A young boy with faded hair giggled with glee, enjoying himself on the coast's edge. A cheerful smile stretched across his face as his feet dangled from the edge of the dock. The water between his toes rippled, as crumb after crumb of bread-loaf was picked off and dropped into the water.

For whatever reason, the boy refused to stop laughing to himself; wriggling at the scene even. The posture he had was joyous and sweet. Although he was cackling to himself in public, his pleasant demeanor let him seem more like a child, plotting a prank; as opposed to a madman plotting a murder. Normally, something like this would be too childish and abnormal for Nobu; but in his search for his true self, one has to live life as they're tempted too. He had the urge to relax on the coast, and so he did. His socks were neatly stuffed away in his shoes as he idly sloshed his heels in the bay. Besides, how could he miss out on the simple pleasures that his ancestors surely had themselves?

Small, but brave fish circled and swam against his feet as they flocked about; fighting over another crumb of bread. Nobu did his best to drop each crumb in such a fashion that he'd feed as many tiny fish as he could. he didn't know what kind of fish they were, but they sure were fun to play with!

"Hey-y..! Quit stealing all of them," Nobu idly scolded one of the more impatient fish. "This is for everyone, you'll get yours in time..."

It may have been a strange sight to see a boy feeding fish on the edge of the harbor, but clearly he wasn't in the way; or doing much harm. He'd gotten a few strange looks, and inspired a few mean spirited whispers; but ultimately he was just being himself to an extreme. Idling in such a way made him far happier than any treat, or music instrument did. Who knew, maybe here, he might even meet someone he could call a friend!

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

The water had always calmed Makoto. She never knew why, but every time she had a fight with her mother or needed some space, she'd leave home and head to the local park where a small stream wound its way through the grass. It had been man-made to fit the scene of the park, but it was water and it was calming regardless. Today was one of those days where she needed to get away from her overbearing mother, but the park had been full of children and therefore wasn't as relaxing as it should have been. Makoto thought about going home, but the thought of her mother griping at her for not doing something or other would be too much for her to handle. So the young girl decided to take the bus to the bay. If anything, there would be plenty of space for her to relax along the coastline, right? A smile crossed her lips as she pulled out her purse to pay for her bus ride. Eventually she found herself at the beach, and a sigh of relief washed over her. Too bad she wasn't wearing her swimsuit, but then again it was always cold nowadays and there would be no reason to wear such a thing, even to the beach. That made her sad, the idea that she might never have a summer again, but the water in her sight made her feel better about such things. There was no need to dwell on things that were out of her control. Once she got to the water, Makoto frowned at the lack of birds in the area. Normally they swamped anyone who came close to the ocean so they could get free food, but she didn't see them this time around. Confused, she looked around, only to breathe another sigh of relief when she saw all the birds were flocked around a boy who was feeding them some bread. "Oi! Are you gonna hog all those birds to yourself?" At this she walked over to the boy, a smile on her lips with her hands behind her back to show she meant no harm. "It's not nice of you to take all the birds for yourself, yanno!" @nobu

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

The boy looked up from his feet. Someone was talking to him. Weren't they..? It was best to check out if they were, regardless. Ignoring people wasn't polite; and of course, he wanted to be someone polite.

The lad found a gull resting on the dock, at his right-hand side. That was lovely..! He hadn't noticed that he'd attracted anything more than fish. "Oh; hello, little birdie," he greeted it. Shortly after, another gull had waddled up to his left. "Oh! Hey, to you too!" The surprise had him almost bursting with joy. Suddenly, he heard a small squawking noise from behind him. He slowly turned around, finding himself trapped in a sea of white and orange. One gull was naughtily tugging away at his sock, as if it might contain a tasty snack. Every gull in the harbor had apparently crept up on him, while he was feeding the fish. They quietly stared at him, expectantly. They wanted his bread loaf, but there was so many of them; it felt like they wanted something more; something ominous.

He stared back at them all, in horrified shock. "S-so. It is settled, then. I have become your King."

He picked the loaf apart into several pieces, as he gave his acceptance speech. "Then this shall be the age of Gull-King Nobu. Under my reign, my winged brethren shall know an age of prosperity, and might."

The Gull King lobbed several crumbs at once upon the dock, in shotgun effect. Letting the horrible, squawking chaos ensue. "Yes, feast my people. Grow strong in your fight for your food. For you will need your strength, for the seasons of righteous war and conquest to come."

That's when Nobu remembered that someone had called him. There she was, standing right next to him. She'd more than likely heard every word that came out of his mouth. Although, in most cases; someone in his position should have turned red, and apologized. Nobu decided he was above being ashamed of himself. Why should he be ashamed of enjoying himself for who he really was? He fought back the slightest blush of embarrassment across his cheeks, and calmy greeted her with a simple, "Hello..!"

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

As she walked toward the boy, he didn't seem to hear her shout. He seemed to be in his own little world, but her words must've reached his brain because he turned to look at the gulls who had been clamoring behind him for attention and food. Makoto stayed back a few feet, watching with great interest as the boy began to feed the ever-hungry seagulls who now flocked to him as if he were their master. But she couldn't help but burst out into laughter when he began speaking to them. Gull-King Nobu? Nobu must have been his name then. The birds didn't seem to care so long as they got their bread, and she looked down to see that the fish at his feet had already left him because of the lack of food being fed to them. She wished she had more to give, but she opted to stay where she was until his little speech was over with. "If you get to be Gull-King, can I be the Gull-Queen? I was the one who alerted you to the bird's presence, yanno. I should get some say in your new world order! Just call me Gull-Queen Makoto, at your service my king!~" At this she laughed and bowed her head, doing a small curtsy before straightening back up to place her eyes on his. He was older than her, she assumed, but not by much. "Sorry to interrupt; I just wondered if you had noticed the birds that had flocked to you like the plague. But it seems you did find them. I wish I'd brought some food myself, so I could help you feed them all properly." Another smile slid across her lips as she walked closer, hands still behind her back. "Anyway, I'm Makoto. And you're...Nobu? I think I heard you say your name earlier." @nobu

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

Poor Nobu couldn't help but lose control of the roses in his cheeks. She didn't really mean that, did she? Was she some sort of secret admirer, that was attracted to animal magnetism? He couldn't help but look up at her with glossy eyes and warm heart.

"Yeah; you heard right. I'm Nobu... but, I mean -- if you really want to just get married over an imaginary title; be my guest. Lots of feudal woman married their way into power, so kudos to you... but, I was just hoping I could know you a bit better than just your name -- before... that."

Nobu began quietly imagining the rest of his life with this girl. At least she'd be pretty, and friendly.. maybe? She was certainly ambitious; that was for sure. It still felt weird, and cold; but people were people, and he should let them express themselves freely; the way he wanted to, himself. He needed to roll with it, no matter how strange. Although, he just couldn't get his discomfort with marriage out of the way. He needed at least some semblance of normality in his life. He needed to suggest a first date, at very least.

"We -- uh, could get some sushi together; while we work this whole ordeal out. Who knows, maybe we'll get along better than we thought..?" Nobu knew he was being ridiculous, but that was half the adventure. Surely she wasn't serious about being his Queen, in a literal sense. She probably just meant she found him attractive, and wanted to say something cute on the matter. Hopefully she thought what he said was in that same sort of 'in character' connotation he'd been playing along with. After all, getting married was a stressful matter for a young man; joking or not.

- Makoto Fujiwara -

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

At first Makoto laughed again, thinking that Nobu was just joking when he spoke of marriage. But when she saw his face and read his body movements, her laughter turned into silence. Wait...he thought she was being serious?! The brunette almost laughed again, but decided to hold it in. If he was this naive, she definitely wanted to play with him a bit more. So she stayed quiet, listening to him talk about getting sushi as their technical 'first date'. He seemed really perplexed about the whole ordeal, but Makoto wasn't letting him off the hook so easily. Inwardly she berated herself; it wasn't nice to be mean to this sweet boy! But outwardly she just couldn't pass up a chance to mess with the kid. He'd learn the hard way not to take everything so literally. "I only want to marry you if you're going to be a king. Otherwise I've no use for you, right? I could just marry you and then poison you, and claim the throne for myself." At this she smirked, only to move closer to Nobu. She pulled her hands from behind her back, only to prod at his chest with a pointed finger. "And why would I want to get sushi with you? What if I don't even like sushi? What if I liked...let's say...bean buns? I don't think that would be a very good date, don't you agree Nobu? Or do you not care about what I like at all? So rude!" Her lips parted slowly and she pouted, pulling her finger away so she could cross her hands over her chest. Silence passed for a minute...two...three... And then Makoto once again let out a laugh that sent the gulls flying from their position around the male. "I'm just joking with ya! Man, I sure had you going there for a bit, didn't I? You're so weird. But I like weird. Let's be friends, alright?" Then Makoto stuck her hand out, expecting Nobu to shake it in order to reaffirm their friendship. @nobu

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

"I -- um, Okay..!"

What else could he say? What else could he do? Very little. In his confused panic, he took her hand. He trapped her between both palms, and shook her firmly and frantically. He didn't want to treat her like a business partner, but he didn't want to be cliche and kiss her hand; even if she was a cutie-! Her eyes were wide and sweet, and her fingers soft and silky. Everything about her was gentle and feminine, without being tiny and frail. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he finally let her go. His eyelashes fluttered violently, as if he couldn't believe, or understand the sensation the floated about in his innards. Perhaps he was feeling ill? He probably shouldn't bring it up; it'd mean another strange interaction. He didn't want to say another thing he wouldn't be proud of, even if she liked 'weird.'

"It didn't have to be sushi, anyway. I'm flexible," he insisted, still somewhat disappointed that he'd read her motives with such drastic inaccuracy. "... we can still get bean buns, if you want." It was almost strange; this magical sensation he felt resembled familiarity. Something about having her near felt -- correct. This wasn't any sort of sensation he'd gotten from any other girl -- what could it even be?

"I mean, assuming you don't poison me," Nobu jested, almost as if he couldn't let the concept of their miniature 'court intrigue' simply die.

- Makoto Fujiwara -

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ

He shook her hand in return, but it was a light shake. He seemed almost scared to touch her, and then he looked positively ill when the deed was done. But Makoto laughed it all off once again, assuming that Nobu was just really bad with meeting new people. Plus, she wasn't very good at being subtle, so she probably scared the hell out of him with the whole 'I'm going to poison you' thing. Oh well, she had to prove to him that she wasn't as scary as she seemed! "Flexible, are you? I might have to test that theory out sometime." The girl winked and released her grip on his hand to smile, only to then take a few steps back with her hands clasped behind her. "Well, if you're going to take me on a date, we should get going right? I'm pretty hungry after watching you feed those birds and fish, Gull-King!" Another laugh left her lips, and she continued walking backward on the sand. Makoto assumed the male would follow, and the two would start walking back toward town together. But as she walked her heels dug into the sand, causing her to eventually trip and fall backward onto her back. Makoto cried out and shot her hand up, but it was too late for Nobu to grab her to pull her up. So she landed in the sand with a loud 'thump', and a groan left her lips as she lay there. "Owww...that hurt! Stupid sand! Stupid shoes! That wasn't much fun...Don't do that okay, Nobu? But man, when you're down here you get a good look at the sky." At this she pointed a finger up to the blue sky ahead and smiled at the clouds that passed by. "Lay down with me! This is a better date than bean buns." @nobu

◀ MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS

"Oh..! Alright..!"

Nobu promptly smiled, removing his overcoat and lying down beside her without question. He slipped his folded coat under his head, clearly used to the idea of resting on the ground. He needn't think twice about taking time to rest. Perhaps this girl was more relatable than he first imagined. He gave his elbows a few pats to dust off the sand, and sighed with relief. It was nice to be lying down again. It was like he was on his own again; but, with a girl. At least this time she wasn't sitting on his chest, uncomfortably. They were just -- sharing company. It was nice. Very mutually respectful. Nobu could get used to this, in such a way that he might open his mind to her, right away. "Isn't it strange, to look at the sky?" he questioned, immediately launching into his amateur philosophy.

"All it takes is falling over, and 'up' ceases to exist. There is only 'forward,' and your weight, dragging you 'behind.' You look ahead into an entire plane of being -- of soothing blue; of pillowy clouds -- no war, or death, or sadness, or hate. There is just simply blue, and whatever shape your mind sees in the clouds. Isn't it strange, that most people will stare at the clouds, only to exclaim their semblance to the world they left behind them? Maybe that's what it's like to be a foreigner. The only things you can see, are what you can recognize. It's almost a metaphor for determination; yet here we are, unable to move forward because of what pulls us back. It makes me wonder why more people don't look at the sky to escape the world they live in? I look at the sky a lot... and I see a whole world, untouched by this noise and ruin we've racked upon ourselves. In a way, it's mine to rule over -- but with you here, I guess we have to share it. That is -- assuming you're in the same place that I am, right now."

- Makoto Fujiwara -

MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS & THQ