A helping hand? (feat. Dirk Lewser)

Ah yes, another beautiful day at the parks in Tokyo. Fun for the whole family, or a couple, depending on who you were, who you wanted to be with, and when you wanted to be. The beauty of the cherry blossoms blooming and ripening had passed weeks ago, and their blossom had been celebrated. Pictures taken, memories made, and people returned. But nonetheless, people would come back, whether it be for bonding, exercise, or just taking in the sights, a good park always provided for all.

But sometimes even a park can't quite provide for the particular needs of particular individuals, because sometimes, theres just something off about those people. Not that they cannot be catered to, but it takes some extra special effort to get things done or get the satisfaction of the moment of what is to be something beautiful. And Ayesha Mustafa was one of these people. She sped past a couple, wearing jogging pants, a tracksuit jacket, her hair tied in a ponytail as she ran along the path, taking in breathes and sharp exhales. Despite it supposed to be being a brisk jog, the way she was breathing you'd have thought she'd been running a marathon and not a 10 minute jog. But alas, she had not done her cardio practice well and it was coming back to haunt her at the moment. Taking a deep gulp of her bottle of water, she tried to keep a steady pace and consistent angle, but she could feel it. Her legs were starting to give away.

She wobbled as she jogged along, letting out worried noises as she tried to straighten herself. Hopping over some rocks jutting out of the pavement, she made her way down the park, trying to finish the track she had planned. She wanted to take a break, but she was ALMOST done with the track as the stop watch told her. She quickly pulled it out, reading it to figure out how much time was left. This was the moment where it went to hell.

The Stop Watch slipped out of her hands, as she yelped. With each swipe of her hand to catch it, she said, "EY!", the stop watch hopping between her hands attempts to catch it. She jogged along despite this cartoonish predicament unfolding, trying to catch the stop watch and put it back in her pocket. The damn thing had picked up a knotch in speed, as it now was moving faster and faster as Ayesha tried her damned best to catch it. She almost had it cornered.... and then it happened.

She tripped.

She fell forward, swinging a bit, before falling headfirst into a nearby trashcan. The loud DUNK of her coming into contact and doing a slam dunk inside the oversized bin rang out and nearby passing people heard it, fewer seeing what had just happened. Ayesha's legs were sticking out of the trash can, in a dejected pose, as a whimpering noise could be heard.

"Not again...."

...Then, she slapped across my face! Yeah! Exactly! The hell was her problem, huh?

In the parks of Tokyo, amidst the trees, the citizens walking through the beautiful cherry blossom trees, past the local stands, past the various bushes and in a small remote area of the park was a brown bench that sat near the cleanly paved concrete walkway. And on that bench sat a young male gaijin. Dressed in khaki pants, a black hoodie with the letters 'ROH' on it along with the words 'Ring Of Honor' underneath it, white tennis shoes, his prescription glasses over his face and an black iPhone being held up to his right ear.
To any passerby that was curious enough to listen, it would seem that the young man was having a rousing conversation with someone on the other side of the call. And that intuition would be proven correct. The young gaijin was weaving the tale of his match to his older brother back home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And the gaijin's name was Derek Lewison.
Known in the world of pro wrestling as, Dirk Lewser.

No! I definitely returned the favor! Yeah! Lewser Effect DDT! N-no... Unfortunately... I-I didn't win. Yeah. W-well, her brother distracted the referee and she... sigh... gave me a low blow...

The conversation sounded exciting at the beginning, but the tone of the once excited storyteller quickly turned into that of an embarrassing retelling. Much to his mild exasperation.  

It's not funny! Your little brother is fighting for his life up here! Ugh... fine. Really? Okay. Yeah, I'll be sure to call mom later. Alright. Love you too. Alright. Have a good night. Bye, bro.

Dirk moved the phone away from his ear and looked down at it as he pressed the red hang up button. Once he hung up the call, he placed his phone in the pocket of his pants and slowly leaned his back against back-rest part of the bench and looked up into the sky. After a few moments went by, Dirk slowly began to close his eyes. Wanting the serenity and peaceful surroundings of the park to send his consciousness away to a world where he was free from the thoughts weighing on his mind. The thoughts of missing his family dearly. Or the fact that he hasn't had the best of luck lately. He wanted to be away from all of that. At least for a little bit...

*DUNK!!*

The sounds of chaos quickly woke Dirk from his respite and he quickly sat up and looked around to find the cause of the noise! He looked to his right to see that people had stopped their strolls to look at the source while others looked and continued to walk, trying their best to pay it no mind. Dirk turned his head to the left this time to see what appeared to be a pair of dangling legs sticking up out of a garbage can. How bizarre. It was like something out of a cartoon he used to watch.

Dirk hesitated for a bit, but after noticing most pedestrians either look away and continue walking, try to distract themselves with other things(basically doing anything but help the poor soul), Dirk rose from the bench and quickly made his over to the trashcan with legs.

As he got closer he noticed the legs were outfitted with jogging pants and shoes. And he could hear a small whimper from inside the can.

"Not again..."

Not knowing what exactly to make of the situation but wanting to help anyway, Dirk politely spoke....

Are you ok? Would you like some help?

Ayesha's legs waved, trying to get some balance back up and out of the can. She was hoping someone would help pull her out, because her arms were stuck and it was hard to move around in it. She wiggled and squirmed, but it was fruitless. Making sure she didn't inhale any of the many wrappers and cans inside the darn bin, she was about to make a callout for help...before someone asked for her.

"Are you ok? Would you like some help?"

Ayesha's legs straightened as she heard this. She wondered what took it so long for someone to ask her that, but she decided to answer anyway. "Uh...um, y--ea-yeah, yes please. Can you, pull my legs? I'll try to push myself out as you do." She fidgetted her arms abit, to try to settle them in place for the help.

If Dirk managed to pull her out, he'd be greeted by a trash covered young woman of 27 age at least; her long black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a maroon track jacket, black track pants and running shoes. Her most distinguishing characteristsics he'd notice, would be her foreign sounding accent, the birthmark on her cheek that looked like a teardrop, and most notable of all, the fact she had straight up orange skin he could see through the trash that had clung onto her. Not some shade of tan that looked orange, straight up orange skin. Ayesha, brushing one of the cans in her hair out and putting it back in the bin, she'd look at her savior of this time, and take in Dirk's appearance. She noticed that, much like the last person who helped her get out of a trashcan, he didn't seem to be a local.

"Ah, oh. T-thank you!" she said, with a respectful polite bow, before flashing an awkward smile. "I ah, I was just running some track, uh, practice is all! Was trying to get my speed gains and all, haha, and..." her awkward smile grew as her eyes started looking more and more like she wanted to die right now from embarrassment. Her head shook a bit left and right before going, "....and then I tripped?"

The woman who had taken a nosedive into a garbage answered back, seemingly wanting the assistance. She also wanted him to pull her legs. With a little hesitation, Dirk stepped forward and nervously grabbed on the woman's legs.

Alright. Here we go..! Dirk pulled upward on the woman's legs all the while she pushed her upper body from out of the can with her hands. After a bit of shuffling, the woman was finally free from the garbage can. Albeit, slightly covered with some of its contents. She than spoke, thanking him for his help. She took in her appearance and knew that she, like him might not be from the land of the rising sun.

Oh. It-its no problem at all. She than explained that she was running, training her speed with an awkward smile and an embarrassed chuckle. Then, she mentioned that she tripped. Dirk couldn't help but feel a bit of a kindred spirit with the woman. Because, he himself have had some embarrassing moments growing up due to his sheltered upbringing.

H-happens to the best of us, you know? I've had my fair share of moments too! *Sheepish chuckle*

Ayesha, on hearing Dirk pass an air of ease, was relieved that he was at least a nicer person on average than Anne had been during their first meeting. Nevertheless, she felt still significant embarrassment from her situation, and the fact she had been seen like that. Probably should avoid this park from now on.

But she still wanted to thank Dirk for his help, even if she was feeling her legs turn to stone. As Dirk gave a little jest for easing the air, Ayesha tried to laugh along in a good hearted attempt...that sounded like a cat attempting to pretend to be a human while suffering from leprosy. The ensuing "Aheee ha ha ha" that came out came with Ayeshas eyes going cross eyed and her lips pulling back in an absurd smile to reveal all her teeth and gums like she forgot how to act like a human being for a second before pulling back and saying sheepishly, "T... thanks...."

No prob.

Dirk said as he nodded and shot a friendly grin to Ayesha. It was nice to meet a woman that wasn't a snobby brat model or a self absorbed wannabe mixed martial artist clout chaser for once.

The two strangers chuckled for a bit before the excitement of helping the woman from her very peculiar situation began to wear off and be replaced with the feelings of awkward. Dirk's inner introvert wanted to leave the orange woman to get back to what she was doing before her "accident". But, something else took hold of his focus. Dirk noticed the trash that was still attached to Ayesha's body. It was then Dirk had another thought. Maybe she would like some help in removing the trash from her clothing too? He had plenty of time to spare and wasn't exactly in a rush to get back to his roommate's apartment. So, he gathered up his courage and asked if she required assistance regarding the matter. He only hoped his next words don't come off as weird or perverted to her. He nervously raised his right hand and scratched the back of his head.

U-um... Would you like me to help remove the garbage from off you as well?

He said referring to the various contents that were still attached to her athletic clothing.

Ayeshas attention was grabbed by the inquisition, as she looked down at her attire. "Aw, fiddlesticks! You're right! I look like a homeless dumpster diver!"

And indeed she was! Dirk's observation had enlightened Ayesha to the presence of multiple stains, wrappers, and bizarrely, a few cans, stuck to her. Ayesha gave a dejected sigh, guessing she was gonna have to cut today's running cut short.

"Y...yeah, I'd...like a bit of help."

If Dirk helped out, a lot of the wrappers and other trash would be picked off quickly and though the stains would stay, at least most of the trash got picked off.

Most of it. Because Ayesha realized that the few cans magically stuck to her were stuck for a particular reason once she tried prying them off, only for them to get stuck to her hand. She even tossed it only for it to travel a few centimetres and restick back to her.

"I-I couldn't have built a static charge THIS quickly! In THIS weather!" she said, amidst trying panickedly to rid herself of her new tin pests that clung to her like parasites. In her agitated state of warring against static drawn cans, she'd accidentally stumble backwards, falling and her head disappearing inside a bush.

If Dirk pulled her out of this, he'd see branches sticking out of her hair like wendigo antlers, and a dejected look on her face that meant "Morale: 0%." She wouldn't even say a word, her defeated face spoke it all.

Alrighty then. Dirk said as he would help Ayesha remove the trash on her clothes. Removing wrappers, banana peels and the like usually found in the garbage. Despite the stains still on her clothes, at least she wasn't covered in anymore garbage.

And... There we go. Looks like that's... it..?
Just when it looked like Ayesha was as trash free as she could be, a few soda cans had appeared to stay attached to her body. Dirk was a little surprised to say the least. He even watched the woman attempt to remove the cans and toss them away.
...Only for them to barely leave her vicinity, return and reattach themselves back on her body. Dirk couldn't believe what he was seeing. It like was watching someone trying to rid themself of packing Styrofoam. Only on a slightly bigger scale.

Justifiably upset and frustrated on what was happening, Ayesha angrily shouted about she couldn't have built a static charge that quickly in the current weather. This caught the attention of a handful of folks walking through the park. Dirk nervously raised his right pointer finger and wanted to try to calm the situation.

But, before he could say anything, Ayesha stumbled and fell backward. Her head disappearing inside a bush.

With a gasp, Dirk dashed in Ayesha's direction and crouched near her body.

A-are you ok, miss!? Dirk would softly grab the woman's shoulders and attempt to sit her up and bring her face from out of the bush. Once she sat up, she had a dejected look on her face that clearly said: "I just wanna go home."

Let's...get you away from here, what do you say? If Ayesha allowed Dirk to help her, he would lead her over to the bench he was just sitting at. He would also help in removing the "antlers" from her head.

Ayesha didn't utter a word, the dejected look of defeat stuck on her face, as she let Dirk guide her away from the place as some of the onlookers had disapproving looks on their faces. Her head was slightly hunched downwards as she sat down on the bench away from the small crowd that had come to check on her.

Dirk removing the antlers did make her head feel less like something was poking at it, but the embarrassment of the entire thing was stuck in her head, and she was hoping no one recorded that. Nonetheless, she gave a weak "Thanks..." To Dirk before pulling her legs up, and sitting in a balled up position on the bench. "Why does this always happen...." her muffled voice came through, as she shook her head in her curled up state, her hair ruffling a bit.

She then pulled her face out and looked at Dirk, "Hey uh...thank you for your kindness....I'm..I'm Ayesha." She looked away for a moment, continuing, "You... probably gauged I'm not from around here.....haha...." she gave a tense little laugh before looking at the ground, before looking at him again. "Who...are you?"

Dirk guided the woman to the bench and she sat down. She lowered her head in dejected shame for the unfortunate stream of bad luck she seemed to be going through. Dirk didn't know the woman, but he felt that he had to try to cheer her up somehow. It would be terrible of him to leave her like this.

He would then walk in front of her and remove the makeshift antlers from Ayesha's head and pick the leaves and other shrubbery from her head. As he finished, the woman gave a weak thanks. He would respond with Your welcome..

Then, Ayesha would ball herself up as if to hide herself from the cruelness of the world. Dirk could feel his heart ache a little as the her action reminded him when he balled himself up in his room after that faithful day in middle school. He didn't want to be alone with a woman he barely knew, but, he couldn't just abandon her there after all the craziness that just happened.

Dirk looked to his left, and then to his right. His inner indecision showing itself. After a bit of hesitation, Dirk would walk over and sit next to Ayesha on the bench. He then looked down at the ground at nothing particular. It couldn't hurt to stay with her a little longer, right?

Suddenly, he heard another thank you from the woman and she even introduced herself to him. She even mentioned that she might not be from around japan just like him. "Ayesha. That's a nice name", he thought. Dirk looked at Ayesha and introduced himself to her as well. Trying his best to not sound nervous.

No problem. Nice to meet you, Ayesha. I'm Derek. And...I'm not from around here either.

Derek would give a little awkward chuckle of his own in response to Ayesha's to relieve his own nervousness of sitting next to a woman before looking at her and speaking again.

I'm originally from america. How about yourself?