’s left, and while he didn’t look, he was aware of a small transclucent Elecmon with white angel wings and a golden halo. ”Don’t you understand how creepy that would make him look, Devil-Bellamy?! Colin, you should gracefully accept the gift and silently watch for an opportunity to pay back her generosity.”
”Hmph, fine, be like that, Colin, if you wanna come out of this all Mr. Plain McBoringpants, listen to Angel-Luke over there…” Devil-Bellamy scoffed.
Colin decided that maybe Angel-Luke had the better advice here, given they had literally just met and first impressions were everything. “I don’t think it’s weird, you wouldn’t have given me these flowers if you weren’t proud of them. I’d have done the same, just that since my family’s trade is engineering, it might have been more weird to give you a toolbox as a gift.”
”…the hell was that?!” both Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy snapped, but Colin thought it was probably a good line to use.
“So then…” Colin went on, trying not to hesitate, but come across as stoic and confident. “Now that we’ve met each other here on Valentine’s day, and you’ve offered me a gift, it seems that I owe you a gift in return. Is there anything in particular that you’d be interested in? Terminus is a big city after all, and I've come to know the place a bit.”
Both Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy held back their thoughts on this one. All three were curious as to how Honoka would take this.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Mar 16, 2021 21:29:32 GMT
"Ah... I'm glad you like them..." Honoka let out a nervous chuckle and a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure if she was being too forward, honestly. She didn't really want to be here and was only here because a date had already been set up for her. The least she could do was try and be a good date, right? She wasn't so sure about giving him flowers, honestly. What if he would have preferred a more... demure, traditionally feminine date?
So far, so good, Honoka! She heard Lili cheer out in her mind. You could have handed them over a little more sexily, but the way you're blushing right now is no doubt making you look cute right now! I bet you're happy your date's a looker, aren't you?
And if she wasn't actually blushing before, Honoka sure as hell was now. Why should she care how Colin James looked? Ah... that was another issue. Chalk it up to Honoka being an uncultured poor person, but she really wasn't sure what was supposed to be his first name or his last name. Well... if she just referred to him as "Colin James", he would eventually respond with, "Please, call me ________", right?
Colin James... made something of a joke, bringing up his family's trade in the process. Honoka smiled and chuckled, covering her mouth as politely as she could as she did so. "Making a girl lug around a toolbox their entire date probably doesn't sound like a fun experience," She commented. "You should probably wait until date two or three for that kind of gift!"
And then came Colin James's invitation... to go wherever Honoka wanted. Which was a problem. The date was supposed to be about Colin James, after all! Who cares what Honoka wanted, she just wanted to make sure this guy had a nice time! He went out of his way to go to the Tamernet just for a chance to find a date, after all, and they ended up with... well... Honoka. She had to make up for that sucky little fact somehow!
"That's... I... I don't have any particular place that I want to go..." Honoka managed to stammer out, before realizing how that could be misconstrued. Her eyes widened as she corrected herself. "Oh! I didn't mean it like that! I meant, that... I've been so excited for this date that I never really bothered to make any plans or anything! And honestly, anything's good! I've got a variety of interests, so how about we go where you would like to go, Colin James-san?"
...Smooth. Came Lulu's mocking critique. Honoka took the time to put her arms behind her back and pinch herself so hard as she could while still out of Colin's sight. Hey! That hurts, damn it!
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on May 5, 2021 10:54:17 GMT
Colin caught on that Honoka seemed pleased that he accepted her gift. And ignoring the gibbering of Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy for the moment, he followed on from this. “I’ll keep them by my window. By the way, what’s the best way to help keep flowers looking like this for the longest? I mean… what kind of vase would I need to put them in?”
Colin hoped that he wasn’t being too difficult here, he just wanted some advice to help this lovely gift from Honoka to last. And he hoped she could provide an answer.
He thought that this might be a good line of conversation, given that initially they seemed to be growing a little awkward. And in his experience with socialization, it usually made the other party comfortable if they were asked a question that applied to their specialization. And Colin was banking on this specialization being how to take care of plants for the moment.
After Colin offered to go where Honoka wanted, it seemed she didn’t have an immediate destination. But that was fine. Colin had ideas that could hopefully work.
“Well, there’s this one game that I think would be fun.” he began. “Honoka-san, are you familiar with ten-pin bowling? I’ve played it a bit with friends and family, and it’s always been fun.”
After he said this, both Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy had nothing further to add. The idea made sense to both of them, and the fact that it did so made them momentarily silent in their strange fourth-wall breaking mentalities.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on May 5, 2021 17:57:56 GMT
Wait... did this stranger really ask how to take care of them? That was... better than she expected. This was even better than gratitude! And boy did Honoka have answers!
"Well, the daisies in particular tend to need more water than most other flowers... the vase itself isn't too important, someting tall and narrow will do just fine. You're going to want to add water every day, and change the water out entirely every day! When changing the water, remove any fallen petals or leaves. And make sure to cut off about 2cm from the stems every day to help them absorb the water easier... And you're going to want to use warm water, by the way, if only for the acasia's sake. And when you're cutting the stems, cut them at an angle so they don't end up resting flat on the vase's base. If you have a place in your home that's cool, away from direct sunlight and any air vents, then that would be ideal, and... I'm sorry... I'm going on a little bit too much..."
Honoka was supposed to be here to give this Colin James guy a pleasant date, not lecture him on the wellbeing of flowers. "Anyways, they'll last about a week at the most if you take good care of them, so it's not like you'll have to worry about them for very long, sorry..."
She let out an exasperated sigh. She could tell that she was already messing this up! But Colin James gave the offer of... bowling? Well... Honoka had never tried it before, but... she thought that she might be able to do something like that! "I've never tried, but it sounds interesting!" She answered with a polite smile, pushing past all her previous blunders.
"So... are we going to eat while we're there, or are we going to eat somewhere, first?" After saying that, she immediately wanted to throw herself at the nearest building and repeatedly slam her head into the wall. That made her sound like she was ungrateful, or gluttonous or something like that! Stupid Honoka, just go along with whatever Colin James did and smile and laugh the entire time! It was that simple! But instead, she just smiled at her date, not letting her irritation towards herself show in the slightest.
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jun 18, 2021 8:23:41 GMT
As Honoka gave her answer, Colin had to ask for a short pause as he pulled out a notepad and pen from his pocket. This was due to a little tip from his father about how dates should go. Yes, he could of course tap all this out on his phone, but, errors could arise with electronics. And as far as Mr. James was concerned, old style was the best style. While initially doubtful, Colin had taken this on board.
“Okay, I’ll write that down.” Colin said to Honoka as she told him the best way to care for these flowers, scribbling down the instructions as he heard them. She apologized if she was going on a little too much. Colin lowered his pen and notepad and gave a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, really. You gave me a gift, and I’d like to know how to take care of them, so you’re doing me a big favour here in telling me that.” he said. “Yeah, they might only last a week, but they’re a gift all the same, and they mean a lot to me because of that.”
At this point, Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy had shut up, figuring that Colin was going off his own intuition at this stage.
Colin was glad that Honoka seemed to like the idea of bowling, but brought up the point of whether they should do it before or after eating. The answer came to Colin quickly. “It’d probably be best if we eat before. If it was a more exertive sport then it would be best to eat after, but, bowling isn’t like that, so, yeah, I think some lunch before a game would be a great idea.”
With that, Colin would lead her to a food court in the central district of Terminus. Many different cuisines were available on takeaway, with dozens of tables to dine on in the centre. Colin himself was impressed with the variety available. Eventually he decided that a few sushi rolls would be most palatable for him at the moment.
After Colin made his order, he turned to his date. “What would you like for lunch, Honoka-san? I’m happy to pay for it. You’ve already given me a gift so I’d like to start to return the favour.” he finished with a smile.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Jul 8, 2021 17:09:00 GMT
Colin looked like he was taking Honoka's instructions seriously. Which... all things considered, was a relief to her. All things considered, having the flowers be thrown away once they went their separate ways would have bothered her quite a bit, and she wouldn't be lying if she didn't consider that possibility while she had been waiting for her Colin. And as consistent as he had been, he didn't seem too judgmental towards Honoka, especially compared to Honoka herself. Then again, few people were harsher critics of Honoka than Honoka herself.
Even so, it seemed like the introductions were over, and all that was left... was the date itself. Honoka had almost obsessively prepared for this, just to make sure that she was the least offensive date possible, regardless of the fact that she had never signed up for this in the first place. She had a list of topics ready to go for casual conversations, and she was prepared for any kind of question that came her way...
Wait... did he just ask her where she wanted to eat!?
Okay... maybe Honoka wasn't as prepared as she thought. But... wasn't this question a trap? Sure, Colin seemed like an easy-going, open-minded person, but even the most open-minded person had their preferences! If Honoka picked poorly, then the date wouldn't be nearly as pleasant for Colin, right? And it wasn't like she knew his food preferences! Honoka was already dead-set on not doing or saying anything not to screw this up, and if Colin was giving Honoka the final say, then that just gave her one more opportunity to make things go horribly wrong! She couldn't give the perfect answer just yet because she didn't have enough information to go off of! But she can't just stay silent and look dumbfounded! She had to respond with something! Anything!
"Well, that's a little... Maybe..." She was stammering over the right words, until she suddenly felt her mouth move on its own accord. Or at least, on someone other than Honoka's.
"Yeah... I can go for just about anything at this point. I skipped breakfast, so I'm starvin' right now. And if you're payin', I ain't gonna be picky!" She reached up to playfully slap Colin on the shoulder as she felt her face go into an easy-going smile. It was probably the most relaxed Honoka had ever been so far.
And naturally, Honoka wasn't in control for any of it.
You're frickin' embarrassing yourself, idiot. She heard Lulu's voice chastise her as Honoka felt herself regain control of her body once more. Stop worrying so much and enjoy yourself! Otherwise you're just gonna worry this guy.
Honoka didn't like the fact that Lulu just up and possessed her like that, but she gave just the slightest of nods in acknowledgement. She was getting a little too tense, and the date hadn't even begun yet. She took a breath as subtly as she could, and tried to ease her ever-present anxieties.
Oh, and one more thing. If I have to step in for you again, I'm definitely making sure you put out at the end of this. This guy'll get the good time regardless of how bad you screw up, and there's even a chance that he'll be willing to pull the stick out of your a-
"S-so, like I was saying earlier, I'm starving!" Honoka interrupted her spirit's inner monologue, trying to maintain the same smile Lulu had set up of her, pushing Lulu's comment deep, deep, down into her mind, despite her face getting red from embarrassment mixed with seething rage. "Anything sounds good, so is there a place that you wanted to go?"
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Jul 9, 2021 8:59:54 GMT
As Colin returned his notepad and pen to his pocket, he noted that Honoka seemed a little off-put initially by him asking her where they would like to dine. But that was okay with him, this was probably the first date for both of them and he didn’t blame her for seeming a little nervous about being put on the spot like that.
Eventually she insisted that he make the decision where to eat. And, like the proverbial tennis court, put the ball on his side now. Although he noted from the way she slapped Colin’s shoulder in a friendly manner that she seemed to be something of a boisterous person. That was… something he kinda liked, actually. Colin found that in his years of growing through high school that demure, shy girls were kinda boring to him. Of course in his many years in Japanese High Schools he had come to socialize with many girls, but it was only those that showed a little spice that gained his true interest. And this display from Honoka made him a little excited.
”Easy there, boy, don’t launch the charge now.” Angel-Luke, still present in his mind advised. ”Go with something safe for the both of you.”
”Yeah, but don’t be boring about it.” Devil-Bellamy countered. ”Go for somethin’ with flavour. Hey, try somethin’ from Brooklyn.”
”Devil-Bellamy, neither Colin or you have ever been to Brooklyn, how would he know?” Angel-Luke argued, but Colin ignored the both of them and went on his own initiative.
“Well, alrighty. Back home in Nebraska where I grew up as a kid, the best place to go when you had an appetite was a steak-house.” he began. “However, since I’ve been living in Japan for the past 7 years, I’ve found that a good bowl of ramen is the best. Especially because you can have ramen with steak. So let’s have some ramen.”
With that decision made, Colin would accompany Honoka in the search for a nice looking ramen bar. There were plenty here in Terminus, given that its closest human world point of access was in Shibuya, but there was one that Colin would count out as his favourite, given that his sister’s digimon partner Lantis was well known with its owner, from the Leomon’s time as a Terminus city security guard.
“After you, Honoka-san.” Colin said, holding the entrance door open to his date politely. As he entered, a Floramon waitress recognized him, and noticed the flowers he was carrying. Quickly she emptied a vase of fake flowers discreetly and invited them to the table, where Colin put his flower gift with thanks and a wink.
Once they were settled on a table, Colin was eager to get the order started. “I’ve been here a few times and haven’t been disappointed.” he assured her. “They make their meals well. Steak, Chicken, Fish, Vegetarian, anything you feel.”
Luke and Bellamy discreetly entered a few minutes later, taking their seats at the other side of the restaurant, able to keep an eye on their partner, but far away enough that they looked like simple spectators so far.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Jul 19, 2021 7:46:33 GMT
Honoka could already tell that she was messing things up. Lulu was right! She had to be more decisive about things! Have a little more confidence! She took a shallow breath as if to shake off the previous awkward and tense situations, deciding to move forward a little more bold now.
And by the time they got to the ramen bar, a scowl instinctively formed on her face the moment Colin held the door open for her. Honoka had to tell herself that he wasn't trying to be demeaning or anything, he was just trying to be nice! And Honoka would have done the same thing for Colin, had she managed to get to the door faster! So she quickly shook it off, forcing her brief scowl into a smile and giving a slight bow in gratitude before walking inside. Then, since Colin was the one with the experience here, she let him take charge as they took their seat, even setting up the flowers for them. She debated making sure the Floramon knew the right way to put them in there, but she decided to trust that their waitress knew what she was doing, seeing as she was a flower Digimon and all.
It was time to order, and it was now Honoka's do-or-die moment. She didn't want to absolutely ruin this date by offending him with his food preparations. He laid out all sorts of options for her, but was this all just a test? She had to determine that, first! Should she try and go for a vegetarian option? Should she try and go for something meaty and fatty, in an attempt to throw Colin's expectations for a loop and take him by surprise? Or should she try something super girly, like ask for some kind of obnoxiously sweet and out of place in a ramen shop?
She felt herself tense up in indecisiveness once more, and she could feel the presences in her mind, their irritation becoming something almost palpable. Honoka took a deep breath, letting out a sigh of exhaustion at the fact that she nearly lost it mere minutes of telling herself that she wouldn't make such a mistake in the first place.
She wanted to make sure Colin had a proper date, of course, but at the same time, if he was someone so shallow as to judge Honoka just by silly thinks like food preferences, then he didn't deserve a pleasant date in the first place. She almost laughed out loud after realizing that she was worrying so much about practically nothing.
"I'll have a bowl the leanest chicken you have with peas, carrots, onions, and egg whites, if possible," She stated, giving the Floramon waitress a nod of gratitude. She felt a little pretentious giving such a specific order, but she knew what she wanted. And ramen wasn't something she was particularly fond of, be it quality, instant, or otherwise. "And I'll just have a cup of water, if it's alright."
She would wait for Colin to order his food, wait for the waitress to leave before being the first to strike up conversation. If Colin did it, then he would likely ask a bunch of questions about her, so she wanted to direct the focus of the conversation towards him. But first off, she needed to clear up one little tidbit that was annoying her. And since she was trying to be a little bit more forward, she asked, "I'm sorry, but how should I address you? Colin-san? James-san? Or any nickname you prefer?" Foreign names were a little bit troubling for her, but this way she would know how he preferred to be addressed. Regardless, she'd address him however he'd prefer, then ask, "So what kind of tamer are you? Do you have a Digimon partner? Or are you like me?" She held up her magenta D-Tector, with a golden grip and a light green trim.
She didn't know much about Colin, but seeing as they were both ordering food in an alien world, that could at least serve as an icebreaker, right?
Meanwhile, she could sense a wary presence in the back of her mind. Most likely Lulu had caught on to something Honoka hadn't quite noticed herself. Well, if it were something immediately threatening, she would tell Honoka... unless she figured it would be even funnier to keep silent.
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Oct 7, 2021 11:59:25 GMT
Colin was by now aware that Honoka’s facial expressions changed rather rapidly, but he knew enough about social situations that this was normal. Given his experience growing up with his older sister Sophie, he knew when to recognize changes in expressions as critical or not. So he chose not to take notice as he held the door open for Honoka.
He then waited for her to make her decision on the menu. Colin noted that she took quite a while to make a decision, so made sure not to interrupt her. When she made the decision to order a lean chicken vegetable dish, Colin decided to shoot for the stars. “I’ll have the same, please.” he told the Floramon.
“Alright then, we’ll prepare that asap.” Floramon replied, sounding glad that she could report two servings of the same type. Colin meanwhile was glad he had such a variable apitite that he felt confident that whatever Honoka ordered, he would also be fine with. And it just so happened that Colin liked chicken dishes, so he was fine with that choice.
As Floramon turned to report their order to the kitchen, Colin looked at Honoka as she asked her question of how to address him. The young man pondered his response for a bit, but settled on his most honest answer. “I’d rather like it if you just called me Colin.” he admitted. “I grew up in America, so, we never really had to deal with these honorifics… so honestly I’d be grateful if you just called me by my name.”
Colin hoped that that wouldn’t be something too far. In his time in the past 7 years in Japan, honorifics were everything, he just hoped it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for Honoka.
She then asked what kind of tamer he was. Colin was happy to answer. “I have twin partners, an Impmon and Elecmon. They’re really fun to be around.”
At this point, Luke and Bellamy were holding their thoughts, hoping to let Colin and Honoka talk things out together without their intervention.
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Oct 8, 2021 2:08:42 GMT
The food was ordered, the waitress left, and now Honoka and Colin were left by themselves until the food arrived. Which meant no distractions for the time being. So anything that would mess this date up lied squarely on Honoka's shoulders. No pressure!
Colin preferred to be addressed more casually. And Honoka supposed that she could comply with that. This date was about him after all, right? Honoka saw little point in addressing someone something they didn't want to be called when they were on a date, after all. "I can do that, Colin," She complied, as if trying the word out for the first time. "And I guess you can just call me Honoka. It would feel kind of weird if you didn't do the same!"
Colin answered her other question, talking about having two Digimon partners. She had met some tamers before, some also with twins, so it wasn't anything surprising. Still, she supposed she could cling onto that to talk about for the time being. "That's good to hear," She stated with a smile. "It must be nice to have someone else around when you spend time in the Digital World. I have my spirits, and we talk, but... it's just not the same, you know? Besides, whenever I talk to my Spirits I get a little self-conscious, since to other people it just looks like I'm a crazy person talking to myself!" She let out a polite chuckle, use the self-deprecation to help calm her own nerves from her own anxieties.
A thousand concerns were flying through her head. Colin looked to be a little bit older than Honoka did. What if he found her to be too young? Sure, Honoka considered herself a responsible and mature person, especially for her age, and their massive height disparity did nothing to help her case. And to make matters worse she decided to tie her hair into freaking pigtails, like an eight-year-old or something! She should have just let her hair down for the date. It made her look just a bit more mature. Maybe she could excuse herself to the restroom and change redo her hair real quick... But doing it that quickly would only look sloppy, and if Colin asked why she changed her hair, what was she supposed to say?
No, she was getting into her own head again! Why was she so self-conscious about everything!? She should just keep the conversation moving, let Colin talk about himself for a bit. "So Colin, what kind of hobbies do you have? Do you play any sports? I'm into gymnastics, myself!"
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Post by Colin, Luke & Bellamy on Oct 10, 2021 11:44:47 GMT
Colin was glad that Honoka agreed to this truce of honorifics. Honestly, it was a bit of an embarrassing learning curve for him since he had moved to Japan, being stung so many times by choosing the wrong honorific to talk to someone and having to be lectured as an ‘ignorant foreigner’ so many times about when he should call someone ‘san’, ‘chan’, ‘senpai’ and all the rest.
He listened as Honoka talked about having spirits. Honestly, Colin hadn’t met many other spirit wielders in his experience with the digital world, and he was honestly fascinated with what she had to say about it.
“Yeah, I can understand that. It must be really difficult having spirits and having to communicate like that.” he said. Heck, Angel-Luke and Devil-Bellamy were bad enough thinking about that he no longer let them enter his mind, it’d be all Colin from here on out.
Colin was rather grateful when Honoka asked what his hobbies were. At first. Then when he had to think about an answer, he hesitated for a moment. Damn, what was something he liked doing that would be interesting? For a moment he hesitated, but, in the end, settled on the first thing he found as solid.
“Well, I like flying.” Colin replied. At first he realized this might be something stupid to say, but, as he thought about it, he felt like he could put more foundation upon that statement. “I mean… the whole experience, being up there in the air, still in full control, being able to see the world below as a bird would… I really like that.”
Given that was what he came up with, Colin flipped back to what Honoka said about her interests. “You like Gymnastics, you say? Well, that sounds pretty awesome too. Dancing about in the air like that. Are you involved in gymnastics at a professional level?”
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Post by Honoka Nijimura on Oct 10, 2021 14:01:15 GMT
Things seemed to be picking up, and Honoka was a lot less nervous now. Colin mentioned something about Honoka's troubles with her spirits, and she nodded. "It can be a little troubling, but having a partner Digimon must come with its share of troubles, too! If I had a partner, I don't think I'd make it through a single class of mine without worrying about what they're up to, or if they're feeling lonely, or if they're in trouble. With groups like DATS and..." She had only heard the other name in passing. What was it again...? Oh yeah! "...AEGIS around, hiding a Digimon in our world must be troublesome. And I don't think I could bear leaving Digimon around in this world, considering the time differences!" Admittedly, she didn't know too much about either one of those groups, but she heard that they were the ones that cracked down on the Digimon-stuff in the human world.
Colin spoke briefly about his interest in flying, and Honoka's eyes lit up as he described his love of flying. "And you just feel so free!" She added, maybe a little more passionate than intended. "You're so high up and everything else below you just seems so... small. So even for a little bit, all your little problems just go away! All that matters is keeping yourself in the air!" She let out a longing sigh. "And you get to see so much more of the world than when you're grounded! And you feel like so much more of what you can do is... possible."
You're welcome, by the way! Came smug-sounding voice within her mind.
Honoka realized that she was nearly out of her seat as she leaned forward towards Colin. Blushing from embarrassment, she sat back down and regained her composure. "Umm... sorry. One of my spirits, Lulu, her form's really suited for flying, and... her flying lessons have been something of an exciting pastime..."
After she calmed down, Colin inquired further about her activities in gymnastics. "Well... I mainly focus on rhythmic gymnastics, which is a bit more grounded. It's kind of like dancing, but with ribbons, and balls, and stuff. I'm not confident in my strength for artistics," She admitted, looking away. And whether she was professional. That cut a little.
"Well... I'd have liked to, but between my studies, and helping out my family's store... I don't have the time to devote to it as much as I'd want to. And it's not something my family can afford. I'd have to find sponsors, which means I'd have to train more with a coach that I wouldn't be able to afford and..." She paused and shook her negativity off. This date wasn't about her, after all! She should move on to a topic that the both of them could talk about!
So Honoka smiled and held up her Digivice once more. "Besides, lately I've been thinking that there's something else I'd rather devote myself to..." What was it? She hadn't quite crystallized what that exactly meant just yet, however.
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