Dusty Ramen [Open]

Dust.

Dust, dust and more dust.

Dust was filling every corner of Chiisai’s home. Everywhere she looked dust was being built up. Of course, it was only to be expected considering she lived in an abandoned hospital. Over the years the three floors that had acted as the hospital itself just kept on gathering dust and obtaining a feeling of being abandoned and empty. Only the attic apartment looked livable, and that was because the young girl lived there. She kept it relatively clean. Of course, she was constantly moving about in there so it was fairly difficult for dust to accumulate in the room to begin with. All throughout the large building there were small clear trails where it was clear she walked through fairly often.

Taking a deep breath, Chiisai made her way down one of these paths from the attic apartment. She had completed her duties for the day, and now she was going to go look around the village. She had a list of things that needed to get done. Firstly, she had to get something to eat. Her home didn’t have electricity, so she couldn’t cook much in the building. Reaching into her pocket, she took out the key for the rather large building and walked outside. She stopped in front of the main entrance and turned to lock it up. As she did, Chiisai couldn’t help but feel eyes bore into the back of her head. The neighborhood always stared at her when she left or arrived back home. The hospital was a building where horrible things happened, and for such a young girl to live there alone was so odd. That is, unless she had been in league with her parents. Rumors like that were not uncommon. After all, she was the daughter of two criminals.

Pocketing the key, Chiisai pulled up the collars of her jacket and yanked down the bill of her colorful hat in an attempt to hide her face until she left the neighborhood. When she finally turned the corner, the smile that was constantly on her face seemed to relax into a more natural one. Looking about, Chiisai strolled through the crowded streets. Today was a fairly good day. The café on the corner of the street two blocks down from her home always had specials on this day of the week. When the café came into view, Chiisai grinned widely. It was practically empty! Walking into the café, she ordered a tray of dumplings and a bowl of beef ramen before moving to sit down at the bar while they prepared her order.

"I ASKED FOR BEEF. DO YOU KNOW WHAT BEEF IS, HISHIGI?!"

The voice was loud; booming even. It had a powerfully harsh tone behind it. Like a teacher yelling at a student for jumping up and down on a desk while in the middle of class. Dordonii's bulky body bashed through the kitchen door and he slumped himself down on the table chair. The chef Hishigi came out, his face all red. "You told me you were a monk goddamnit, so when you asked for a all-out ramen, I thought you made a mistake. I thought I was doing you a favor!" he yelled back. Dordonii pulled up his sleeve to show his huge muscles. "Do you see this, my good soul? I NEED MEAT FOR THIS. I NEED PRO-TEIN. You get back in there, and you get me BEEF. Or I'm not paying!" he said, slamming his hand right on the table. He really wanted his beef.

Hishigi strutted back to the kitchen. Dordonii went to the booth. As he passed out, he was able to spot a girl. She was young, but she looked so.... general. Very plain. Dordonii did not mind. He was sad to see a girl see him react such a way, but nothing can be done if he does not get his beef. He folded his hands together and waited for his order.

Chiisai had been wondering what was taking her ramen and dumplings so long when she heard the reason for the halt in production. The entire café was staring out towards the outburst. The man was large and yelling. Chiisai blinked in disbelief. A grown man was screaming like a child about his ramen not being exactly how he wanted it. So what if it hadn’t had beef in it? There was no reason for the man to scream like a young infant who was fed hot sauce in place of milk! Chiisai kept her smile on her face, albeit somewhat smaller than usual as she looked down to the tea in front of her. Reaching out to take a drink, she dropped the tea as the man’s voice bellowed out once more.

Sighing, she reached for a napkin to wipe up the mess that the giant man-child had caused her to make with his slamming fists. As the chef walked back into the kitchen, the man walked to a booth and seemed to sit down, his hands folded together as if he had suddenly acquired manners through some miracle. As the café quieted down, her ramen finally arrived from the kitchen. “Thank you, I understand how difficult it can be to run a business with a man child throwing a tantrum!” she chirped, smiling happily as she paid the chef. She spoke loud enough for everyone in the café to hear her.