Lion and the Ninja (For acuya)

"I have no idea..." He bluntly told her. Jay couldn't play games very well. He shook his head a few times and snapped out of it. This was one of the few times his seriousness was taken away. "U-Um, That's a nice collection of games that you've got there, Kozue. I didn't think you to be someone like that."

"Someone...like...that?" Her face screwed up. She had a vague idea of what he meant, but the guy sure could have put it in a better way. "What, a gamer? What kind of person did you think I was?"

He nods and gave her a slight, nervous laugh. "Yeah, a gamer." He moved back towards that stool to sit down again. "My impression of you was that you were an actual ninja. Though, a bit of a less disciplined and more rowdy one." Jay couldn't help but let out another laugh, as he was more wrong than right so far. But to Kozue, it may have seemed that he was laughing at her. The smirk he gave after may helped her to think this.

Kozue tossed the dishrag from hand to hand for a moment, then turned around with her eye raised. It wasn't the first time she heard that sort of thing, but it always amused her. The little stereotypes. "Sooooooo...ninjas cant' be gamers?" She kept her tone light, not too much ire. "How many ninjas have you met?"

She was cornering him, and quickly. "W-Well...I haven't met any other ninjas....But still." Jay was slowly becoming fumbly. Why? There wasn't any reason that he knew. His head slumped and gently hit the counter. "Sorry if I offended you, but its what I think."

"Not offended, just amused." She shrugged it off and turned back to her work. "People get these funny little ideas of the way things are, you know? They watch movies and TV and they think that's all it is. Reality's a lot more complicated." She brought her hands deep into the water and went to war with a tough stain, scratching along the plate.

"Maybe ninjas aren't all the different from regular folks, you know? Not everybody's got to be like Ryu Hayabusa or Strider or something."

Now, Kozue was making Jay feel a bit embarrassed by what he said. His stupidity. "So, what you're saying is that no one knows who really is and is not a ninja? That makes the lines more blurred,then." Sitting up once again, Jay crossed his arms. "Oh, hey. T-Thanks for the waffles. They were delicious."

"Makes sense when you think about it, right? I mean, everyone expects ninjas to be all stoic and quiet and reserved and shit." She waved a wet fork his way. "But being a ninjas all about the stealth. You got to blend in. And statues don't blend in."

That's what she always told herself, anyway.

"And you're welcome, man. You heading out?"

"Psh, I couldn't be a ninja. I don't have the stealth capabilities." Jay was being true. He didn't have the skill, smarts, or patience. "Plus, I caused too much destruction in most of my fights throughout the American west, Canadian west, and Russia."

When she asked what he would do next, the lion simply gave a shrug. "Not really sure"

Don't ask. Don't ask about Russia. You're not that curious. You don't want to know. You won't like the answer.

...damn it.

She turned all the way back around. "What were you doing in Russia, exactly?"