Determination and Isolation [o/matthew]

[Hanako Ikezawa]

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[attr="class","oplyrics"]when the sorrow it breaks them i will replace them for you dead flowers for the torn apart laid at the grave to heal a broken heart let it rain until it floods let the sun breathe life once more

[attr="class","optext"]reborn

[attr="class,"oppost"]Adjusting to life on Tomodachi Island had proven challenging. While she was grateful that those first few terrible days of blind panic and self-pity were over, her day-to-day life was far from what she would call comfortable. Not bad, but still not comfortable. Her job - her first job ever - was something she was enjoying more than she thought she would, though she still struggled to communicate her ideas to her coworkers, and often worked off-site. Life in the dorms had largely prepared her for apartment life, though she was still getting used to cooking or buying her own meals. Really, though, the big change was that she was alone. Again.

The people running the Island seemed nice enough. They'd secured her an apartment and helped her find a job, even though she knew she was hysterical upon arrival. It was very easy to count all the positives. But it didn't change that big negative. That feeling of isolation. Of being disconnected. Of having no-one to turn to. It was frightening. Almost paralyzing. Too many times, she wanted to find Lily, to have her comfort and advise her. To simply be with her. Her thoughts turned Hisao, who had proven to be a kind and sincere friend; maybe something more. With whom she shared a love for reading. What were they doing now? Were they worried about her? Hanako forced a small, bittersweet smile as she wandered towards the fountain. Of course they would be. No matter what her nagging doubts said.

Still, they were in Japan, in the normal world, and she was here. On this island full of strange and wondrous people. Hopeful thoughts about them wouldn't salve her loneliness. Only making friends, finding people to rely on. She knew that, but, up until now, she had been fairly successfully avoiding a lot of human contact. She knew people noticed her. Long hair, sleeves, and a hat could only hide so much. But no-one had been that beacon of kindness and understanding like Lily. No-one had approached her with Hisao's determined but awkward first steps. Even now, she didn't try to meet their gazes, flash a smile, strike up a conversation. Instead, she clutched her books to her chest, and kept walking, head down, as she approached a bench. It was only the afternoon, but today had been tiring. She had managed to spend most of the day at the office before her nerves became too highly strung, and she had to leave.

Thinking about how to make new friends wasn't getting her anywhere but in circles. She sighed, pushing her desire to confide in Lily back. That momentary lapse in concentration, combined with an opportunistic gust of wind, snatched a loose note wedged into one of her books, sending it down the path.
"Ah...!" She reached out a scarred hand to grab it, though her reaction time was far from stellar. All Hanako could really do was watch, wide-eyed, as the loose paper inevitably drifted towards its target: the face of an unfortunate passerby.

MATTHEW HOLT
Notes: Hope this opening works for ya, Five. Still finding my style with Hanako, so forgive the introspection dump. Also, feel free to use a different character; I mostly picked one at random.

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[MATTHEW HOLT]

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[attr="class","jarbtgminilyr"]no weapons formed [break]against me shall [break]ever prosper or [break]

[attr="class","jarbtglyr"]WIN

[attr="class","jarbtgnotes"]

NOTES: let the fluff begin.

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Hanako Ikezawa

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Matt breathed a sigh as his steps slowed. The downside of doing jogs around the island was that no matter how many he did, it always left him breathless. Hands settled on his hips as he arched his back to loosen up his muscles, a paper floated in front of him. Before the wind could swipe it into another direction he reached out to grab it and turned it over from one side to the other. The park was a place that a lot of people visited to read or have alone time, so someone was missing this.
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Scanning people nearby, he noticed a girl who seemed like she wanted to make herself smaller by the second. A little smile formed as he walked over to hold the paper out to her.
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"Did you lose this?" He asked. If she took the paper, he would've retracted his hand and stuffed it in his pocket. Taking a seat next to her on teh bench would've seemed too informal and standing in front of her like this would've been irritating. So he settled on taking a few steps back and keeping his hands tucked in the pockets of his slacks.
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"My name is Matthew Holt, it's nice to meet you."
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He wracked his brain for any memory of her. Though careful not to look too much, he could see that her skin was scarred possibly from a severe burn. And he had many scars himself though not any that would've been so noticeable.
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"Are you new to the island? I don't think I've seen you around before."

[attr="class","jarbtgcred"]JARONART

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[Hanako Ikezawa]

[attr="class","optop"]

[attr="class","oplyrics"]when the sorrow it breaks them i will replace them for you dead flowers for the torn apart laid at the grave to heal a broken heart let it rain until it floods let the sun breathe life once more

[attr="class","optext"]reborn

[attr="class,"oppost"]There was always that moment, when Hanako ceased being someone in the background, or to be subtly ignored, in which a rush of thoughts, emotions, and worries flooded her, freezing her body and face. A large and growing part of her wanted to snatch the paper, stammer a thanks and an excuse, and run. Better than enduring the next several minutes of wondering just what he thought of her.

Silence reigned for several moments, the only movements on Hanako's part the darting of her eyes, coming close to, but never quite establishing, eye contact. Eventually, finally, Hanako reached out a hesitant hand, and took the paper.
"Th-Thank you," It was audible at least, though the politeness was marred by her looking at Matthew's shoes. In a clear effort to buy herself time, she laboriously placed it back into a notepad full of neatly hand-written memos, drafts, and notes.

Another pause. Another breath. "Hanako." She said, finally. "U-um. That's my name. H-Hanako Ikezawa." She knew enough manners to introduce herself when someone else did the same. Awkwardly, she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Despite a lot of her body language screaming that she'd rather be anywhere than here, she stubbornly stayed. "I-I'm not exactly n-new, but... um... I-I read a lot." She vaguely gestured towards the books pressed against her chest; aside from notepads, there were also a couple of novels. It wasn't a complete explanation, but hopefully Matthew would be able to fill in the blanks.

Suddenly, Hanako took a sharp intake of breath, then forced herself to make direct eye contact. "How about y-you, ah..." Hanako's summoned courage faltered, and her eyes slid off to the side. "I-is Matthew okay...?" He was basically a westerner, right? Didn't they prefer their given names?
MATTHEW HOLT
Notes: Nothin' wrong with some fluff.

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[MATTHEW HOLT]

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[attr="class","jarbtgtri"]

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[attr="class","jarbtgminilyr"]no weapons formed [break]against me shall [break]ever prosper or [break]

[attr="class","jarbtglyr"]WIN

[attr="class","jarbtgnotes"]

NOTES: let the fluff begin.

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Hanako Ikezawa

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"Matthew is fine," he replied with a nod. "A lot of my friends call me Matt."
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She seemed so flightly as if she was going to run away at any minute. He spared a little smile to be as reassuring as possible. However, only some higher being would know what is going on in Hanako's head. So Matt settled on shifting his weight from one foot to the other and relying on the fact that he might not be able to navigate this safely. But he might be doing something good by trying to navigate it at all.
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He looked around and then back to her.
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"I'm not entirely caught up on eastern culture as of late, but Ikezawa-san, that'd be the correct way to address you?"
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Matt studied various things but he was always preparing to go to space. Not the eastern hemisphere of the world where everything was far more polite but more confusing than the western side. Most of the time, he only went to Europe to visit his extended family and that was for hot summers and cold winters.
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"Do you mind if I sit?"

[attr="class","jarbtgcred"]JARONART

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[Hanako Ikezawa]

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[attr="class","oplyrics"]when the sorrow it breaks them i will replace them for you dead flowers for the torn apart laid at the grave to heal a broken heart let it rain until it floods let the sun breathe life once more

[attr="class","optext"]reborn

[attr="class,"oppost"]"That's fine. U-Um... H-Hanako is fine too. I-If you w-want. You don't have to, th-though." It was what most people she knew called her. Even Hisao, when they barely knew each other, had been fairly familiar in that regard. Maybe that was what made it more comfortable. In her experience, people tended to have one of three responses to her: willful ignorance, malicious teasing, or kind consideration. Of course, she was grateful that Matthew had chosen the latter of those, three, but...

"O-Okay." She wasn't sure why he needed her permission to sit, but it was easy to give. As tired as her legs were from walking - she really wasn't as fit as she liked, sometimes - she didn't really have any desire to sit. Maybe partially due to the fact that she still felt like she was on the verge of running and hiding. Something made painfully obvious by her body language.

She was still there, though, so maybe Matthew was doing something right. "U-Um...M-Matthew... have you... been here long? O-On this island." Hanako looked sidelong at the town, frowning slightly. "It's... k-kind of weird..."
MATTHEW HOLT

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[MATTHEW HOLT]

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[attr="class","jarbtgminilyr"]no weapons formed [break]against me shall [break]ever prosper or [break]

[attr="class","jarbtglyr"]WIN

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NOTES: more questions and trying to be careful, good job matt.

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Hanako Ikezawa

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Matt nodded and took a seat on the bench next to her. It alleviated the weight off of his legs and as his back sagged against it, he realized just how tired he was. The run took him farther than it normally did and for a longer period of time than what he was accustomed to. Come to think of it, he was able to go for a longer period of time than usual. Shiro might like this newfound stamina, he thought with a sly internal grin that he was careful not to show on his face. Hanako still seemed unsure of him and when he glanced over at her, she seemed ready to bolt.
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Conversation, conversation.
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He idly reminded himself that talking often took two people but when it came to someone so skittish, it might be wise to take a bit of care with his words. But before he could open his mouth, she asked him a question that made his blond run cold. Arms crossing behind his head, he gave a cursory glance towards the looming city and thought about it.
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"I'm not sure," he said. "Somewhere along the line, I stopped keeping track on how long I've been on the island and just focused on when I needed to be up for work."
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In truth, he didn't want to konw how long he'd been there. Originally he'd been so alone and just counting the days would've made it harder. Matt chose to focus on the little things and embrace the fact that life wouold continue on whether he wanted it to or not.
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Giving her a sideways glance, he smiled with a light shrug.
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"How long have you been on the island and if I may ask, why is it weird?"
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Of course, being uprooted from your home and placed in an unknown place was a feeling he knew all too well. But everyone's experience was different.

[attr="class","jarbtgcred"]JARONART

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[Hanako Ikezawa]

[attr="class","optop"]

[attr="class","oplyrics"]when the sorrow it breaks them i will replace them for you dead flowers for the torn apart laid at the grave to heal a broken heart let it rain until it floods let the sun breathe life once more

[attr="class","optext"]reborn

[attr="class,"oppost"] Questions and small talk were the basis of meeting new people. After all, if they never spoke, they'd never grow to understand each other. Didn't make it easy or simple, however.
"A c-couple of m-months," Hanako said after a pause, still looking out at the town. She knew the town was strange to her, but it was difficult to explain exactly why. At least in a way she felt comfortable saying to a stranger. No matter how understanding and considerate Matthew was clearly trying to be.

"I-I guess... i-it's the people." Hanako blinkeed, and she looked at Matthew, shaking her head, mild panic on her face. "N-Not you, r-really! B-But..." She looked down at her feet. What was really strange was how she had been torn out of a world where she had begun to find a place she felt like she belonged. Why? And why her? "B-But... s-so many p-people here are... u-unbelievable." She didn't know what other word to use. The only other word that came to mind was fictitious.

She smiled faintly. "I-I'm used to p-people who have su-superpowers or are trying to s-save the w-world being in books." There was an unspoken but present suggestion that Hanako was saying she simply felt far out of her league. She was just a normal person; no, worse than that. A person who had to forcefully contain their fear and anxiety just to be able to hold a halting conversation. Not to mention her... other flaws.
MATTHEW HOLT
Notes: Heroes are weird people.

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