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 | "W-Wha?" Haley's face rose in color as Dusan suddenly came in close proximity to her once again as he'd done earlier. On instinct, she kept her gaze focused on her drink which she had both hands wrapped around as he answered her question regarding why her being sexy mattered. To her, it didn't. If anything, she believed in the confidence of her work by presenting it honestly to those willing to take it as is and not have her change it by fudging the truth to gain some benefit out of further making those involved in the story look back as well as feel worse than they already do about how things transpired the way they had. It's why she thought it was strange she was turned away from quite a few news stations when attempting to apply for work so she'd have some form of income and get out of sleeping in her car. She was more than happy to get a small apartment for herself but Haley wasn't going to sell her soul just to help herself. She believed in doing the right thing for all parties involved. If that meant not reporting the story at all, she wouldn't do it. That still didn't make it any less strange how she was suddenly judged for being a foreigner though. Clearly, there were a lot of foreigners in Japan from what she'd seen. Living their day-to-day lives alongside the natives of Japan. What made her different? Despite her embarrassment of Dusan being close to her as he was, her gaze soften, yet her eyes were narrowed as she answered her own question. 'A part of me believes it may have had to do with my secondary gender. I shouldn't think that as that really hasn't been much of a problem for me personally. It can't just only be that I want to report the truth and not tell lies. It can't even be that because I'm from the states and knowing how news is reported there to just scare the public right than reporting what is actually the truth ... all of that plays a part ... Including that I'm a Beta as well...' Her mind strayed to where she wasn't even focused on Dusan now. She'd become wrapped up in her own thoughts. What brought her out of her own head was when she heard Dusan listing all her physical features out on top of tossing out how her overall appearance did appeal to many that would definitely see her as a fetish. Her eyes were now on him directly, and her blush returned yet her brow was raised at the man's words. "So, I'm a fetish right? Good to know that's how I'm seen and nothing more," she replied sarcastically. It'd be unrealistic in her mind for anyone to consider her as a mate anyway. Seeing as how finding a mate wasn't much of a focus for her, this is why Haley found the thought of it to be odd. Even with Dusan teasing her again by saying things about her overall appearance and how she looked to him, just sounded like, what a normality for an Alpha? She wasn't sure how to really describe it. That and she could barely figure him out most of the time. |
 | Feodora nodded. "I trust that you'll do the right thing by your friend. I never had any doubts about that," she said, chuckling. As much as her brother tried to hide his emotions, he was too easy to read at times. Even if it takes him a moment to say what he really wants to say, sometimes she had to give him a bit of a push without pressing too hard to do that. She was his big sister, she was going to care about him no matter what. "Don't forget, if you ever need me for anything, you know you can always come to me. In fact, I'd rather you'd come to me over our parents. If I have to advise you against anything, I would tell you upfront without taking away your ability to make your own choices." She hated that their parents did that to them and she was grateful that Neji eventually realized that but still couldn't bring himself to face Yuuto without feeling ashamed for what he'd done. Tatsuya was a whole other story. She didn't believe he'd learn anything. He's no different from that woman that's their stepmother now. He was a lost cause and he was going to have to learn the hard way on his own that he can't treat people how he believes they should be treated in his warped mind. Feodora was thankful that she and Yuuto remained close. She'd love for their entire family to be close but that was nothing more than a pipe dream now with them having differing views. Nothing could be done about that. She can only focus on the now. And right now, it would seem that Yuuto knew what he wanted and how he was going to go about it. Feodora was happy to listen to her brother and allowing him to talk out his problems. Plus, it was nice to see him happier. He deserved it. He's waited for this long to be able to reach out to his friend, she knows he's patient enough to gave him time to trust him. In the meantime, she was enjoying their quality time together. Chuckling as he'd finished the meal she'd prepared and inquired about any dessert she may have made. "Not this time unfortunately. I'd only bought an angel food cake I was just going to decorate later. But if you want a slice of it anyway, I don't mind giving you one," she'd offered. |
| "Wait huh?" Haley couldn't help but sweatdrop at Dusan's statement. First, he seemed as if he was frustrated with the things she was saying which is why she found the change of topic to be nice. It didn't seem to be working as it continued to feel as if they were going back and forth with each other but without arguing. She didn't understand the need to be constantly changed as to whether or not she'd change her stance on what she believed when it came to reporting. Hell, she already thought it was rather strange that he was helping her out this much. Again, she appreciated it but she had to remind herself that this was his space that she was living in. The last thing she wanted was to overstep her boundaries in any way. But this didn't mean that she wouldn't react confused, surprised, or embarrassed whenever Dusan would say things regarding her overall appearance. Something the dark-haired woman clearly disagreed with as well as made her remember that she'd yet to change out of her nightwear to put something else on. She'd gotten comfortable with it on that she hadn't felt like changing. That and working on the finishing touches to her story had been her main focus for the majority of the morning before she'd taken a break around lunchtime to clean what little bit and eventually cook something to eat. Now, Dusan was doing it again. Starting with pretending he was going to kiss her and now saying that she had to be confident in herself but also sexy which made the woman raise a brow at such a statement. "Um ... why do I need to be sexy? What is even sexy about me?" Haley asked, finally speaking up. The expression on her face was one of genuine confusion because never before had anyone made such statements in her general direction. She never thought or saw herself as such. In fact, she considered herself to be very plain and a woman like her rival Angelica would be what most men would consider sexy in a woman. That woman put so much effort into her appearance with all the makeup she wore whereas Haley herself was the exact opposite. She honestly couldn't take what Dusan said seriously and couldn't help but think he was once again teasing her like he'd done so earlier. 'I understand him sticking his neck out for me and worrying about his reputation but did he have to toss out that 'sexy' line? Seems so unnecessary. I think he's seeing something that's not really there,' Haley thought as she'd sat further back in her seat with her hands in her lap. |
 | Kuri moaned into the kiss while steadily working her hands up and down Bridget's length. Her embarrassment was still present during this, showing that she'd never done this before yet she was with Bridget. His responses told her that he was enjoying what she was doing. Simply touching him this way didn't seem like much but it seemed enough to please him. While she was doing that, he'd broken their kiss to suck on her neck in the area where her scent gland was. This sensation, this attention made her shiver and she released more of her scent while panting heavily. This lasted only a few moments until her hands had been stopped and removed from the blonde's hardened organ. She seemed confused at first, believing to have done something wrong the reason why he stopped her and pulled away. However, her confusion had dissolved when he'd guided her to sit and lay back on the sofa. An action that'd surprised her. The brunette was willing to take things slow, not rush. She didn't object and willingly did so, her gaze shifting to where they were looking up at Bridget once again, her panting feeling as if it was increasing with anticipation for what was to come next. Kuri didn't have to wait for long for Bridget didn't waste any time taking her left breast into his hand, teasing the nipple which had become hard. She whimpered at this feeling, squirming underneath him as he now towered over her. She felt his other hand slowly gliding itself down her stomach before reaching her shorts. She thought he was going to rest his hand there but instead, he'd done the opposite. He'd unbutton them, yet didn't remove them. Instead, he slipped his hand inside of them, inside of her panties where she'd felt his fingers rubbing between the folds of her womanhood. She arched her head back at this feeling, her juices leaking more, coating Bridget's fingers. In this position, her neck was exposed which Bridget had taken advantage of, and once more, she felt his lips kissing and sucking the area of her scent gland that out of the pleasure Kuri was feeling, caused her scent to engulf them but with Bridget being an Alpha, the brunette felt herself becoming more lost and consumed by his scent. Her arms looped themselves around his back as she'd begun to lightly claw at his skin, showing how much she was enjoying what he was doing and desired more. "B-Bridget..." Kuri moaned his name out softly. |
| "Ah, TV Tokyo. They were on the list to present the story to. Wasn't sure if they'd go for it," Haley admitted. She was rather surprised that Dusan had connections with any news stations at all but considering his profession, she shouldn't be surprised and yet she was. But if he was able to put in a good word for her once she finished writing the remainder of the story, she didn't see what could it hurt to reach out to them. Haley couldn't help but raise her brow when he'd asked her if she was going to leave out her involvement in the story. "It wouldn't make sense to leave out details that are important. Wouldn't have gotten as far as we did had I not ... well ... gone off on my own to further investigate. The pieces were there, they just needed to be put together to make sense," she said. She gave a small sigh, closing her eyes for a brief moment before opening them and shifting her gaze to look directly at Dusan. "Hated that I got kidnapped in the process but we all made it out alive and cracked the case. They certainly made things unnecessarily difficult." There were so many clues that lead in different directions, she almost believed it was going to take months to solve it. She was thankful that things didn't stretch that far. It's still sad someone had to lose their life that didn't deserve it but at least their murder had been solved and it can be put to rest. Writing the story of everything was the easy part, presenting it was the more difficult one. "If they want the story, they should be willing to take me as I am without me having to pretend to act like an entirely different person," Haley added. She knew she wasn't the most interesting face to have on TV as a reporter but if TV Tokyo wanted the story as she wrote it without changing anything and finds that she did a good job, then they should be willing to hire her based on her merit and reporting skills. If they're looking for her to have something else that she can't give, then they're simply not getting the story. Simple as that. |
| "Then prepared is what you should say and mean over the idea of keeping tabs on those who are incredibly powerful. That's not saying there aren't any out there that will use their abilities to hurt others but there would be I'd imagine some that are incredibly powerful that simply don't want to hurt anybody." Haley preferred avoiding generalizing everyone into the same group as she knew full well not everyone was the same. There were many who still had such a mindset but that usually pertained to secondary genders. Generalizing that all Omegas should be submissive and obedient, all Alphas were abrasive and arrogant, and all Betas were nothing and just existed. Deemed dull and uninteresting which Haley found to be rather insulting. She hated being generalized when she did have a personality that wasn't defined by what she presented. She couldn't help that. She'd accepted it and lived with it. It was always those around her that made such things to be a bigger deal than they needed to be. That was usually because of the simple fact that many wanted to pair based on some form of status which was sad but there was nothing Haley could do about it. Finding a mate hadn't even crossed her mind and no one had ever shown any interest in her in such a way. Dusan didn't count since she could tell he was only trying to get a rise out of her. That wasn't funny so she wasn't going to think deeper into it. As for his generalization regarding those who are super powerful, it would've made more sense to her if he'd said it's better to be prepared for such a thing over keeping tabs on them. That sounded like a waste of resources and in her mind some form of paranoia despite Dusan's claims against it. As he refilled her drink and he continued to speak, she couldn't help but raise a brow at his words. That he wasn't afraid of anything but others should be afraid of him. 'They should be afraid of him? Why? Just who is this guy really?' she wondered, raising her glass to her lips again and taking a sip of her beverage. Haley definitely wanted to ask what he meant by what he'd said but she felt she would get a very circular answer that wouldn't be the full truth. The woman didn't want to hurt her brain today figuring out riddles so since Dusan had changed the subject from what they were discussing, she'd decided to move on as well. "The only thing I'm working on is the finishing touches to the rest of the story. Once I've done that, I'll have to do research into news stations that will report the story as is and not try to fudge any of it for their own benefit," she'd told him. "Laughably, some of those stations turned me away due to America valuing lies over the truth in their news stories when they're doing the exact same thing so, there's the pot calling the kettle black." Haley couldn't help but shake her head at that. She was annoyed at that back then but she'd let it go. It's not as if they were the only stations she could reach out to. |
| "That's basically living in fear of those with powers and always worrying about the 'what if'. There is the possibility that not everyone with powers even want them and finds them to be a burden and would love to live a normal life and not hurt anybody. That's no different than putting people like me without powers under constant watch and worrying about if I'll somehow shank someone when they least expect it." While Haley understood worrying about a lot of things regarding who someone lives around, but there is such a thing as being absolutely paranoid which is what this sounds like. Pure paranoia. That and also worrying about someone's powers affecting one's job. It would seem that jobs here take that into account so she didn't understand why that was a worry. Rather than diving deeper, she simply answered with, "You're very paranoid aren't you?" She finished the rest of her food before proceeding to focus her attention on her drink. She'd polished off half of it while a small portion remained. She'd been asked if she wanted a refill which she was fine with accepting. She wasn't going to turn down such an offer. "Sure, I'll take a refill," Haley replied, setting the glass back down on the table. "I think your worries regarding people with powers are similar to those who fear people who aren't human. Thought that we were past that period in life walking in fear. There should be a difference between being afraid of the individual with those powers and not grouping others with similar ones as a collective." Haley didn't take Dusan as a paranoid man or a conspiracy theorist. Haley personally saw no reason to worry unless given a reason to. Other than that, she remained neutral around people and tried to avoid causing problems as much as she could. Never seemed to work out well when she lived back home but in Japan, she was mostly left alone unless someone complained which was rarely. Clearly, she and Dusan thought very differently but she had no reason to be upset about it. She remained neutral but she would like to discuss a different topic. So since he'd brought up Mari, she'd decided to move into that. "Anyway, concerning Mari, I only empathize that her family didn't want the affair to get out but the public had already assumed that it was an affair that caused her murder. Hiding it wouldn't have made a difference. I don't agree with what they did and they were even ashamed of their involvement in covering it up. The only thing that mattered to them was the truth about Mari and what led her in that direction. They knew they would be judged and in the end, they only thought about Mari's name being cleared. She wasn't perfect as no one is but she wasn't a terrible person either." The main thing Haley was glad about is that no one else lost their lives in the midst of the investigation and it'd been solved before it'd gotten that far. More importantly, she was glad it was over. |
| "You can want the truth about something or someone but also respect their privacy in not releasing that truth to the public if they don't want the world to know it. However, I can say it depends on what that truth is. One thing I won't cover up is obvious criminal activity. If one is clearly guilty of something, there is no guarantee to trust them to not do it again." Haley ate some more of her food. Her stance hadn't changed on wanting to report the truth. But not every situation is similar to Mari's where family or even friends care so much about a person that they would prefer the truth to be out as well as explain how things ended up the way they did. Only those closest to someone know them both inside and out. And while Mari was with someone that wasn't her mate, her family knew she wasn't trying to be spiteful in being with someone else. Rather, she would've preferred to have fallen in love with someone and being happy with them over the idea of an arranged pairing set up by her family. However, the public didn't have a great view of Mari as they didn't know her, and that was the reason why the family was okay with the story about everything being released. To clear her name and show that she was someone that never would intentionally hurt others. Haley was willing to not write the story but Mari's family was already sorrowful in losing her, they didn't want everything about them and Mari to be further damaged. In cases such as those, that's when Haley would think about whether or not is a story worth telling to the world. Sometimes it isn't. She'd only do so unless instructed otherwise to do so. Protecting the privacy of actual criminals she could've cared less about if they're going about doing harm to others, whether it is physical or not. There was criminal activity out of survival but those situations varied as well. No one wants to be a criminal and can be forced into being one against their will. Not everyone can get out of those types of situations alive but the ones that manage to are quite lucky to never have to go back to such a life. There were exceptions but they're few and far between. She wasn't sure how Dusan would feel about such an opinion. Instead, she simply responds to his second question to avoid going into a philosophical discussion about the dangers of life and how to survive it. "I simply write the truth as long as I'm given the facts behind those stories. There are exceptions and circumstances, yes. I'll only write what I'm allowed and as long as it's the truth. If I'm told to not report a story at all I won't do it. If I'm asked to leave something out, I need a good reason as to why I need to do so. Everyone wants their privacy but we shouldn't be putting people with powers under surveillance. I feel as if that would pit them against those that don't have powers and that sounds like a chaotic world to live in where everyone is fighting and judging. We have people judging others now and that's the societal norm regarding secondary genders. I don't even like that but at least no one is at each other's throats over it," she said, reaching her hand forward taking the glass of juice, and taking a few sips from it to wash down the food she ate. |
| "I see..." Haley wasn't sure how she felt about that. There would be a cause for concern whether someone's abilities were lesser so she didn't see much of a difference. Stalking those more powerful than others to make sure they don't destroy the entire planet seems excessive. While she should be a concerned civilian about that, there was a part of her that wondered do any of those people that are super powerful even liked being that powerful. Want those powers? There shouldn't be the impossibility that such people would find having so much power to be a burden and maybe never even use their abilities. Haley only felt that was a necessity to keep track of them if they were repeat offenders in using their powers to cause problems for others. Just innocent people trying to live as regularly as they could with dangerous powers that many would fear sounds already nerve-racking. Adding being watched on top of that was doing too much. "I don't agree with watching others who are extremely powerful and I have reasons for it but I know that sometimes it is best to keep one's thoughts to themselves. Not everyone likes an opposing opinion by someone who technically isn't part of such a world," Haley replied as she ate some more of her food. She left her response at that while listening to Dusan talk a bit more about his life. It would seem that he lived a life of crime growing up compared to her, she grew up fairly normal. The only difference was it just felt that nobody wanted her around and acted as if she was a bother to be around. Most of that had to do with her being a Beta but she learned to ignore complaints related to her secondary gender. Not like she could do anything about that. Dusan didn't seem to have that sort of issue growing up but there was no denying California's crime rates. "California is no stranger to crime. I know I wouldn't have faired well being homeless there." Which was true. There was no need to explain further. And occasionally watching the local news from her state, it hasn't gotten any better either. |
| Haley sat in silence, waiting for Dusan to respond to her question while also watching him set their place on the table and then went to pour her a glass of what he'd said to be blood orange juice and lemonade. She'd heard of so many different lemonade flavors that she couldn't keep up with them. All of them were in a variety of different colors so she had no reason to doubt that's what he was giving her. Besides, it wasn't hard to know if what she was drinking had alcohol in it. She'd be able to taste as well as smell it. She nodded, accepting the glass with the beverage in it. Instead of starting with her food, she started with the drink, taking a small sip before setting the glass down on the table. This had proceeded in Dusan clarifying that he indeed was from California but he didn't seem to favor it much which she understood. There were people who loved the state and those who felt the opposite. Haley wouldn't say she loved California. She was from there but she didn't have a lot of enjoyable memories of living there. And it had gotten expensive to live there as well so she would've eventually been homeless and living in her car either way. So her situation wouldn't have been any different than how she'd been living in Japan before currently given a place to comfortably stay with Dusan. She picked up her utensils and began eating. Admittedly, she was very terrible at using chopsticks as her fingers were highly uncoordinated in attempting to hold them so she preferred a fork which she was glad that he had some. Having researched a lot about Japan and its culture, Haley was fully aware that using one's hands over utensils wasn't garnered a bunch of stares. Considering she didn't have much money on her to sit and eat inside many places that only provided chopsticks to use, whenever she could get food, her car was a very convenient spot to eat without worrying about looking uncultured. She didn't think Dusan would react the same as those native to the country would about it but she still wanted to show that she had some manners. After taking a bite of her food, she finally decided to respond to him. "I can't blame you for filling that way about California. I wouldn't have guessed you were from there," she said. "I'm from there but I have no real attachments back home. Plus, the ever-increasing prices would've ended up with me out on the streets in my car anyway. Plus, there aren't many people that live there that have powers and aren't human which is what I found to be interesting given how popular to state is with people. I guess my interest in wanting to see that is what made me come to Japan. Seeing that, they're no different from someone without them and leading normal lives or trying to. When I ... lived there ... I don't think anyone either believed they existed or favored such people. That was the indication I got. I don't know why but it was very strange," Haley explained as she took another bite of her food. That was her initial reason for coming to Japan. It wasn't much of a story that would drive interest back home but confirming that such people did exist, they seemed to not really bother anymore. At least the ones she'd initially seen amongst crowds anyway since she's been here. But then it went from that to wanting to find work in the country and yet she struggled and continued to have hope that maybe it would change that she'd be able to get something. Had she not met Dusan, she wouldn't have gotten that chance. Haley was grateful even if she found the man in front of her to be very questionable at times. |
| "Ah ... sure. That's fine." Haley was just going to eat in the room she'd been provided to stay in. Naturally, she'd forgotten what it was like to sit down and eat with someone and just have a natural conversation with them. Thinking about it for a moment, she realized in America, many seemed to have also forgotten that concept if they weren't already mated with someone. Outside of those that did want that, others only seemed to focus on their biological needs and didn't want to be tied down to anyone. Seemed rather sad but at the same time, nobody could force something on others that they don't want. Yet, in this day in age, the practice of "arranged meetings" were still being done to this day. More so in other countries compared to America. Japan was definitely one of those countries that believed in such a practice but it also depended upon one's family and status. Things Haley never about and put focus into. Whereas here in Japan, it was definitely more noticeable. Her mind had briefly wondered if Dusan had ever ventured out from Japan but she felt it rude to ask. Of course, she didn't have to when he'd said that he was originally from America. Specifically from the same state she was from. That would explain how he spoke English so well and it wasn't just him having learned the language well enough to speak it. But her expression showed her surprise at hearing this new information about him. "Y-You're from California as well?" she'd slipped and asked. Haley never did tell Dusan where she originally was from in America. That it was her country of origin. She didn't believe their interaction would be on this level to where they'd live together so she didn't think of having to divulge that information to him. She sat down at the table, her hands awkwardly placed in her lap as she began to twiddle her thumbs nervously. Her pounding heart had eventually calmed down but she felt it begin to race again. 'Why do I feel so nervous now? Is it because of his teasing from earlier? Shit. Was trying not to think about that? I don't even know why he's teasing me like this. At least it's just that I suppose. I can try and brush it off and ignore it as much as I can. Though ... it is interesting to learn something new about it,' Haley thought to herself as she tried to remain calm and neutral as possible. He'd offered her a drink to which she'd raised her hand up to turn it down. "Yeah it's way too early in the day to be doing that. I'll just have some water or juice." Maybe she was just strange but she wasn't the type of person that had to have a liquored drink with every meal or pick a specific meal such as lunch or dinner to have it with. She hardly drank anything ever. She was too broke to buy such luxuries and because she never indulged in drinking much, she'd gotten used to just having a regular non-alcoholic drink with anything she ate. Even tea would be fine. "You're free to drink though. No issue there if you want to," she told him just so he wouldn't think he had to avoid alcoholic drinks on her behalf. |
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