Yowamushi Pedal/Noblesse

[bossbetterhavemymoney]

Who: Tadokoro Jin, Tao
What: A little break from the hectic life back in Korea, Tao makes an unlikely friend
When: Between Volumes 6 and 7 of Noblesse.
Where: Chiba Prefecture, Tokyo, Japan
Warnings: TBA



"Yes. Yeah. Yea~h I know. Geez, I'm not a kid, I can be on my own for five minutes, you know? I'm just looking for something to eat and tired of M-21 brooding," Tao sighed, clucking his tongue as he chattered on his cellphone. Takeo called about as often as a worried mother, checking up on Tao as if he couldn't navigate his way around Japan. Granted, he'd gotten off at the wrong stop on the train, but Takeo didn't know that and his lack of faith was insulting, however merited.

"Yeah yeah yeah, come on. Lay off. I wanna do a little solo investigating. Shopping. You know, for computer...things." It was a terrible cop-out, but Tao knew M-21 and Takeo found his hobbies painfully dull, which made it easier to buy himself out of the worry-wart vortex.

"Yep, gonna shop til I drop. Black credit card, courtesy of the boss, you know! He said have fun and I intend to. Right now I'm going to eat, then I'm going to check out one of those little maid cafe things, then--I'M KIDDING. Calm down! Yes. Alright. Yes. I promise, I'll meet up with you guys at the hotel, ten o' clock. Alright. Yep, see you then."

And here he thought he'd get his Sunday off free of the other two. He was more of a night owl anyways. Getting up early hadn't paid off at all and he felt miserable without breakfast. Tucking his cell into the back pocket of his tight white jeans, the modified human sighed, inhaling deeply.

Holy hell what was that divine scent?

Charcoal-colored eyes darted around, mouth already watering as he sought the source and landed on--

"A bakery? Oh, bless, yes. Thank you sweet mercy," the man crooned, swaying towards the Tadokoro family bakery with a lazy smile. His silky, large black, off-the-shoulder shirt with splatter white paint graphic billowed around a spider-thin body as he sauntered in range of the racks of baked delicacies. He wanted one of everything but wasn't sure of the etiquette for Japanese dining. He'd been told that Korean and Japanese behavior wasn't too different, but the language was worlds apart. Fortunately he knew the tongue, even if not the attitude. Dusting his black bangs out of his eyes and tugging lightly on his white forelock, Tao flashed his brightest smile.

"Ohay~o!" he called into the shop, cheery as could be. Looming over the racks, at 5'11" he was no joke, even if he looked like a strong wind might fling him out the door. "I'd like to buy something delicious!" he chimed, salivating at the very idea. Sure, Takeo was blowing up his phone with texts, but he was on vacation and deserved the best. Spoiling himself with every food under the sun was just the tip of the iceberg. He wanted to enjoy Japan while he could, live the life, explore the countryside - anything, all starting with a goddamn sweet bun, if he had anything to say about it.

Comments

[bossbetterhavemymoney]

"Thank you, as well. Do you accept tips in Japan?" Tao asked, genuinely unsure. There wasn't a lot of tipping in Korea, either, but it seemed like the thing to do and he disliked the idea of being given a service and not paying for it.

Reaching out and picking up the plate of food, Tao swiveled his head about, found a suitable seat and settled in, inclining his head in thanks for the tea as well. Adjusting the plate and drink until he was satisfied, the lean man hurried back over to the counter, withdrawing his matte black credit card, holding it out without concern for cost; he was extremely well compensated for his work.

"What's there to do around here, hm? You know anywhere worth seeing, anything worth doing?"

[bearonabike]

Tadokoro waived it off. "Don't worry about it. Call it the nice foreigner special." He grinned. He watched curiously as Tao settled down with the tray before rushing back to pay. A black card huh? He'd heard about those sort of things though he'd never seen it in person. He took it from Tao, swiping it and almost expecting it to be a fake and declined but it went through just fine. He handed it back to Tao along with the receipt.

"Not too much if you're staying just in this area, but there's onsens not too far away and this area's not too bad if you're a cyclist." He grinned. "The roads are good for that and the scenery is nice too." Assuming it was sight seeing you wanted to do and not actual racing. There wasn't much time to look at the sights in the middle of a race.

[bossbetterhavemymoney]

"Ooh. Onsens. The uh, hotspring baths?" he asked, wiggling spidery fingers briefly before glancing off in thought. Might be worth experiencing a cultural thing or two. It wasn't often he had real time to himself. Glancing over Tadokoro he smirked faintly, amused at the image of just a burly beast of a young man chilling in a hot bath.

He seemed jolly.

Tao liked jolly.

"Cycling? Like biking?" he asked, gesturing holding handlebars with his hands and blinking blankly. Surely the man wasn't implying he was a cyclist. Weren't they all rail thin? Like himself, really. He biked once or twice but couldn't get much enjoyment out of it - most sports weren't a challenge for him, being a modified human, so he usually stuck to exercising his brain instead. And once again he was left wondering what something Tadokoro did must have looked like.

It seemed unkind to think, but it must have looked like a circus act. Some burly thing on a bike, like....a bear...He stifled a laugh, snorting a soft giggle into his hand at the image. He had to see it.

"What are the best place to bike around here? For leisure, mostly. I don't have anyone to compete with."

[bearonabike]

"Oh?" The word compete stuck out in Tadokoro's mind. He wouldn't have judged Tao one way or the other on being a cyclist. He was living proof that a cyclist could be from any body type and any class. That was the joy of it really. It was an even ground where people of all types could struggle against the elements and their own bodies to try and come out on top.

"There's a path not too far from here. There's plenty of hills and straights so you can get a good workout." He grinned and there was a challenging look in his eyes as he said, "If you want someone to compete against I'll race you."

It had been awhile since Tadokoro had had the pleasure of racing anyone. He'd been focused on helping his folks with the bakery and of course Kinjou and Makishima were both busy with college.