A WHOLE NEW WORLD [Tamaki/Marion]

Tamaki Suoh

[presto]

The market was busy today. People bustling in every which way as other people continued to call out words of encouragement to buy their stuff. Some of them were pretty convincing, but Tamaki Suoh kept his distance from them, remembering what Haruhi had said about how that was their way of getting more money. Well, it didn't really bother him all that much. But he stayed away anyway, trying not to cause a scene of any kind. Especially since he hadn't gone shopping at the market before. This was not a first for him, but it definitely was a first with him being by himself. Why was Tamaki by himself? Simple, he wanted to plan a surprise visit. Wanted to bring the Club to visit the Commoner Market, just to get more of a taste for the commoner world. It was a very busy world from what he could tell. His eyes shifted around the square thoughtfully. Where should he bring the guys? 

At several points in the day Tamaki found himself peering over counters as if he was a little child looking for a nice cool toy to buy. Everything was so new and different. He had only grown up a very wealthy life, even if it didn't seem like it at first with his father being so far away and he and his mother living in a smaller estate in France. But ever since he could remember, there had always been servants and Maids to dress, feed, protect, and teach him. He had always been cared for and had never had to do much requiring physical work. So, to partly make up to Haruhi, the other part to make up to himself, Tamaki had begun roaming around the Commoner's market in search of something to look at.

It wasn't long before he started getting a little overwhelmed by all the people swarming around him. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. It took him a moment to think it over before he walked up to one of the signs standing in the middle of the square. It appeared to be a map. He ran his finger over the smooth glass as he read the labels thoughtfully. There had to be something fun to do around here. There were food stands, clothing stores, coffee stands and several other things. 

What could he do at the market all by himself? He didn't have his friends with him. And usually he would do this kind of thing with Kyoya at his side, or he would just grab his friends and go without planning. Maybe he would need to talk to a local about how to go shopping in a place like this... He peered around scene to see if there was anyone he was willing to just walk up to an talk to. He was entirely obviously lost. There's no doubt about it. And it wasn't hard to tell that he knew he was lost. Whether he would care to admit that or not. 
[/presto]

table created by ♠ SPADE ♠

Marion was no stranger to the markets of the common people. Even though she had been raised in a home wealthier than many of those in her home town, she still did things just like many of the students that attended her public high school. She went to the mall with her friends and went to the movie theaters when she was bored. She went to the grocery store whenever she needed to get food and she hit up fast food joints like it was nobody’s business when she was too lazy to make herself a meal with any of the food that they had in her home. She may have had someone come to her house every once and awhile to clean the home that her mother had little time to take care of and she may have always had up-to-date electronics and crazy nice things, but other than that, she really wasn’t all that different from everyone when it came to her life-style as a child. So even though her parents were rich and prominent members of the scientific community, she could proudly say that she knew exactly what she was doing when it came to the ways of the common people.

However, that seemed to hold true only to those that lived in her home country of the United States. When it came to the shopping style of those of Japan, Marion could say that she had the faintest clue on how to go about purchasing anything or interacting with others. While living in America, she had always lived near a Kroger and a Wal-mart, both of the massive chains a convenient 10 minute drive from her home. Here, however, the closest thing to her home was a decently-sized open market where the vendors shouted their wares and tried the best they could to mooch whatever money you had on you and Marion was at a loss for words in this unknown environment. While she had grown up attending the local farmers market during the summer, her parents forcing her to get up early every Saturday morning as a child to take her along with them so that she may choose whatever she liked from the fresh produce, this was on a completely new scale and a whole new level entirely. The market here was a sprawling mass of vendors that wound its way across several streets and these small stands, coupled with the permanent stores that also lined the streets and appeared every so often in the spaces between collapsible tables, made for a very confusing lay out that had the young foreigner at not only a loss for words, but also at a loss for direction.

Having woken up early to an empty home yet again, her parents working constantly to get set up in their new life here in Japan, Marion had noticed that the pantry and fridge were starting to look a little spare. Knowing that if her parents weren’t even around for any bit of relaxation these past couple of weeks, the girl knew they certainly wouldn’t have time to either go on any trips to replenish the stock that they had in the kitchen or possibly even notice that it was thinning down. It was with a heavy sigh and a hint of irritation showing on her features that Marion got ready for the day and had made her way to the very market she was currently lost in, knowing full well she would get lost in this unknown territory. She hadn’t wanted to go alone to the market because she knew that she would not be able to find her way around, but if she wanted to eat, she really had no other choice. And so she found herself in her current position of wandering aimlessly around the winding streets, jumping every time a salesman barked something towards the passersby, hoping to wrangle in a future customer. This whole experience was certainly new to her.

Looking around, her dark eyes trying to find anyone that she could go to for directions or anything that could possibly help her find her way, she noticed a large sign in the middle of the square. Hoping it would be like one of those ‘You Are Here’ maps that were so common in the malls back home, Marion hurried over towards it, stopping only as a taller, blonde male appeared in front of her and blocked her view of the map. Waiting patiently behind the taller man for a moment, hoping that he would look at it quickly and then move along, she thought about the odd color of his hair. It was certainly not something that she had expected to see here and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had dyed it or if it was natural. Curiosity could only hold her impatience over for so long though and it wasn’t long before she decided that she would have to speak up if she wanted to have a look at the map as well. The odd blonde had finished looking at it, it seemed, and had taken to looking around, somehow not noticing her standing there. “Excuse me,” she finally said, speaking up and trying hard not to fumble with the foreign words that she had yet to get used to. “Would you mind if I looked at that?” She followed up with, hoping that he would take the hint to move and that she hadn’t totally butchered the pronunciation and said something totally out of context. How embarrassing would that be?