The Second Encounter [Ren]

[Deleted]

Quiet murmurs filled the hallways with the quiet whispers and murmurs of the ministry workers falling quiet moments later when the tall and intimidating form of a particular Héderváry male appeared in the hallways. He could feel the eyes of the ministry workers on his form, burning deeply into the flesh on his back and as always he ignored it. He was used to his fellow workers being afraid of him and he was used to the gazes that he was given when others believed that he wasn't paying attention to them or the things that they said. Rumors went around saying that he lacked a heart or that he was a spy for the Death Eaters. Others called him a monster and if he had been anyone other than himself, their words probably would have hurt him, but he wasn't. He was a proud Héderváry man and he had no time for the foolish behavior of others.

At least that was what he told himself.

Yet despite the words and thoughts that he had long since began using as some sort of comfort for himself, he found that as of late his thoughts had been plagued with the thoughts of the man that he had helped not too long ago, the man that went by the name of Ren Satoshi and the dragon that he had helped the other save. He wondered if the dragon had managed to hatch safely, if Ren had managed to get it to the hatching location safely before any harm could come to the defenseless little hatchling and yet the baby dragon was not the only subject that he found himself thinking about.

He also found himself thinking about the strange man as well, wondering just why it was that the other did not run away from him like most others would. It seemed as though the only ones who would dare approach him, the only ones that would dare try and speak with him were the innocent children that he adored with almost all of his heart. To him, children were the closest things to angels that the world was blessed with. They did not judge and they did not hate. All they knew how to do was love, a trait that Sebastian found to be admirable beyond all else. The trait was seemingly found in only the gentle hearts of the young, so why?

What made Ren so different from the others?

Perhaps he would never get the chance to know and while he was content with the idea that he might never get the chance to meet with the interesting Ren ever again, a part of him continued to remain hopeful. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach, something that told him that something interesting was about to happen.

Perhaps they would meet again after all.

[Ren Satoshi]

"MERLIN'S BLOODY BALLS, SATOSHI!!!"

The shout of shock was barely absorbed by the Minister's office and Ren found a smirk crossing his lips as he hoisted the Catalonian Fireball baby in his arms in retaliation of the Minister leaping onto his desk with a start. "Oh, come now, Minister. Get off your desk. He's a snuggly little baby, not a monster." The baby dragon was a couple of weeks old now and looked toward the sound of his voice with large amber eyes before squeaking softly in what could have been something of affection. Despite the fact that he was already taking over most of Ren's torso, he was adorable with metallic purple scales and a short black nose with little horns sprouted from his head.

He looked down at the little creature and crooned softly and it gave the squeaky little roar again, making the Minister gulp as he got down. "What is the meaning of bringing that thing in here?!" Ren cleared his throat. "My proposal. For a dragon sanctuary in Lundy, sir. We have found three more eggs of the Catalonian alone, and one stray adolescent Hungarian. We need the space to bring them up in a secluded environment. Lundy offers cliffs and bluffs, water, plenty of space. They would have their own island."

The Minister blinked, "Merlin's beard...you've found that many? Toshida was not exaggerating your skills. And look at how...tame that one is..." The little dragon was struggling to hide its face inside Ren's hair for the warmth near his neck and he lifted it up to let it nestle there. "Well, sir, taming them is my job. But, it's more than that. I care about them. I care about the species and I want them to thrive. We plan on breeding the Catalonians to save them from becoming extinct, plus, all of us have extensive dueling training and protective spell knowledge, so it would be a constantly guarded area and free of hunting and poaching."

The Minister reguarded the eldest Satoshi heir and the two men flanking him at the rear. One was another Asian by the surname of Kida, and the other was a brutish German surnamed Mueller. The three of the most feared in Ren's industry were standing in his office with a baby dragon...this had to be a bad dream. Despite Satoshi's femenine appearance, something in the pits of the man's black eyes spooked him. "Proposal accepted Satoshi. Just get him out of here." Ren set down the dragon to sign the papers, his insides soaring through the roof.

This week just could not get better. First, he recieved his daughter in London and got her set up at school, in fact he still had the strand of different colored glass beads she made for him braided into the length of hair in the left side of his face. Now, he'd gotten the okay to begin work on his greatest dream. Things just could not-

"NO! STOP! SATOSHI! Get that thing away from there!!!"

Ren looked over at the dragon, who was gnawing gleefully on the leg of the Minister's chair and erupted in laughter. "Koko ni kuru!" (Come here!) The dragon immediately stopped and ambled over to him and looked up pitifully. "Tsuna. Sorosoro kaerou ka?" (Leash. Shall we go home soon?) The dragon stood very still as Kida fastened a dragon harness around him, but the dragon was gazing at Ren with a deep admiration. The chain lead was given to Ren and he smiled to the Minister. "I'll keep in touch, sir. Thank you."

"Just...go. And someone bring me a new chair!" Damn Satoshi. His methods were unconventional, but the man got results.

The trio and the dragon walked into the hallway, all of the tamers pulled up their crimson hoods on their cloaks and moved in perfect unison, the dragon staying directly at Ren's side. The stress level in the building rose as people cleared away and Ren found a faint smirk forming on his lips.

Ah, people.

Sudenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he stopped, the two at his flanks stopped as well and the dragon missed the memo, pulling the lead tight and stumbling onto the floor. Well, that was graceful. He recognized that walk...

"Sebastian!" Ren's voice had lost its edge and shone with something akin to joy. The dragon looked up at him, reacting to the joy in his voice and snuggling close to his leg. His men passed a slight chuckle before waiting for an order. Ren moved with the dragon that stood up to his knee toward the taller Hungarian. "It's good to see you."

[Deleted]

As he made his way through the corridor he could see a somewhat large group of people that were surrounding the door to the Minister's office for some reason or another, something that caused his brow to furrow slightly in the slightest signs of distaste. He figured that the minister was meeting with someone of importance and that the people that were supposed to be doing their jobs were simply trying to eavesdrop. Quietly and with the stealth of a predator, the man made his way over to the door and speaking in a voice that was loud enough for all of the potential eavesdroppers to hear but quiet enough so that he would not disturb those that spoke inside of the room, he ordered those that were gathered outside of the room to move on, or he would personally report all of those gathered outside of the room to the Minister himself.

While his threat was met with multiple dirty looks and quiet curses, the wizards and witches quickly moved back to their stations in an attempt to appease the man who they knew was completely serious. A small smirk crossed his lips as he began to continue his walk down the corridor, ignoring all of the words that filled the air as soon as his back was turned. He was a Héderváry, a hero in his home country that had helped liberate his homeland from the control of the Death Eaters. Why the hell would he care about what the people at his work thought of him when most of them were beneath him and his line of work anyways?

He didn't.

That simple fact did not stop him from feeling both surprise and confusion when someone spoke his name a few moments later in the closest thing to happiness that he had heard in years. For a moment, he was stunned before he slowly turned his body so that he would be able to clearly see whoever it was that was calling him. It was none other than the one person that had managed to capture his thoughts and interest for these past few weeks, Ren Satoshi. His eyes landed on the form of his former traveling companion for a moment before his eyes fell onto the creature that accompanied him.

Was that a dragon?

His eyes softened for the slightest moment as they fell on that creature, relieved to see that Ren had managed to both safely deliver and hatch the creature without any injury to either the creature or himself. The softness in his eyes lasted for a small moment before just as quickly as it had come it disappeared, returning to his normal almost emotionless stare though this time a small smirk had formed on his lips.

So this was the reason why the witches and wizards were being so nosey. Merlin, what he would have paid to have seen the Minister's reaction!

" It is nice to see you again Ren Satoshi." He nodded his head in recognition, watching as both Ren and the baby dragon approached him. He almost smiled at seeing the healthy looking dragon already so big, though he managed to control himself and keep his emotion in check. " Has all been well for you in these past few weeks?"

[Ren Satoshi]

The dragon trundled along at Ren's side, looking curiously up at Sebastian as they approached. The hooded wizard smiled warmly, "Oh, things have been wonderful on my end. The Minister has been kind enough to approve my proposal for the Sanctuary in Lundy. Granted, this little guy may have had something to do with it." A mischevious twinkle filled his eyes, "And he may have also decided to teethe on the leg of the Minister's chair." The dragon looked back at him, amber eyes holding the deepest remorse. Ren chuckled and crooned softly, "Watashi wa, kesshite anata ni okotte imasen!" (I'm not mad at you!) The creature gave a soft squeak of a roar again in something of delight before Ren looked up at Sebastian again. "Actually, it was very funny. He was so uncomfortable having all of us in his office. It doesn't help that this little guy took him by surprise. I told him I found the egg, he never replied. I told him I had something to show him reguarding the mission, he finally agreed with an audience. so...he almost deserved the shock of the dragon walking in there."

The fact that all three tamers were in some sort of smile was odd, normally there would be nothing of the sort while they were immersed in people. Surrounded by dragons, however, they were all wonderfully happy.

Rens gloved hands pulled down his hood, casting the shadow away from his fair face. The strand of fading shades of red glass beads within his hair came into view and the glimpse of color made him smile. "Also, about a week ago, I recieved a most unexpected surprise. My daughter was brought to London. She has decided to attend Hogwarts, so I will get to see her so much more often. I got to see her for a day before taking her to the school and getting her sorted, another Ravenclaw like my brother and nephew. Aito came and made sure she got everything she needed and got her settled in the tower. This is her handiwork." He chuckled, passing a finger over the strand of beads. "I had to return to Lundy before too long. I wish I could have seen Takumi's face when she showed up in his class. He has not seen her in longer than I have."

[Deleted]

As he listened to Ren's story he could feel the usual amusement that he seemed to feel around the shorter male only seem to grow. His gaze fell from Ren to the small dragon and for a moment he couldn't help but smile, his amusement shining through for a short moment. He had knowm from years of working with the man that the British Minister was not exactly one of the easiest people to work for. Just hearing that Ren and the dragon had managed to make the man's life a little more difficult than usual was enough to bring the workings of a smile out on his face especially when he thought about just how many times in the past the Minister had done the very same thing to him.

" I cannot say that I am sorry to hear that, This minister in particular has a history of making certain things difficult for us, especially when they are matters of importance. Perhaps you two have taught him enough of a lesson that he will be more willing to work with us in the future, least these events are to repeat themselves again." He smiled again before his face moved to return to it's normal blank expression yet again. Merlin, he was showing more emotion around this male in minutes than he had in years without his company.

How strange.

His eyes moved back up from the form of the baby dragon to look at Ren once again, though this time something managed to capture his attention again as Ren pulled the hood away from his face. Braided carefully in the man's hair was a series of small glass beads that were a series of various shades of red. It was then that Ren began speaking about his young daughter, telling him that she had chosen to attend Hogwarts and that she had been placed in Ravenclaw house. " Ah, I remember you mentioning her the last time we spoke. I am glad to hear that she has chosen to attend Hogwarts. While I am sure that the Japanese wizarding school is a fine one, nowhere else seems to compare to Hogwarts. Then again, I am afraid that I am biased since Hogwarts is the only school that I know."

He fell quiet for a moment, before a thought crossed his mind. He remembered Ren mentioning that his daughter was adopted, something that fascinated him as he knew that purebloods adopting children was a very rare occurance. " Forgive me if I seem nosey, but I would like to ask you something, of course you do not have to answer me if my question is too personal. Your daughter, she is adopted correct?" He waited for Ren to answer before continuing his question. " Would you mind sharing with me the story about just how it was that you adopted your daughter some time?"

[Ren Satoshi]

Ren smiled, almost wistfully, "Of course, I have no problem disclosing that." He handed the chain of the dragon to Kida who took it for a stroll down the corridor, Mueller in tow, although the creature kept looking back at Ren to ensure he wasn't out of his sight. "Tanaka was born to Mahoutokoro alumni on Hashima Island in Japan. I was about 25 at the time, and leading a team of tamers and keepers through parts of Asia to ensure the dragon population was not being hunted when I recieved word that there was a pair of Chinese Fireballs waging a turf war over the areas surrounding the island that was inhabited by a population of squibs and wizards alike."

He made a gesture for Sebastian to follow him along the corridor, away from the offices and in the direction Kida had gone, toward the Atrium. "By the time we got there, the island was in near ruin. So much of the buildings had either caved in, or were on fire. The team set off to move the fight away, or seperate them as the case was. I decided to help evacuate those that could not get out on their own and landed. There was someone trapped in the rubble of a building shouting about his baby. I only got a direction of where I could find her before the whole thing caved on him and he was gone."

He took a deep breath and could almost smell the smoke again.

"I checked all the buildings that had still had some semblence of structure left, hoping that the child hadn't been in the others. It took me a while, but I found her. Her little crib was barely touched by the smoke, but she was rightfully scared to death and crying. She couldn't have been more than 4 months old at the time. I picked her up and took her from the house, got on my broom and got her to clean air. Once the team was done, and the dragons were subdued, I took her to the magical hospital to get checked out. She was alright, but since no one knew her name or family, they had trouble locating other members of her family. They suspected that the rest of the family probably lived on the island as well."

The little dragon was coming back with Kida and squeaked loudly when he saw Ren again, causing the wizard to lift his hand and waggle his fingers at him. Dear Merlin, he was like a puppy! "We waited a good month and a half for someone to claim her, all the while I just...couldn't leave her. She'd gotten used to me. When she saw me, that little face just lit up. After two months passed, I decided I would take her into my family and raise her as my own. She has never questioned me on her adoption, though she knows she is. My parents decided early on that she would be part of our family, even if she is not blood bound, else there would be no heir or heiress from me. My son is the same way."

The dragon couldn't take being away from him and wailed in a high pitch, making Ren laugh again. "This little guy...he's gotten quite attached. I've hand fed him ever since he was hatched. He must see "mom" when he sees me." He stooped down and the dragon nestled into that warm patch near his neck again, quite happily.

"Most animals are like that with him." Kida mused, handing Ren the lead again as the eldest Satoshi crooned rapidly in fluid Japanese to the hatchling. "Most of the team is like that. People just hate us, but animals...totally different story." Kida straightened his arms and one could see a leather woven bracelet with red glass beads woven into it. Even Mueller had one.

"Kids, too." The German spoke gruffly. "Ren's daughter is the embodiment of purity and kindness, she made something for all of her father's 'work friends'." Ren laughed as the dragon flicked his tongue over his neck. "Yes, she did. Then again, when I'm working she always wants pictures and letters about everyone, so it's like she's there with us. She used to pretend she was a dragon tamer, running around after Aito's poor cat." Oh, Merlin, those were the days.

Finally, with a protest from the dragon, Ren stood up and brushd himself off. Something about the faint traces of a smile on Sebastian's features was calling to him. So much so that..."Anyway, Sebastian, would you like to have dinner with me?" His insides froze.

That just slipped right out there, captain.

Oh, take it back! Quick!

Wait, no...if he took it back, that would sound horribly mean, wouldn't it? He maintained a still very pleased exterior, curious now as to what the man would say. "A-after all, if not for your help, I wouldn't have managed to get this little guy and get this Sanctuary going."

[Deleted]

He listened quietly as Ren began to speak, telling him the story about just how his adopted daughter had fallen into his care. As he spoke, Sebastian's dark eyes fell closed, images flashing through his mind as he attempted to visualize the story as he heard it being told to him. It seemed as though the man that stood in front of him deserved a lot more credit, a lot more respect than Sebastian had ever planned on giving him. What had happened to the girl's village, It sounded so eerily similar to what had happened to his own, so much so that the man actually almost appeared to be troubled. Both cities had been lost, Tanaka's to dragons and his own to the cruelness of the Death Eaters. It was funny how such a similarity could be make him feel a sort of kinship towards a child that he had never met before.

That poor little child.

" That is truly a sad tale. It is unfortunate that such a small child would have to go through the loss of their parents and their village, though I am happy that she seems to have found a source of stability. I do not know you very well and yet it is apparent that you love your children very much. You are a fine father."

His words trailed off and for a moment he thought of his niece and nephew. They had both been young when Roderich and Daphne had been killed, they had been young when Rejtett had been destroyed. They were similar to the young girl that was under Ren's control and yet he knew next to nothing about what had happened to them after the night that they had been abducted. A source of stability was something that he believed to be very important when it came to raising kids and he wasn't even sure if his niece and nephew had even ever had a stable thing in their lives!

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a high wail and his gaze immediately turned to glance at the baby dragon, who was in the process of crying for Ren's attention. Ren spoke again, saying that the dragon had gotten very attached to him along with revealing that he had handfed the dragon since he had hatched. " Yes..that would certainly explain it. It is almost like a newly hatched duckling in that way." It was a strange comparison and yet it was one that seemed to fit well. When his partner spoke up, h his attention shifted to him. He was told that most animals were like that with Ren, with all tamers really. It seemed as though they were feared and hated, just as he himself was with the exception of animals and children, things that weren't capable of being judgemental.

It seemed that they had more in common with him than he would have ever thought.

It was revealed to him that Tanaka, Ren's daughter was apparently the very symbol of purity and kindness itself and that she had once chased his nephew's cat around pretending that she was a dragon tamer. When Ren asked him if he would like to go and get dinner with him, the other's brow rose slightly in response. " You have given me far too much credit, I did nothing that no one else wouldn't have done if they had been in the same situation. Nevertheless, I would be happy to join you."

[Ren Satoshi]

He was going to go?

Well, of course he was going to. Nothing about the way that was spoken made it seem like a date. It was all just a small celebration of success. Ren's nerves eased dramatically once he was able to convince himself that it really was just that. It was celebrating.

Ren looked over to Kida, and finally said, "I'll be back to Lundy soon. Take him home and check on the other eggs. If they start to hatch, be sure it goes smoothly." Eyes drifted to Mueller, "Keep an eye on that Hungarian Horntail we found. He's not so much being angry as playful. Remember, he's an adolescent. Let him play, but keep him away from the eggs, and away from the Catalonian." Black eyes lowered to the dragon and softened, "Yoi koto." (Be good.) The dragon gave a gurgling sort of growl, before he realized Kida was leading him away from his keeper.

Amber eyes kept turning back to look at him as he followed his temporary keeper into the Atrium's appiration zone and disappeared with a pop. Ren chuckled before turning to Sebastian, "Is there anything in particular that you might like to have? I'm more than open for suggestions. I haven't been out to eat for a very long time, and I've no idea what sort of choices I have."

Granted, he would have to use his chopsticks. He could not even fathom trying to manipulate a fork for the first time with Sebastian watching. Though it might have been seen as amusing.

[Deleted]

Sebastian watched the interaction that happened between Ren and his teammates quietly, almost smiling again when Ren spoke to the dragon who gave him a small growl in response to the order that he was given before he began to realize that he was being led away from Ren by one of the other dragon keepers, something that caused the small creature to keep glancing back at the shorter male until he and the other keepers left the Atrium with the familiar pop that always came and went with the act of apparation.


When Ren spoke, asking him if there was something in particular that he wanted to eat, he turned his attention to him once again. " Well there are many different types of places for one to chose from here in London. I happen to know of a nice place to go and eat if you happen to like Indian cuisine. It is a comfortable little place and the people are friendly." More friendly than they were at the Ministry at the very least, for the owners and the workers were also foreginers and they were good and kind people from what he knew. He and Ren would be safe from the cruel eyes and words of the British witches and wizards there.

His attention was stolen from Ren from a moment when he heard the quiet murmur of words being spoken. Two witches were standing a small distance away from where they stood and were looking at Ren and him with something akin to amusement, something that caused a single brow to raise in question despite his better judgement. The two women snickered quietly before walking passed the two men, a single word being heard as it was not so quietly whispered, the cruel tone that coated the word was directed to none other than the very person who worked tirelessly so that those women could safely return to their homes every night.

" Monster."

Almost immediately his face became expressionless again as he gazed after the two women that walked passed them with a distant look in his eye. Slowly his gaze dropped back down to Ren and he spoke as if nothing had happened. " Is the place that I mentioned okay or would you care for something else this evening? I know of many more places but this was the first that popped into mind."

[Ren Satoshi]

Indian? He did have a fondness for tikka masala, and he was mulling over the idea as that one word broke through the silence.

Monster.

Black eyes first flicked upward to Sebastian and he caught his distancing glance before the shorter male turned to the front and settled his gaze on both women. For the briefest moment, they stopped moving when caught in his gaze. It was as the dread wolf itself was piercing out of those eyes. Then the words that followed came in a voice that dropped significantly. "Uncalled for. Apologize."

The leather of his glove was tightening with the shocks of cold bursting from him. The temperature plummeted dramatically. "Well, apologize. Or, I will redefine your definition or the word monster."

The fear in the room climbed as the frost pattern from his hands began to etch across his left cheek. "I'm sorry, S-s-sebastian. That was uncalled for." "And I shouldn't have laughed. I'm sorry." The witches were seemingly stuck in place in fear for a fleeting moment longer before his gaze shifted and they quickly fled.

The temperature climbed back to normal, and Ren finally uttered in a tone of relative satisfaction, "Indian sounds wonderful, I would be delighted. Let's go, shall we?"

[Deleted]

Whoa.

If he had expected Ren to have any sort of reaction in the first place, that had certainly not been it. He had expected Ren to either stay quiet or for him to suddenly become embarassed to be seen with him and cancel their plans. He did not expect the other to stand up for him the way that he did. Inside of his chest, he could feel the slightest bit of warmth feel his usually cold heart, the sort of warmth that came with the appreciation that one had when someone did something nice for them. He waited until the women ran away from him and Ren before he directed his gaze back to Ren again. " Thank you for that. That was a very kind thing for you to do for me. Not many would have done the same."

When Ren gave his approval that Indian would be fine for the night, he turned on his heel and began making his way to the entrance of the Atrium. " Very well then, I assure you that we will have a pleasant meal tonight." It was moments later that they arrived at the enterance to the Atrium and Sebastian turned to face Ren again. " Where we are going is far enough away that we will need to apparate. Have you become more familiar around London after these past few weeks or do you still need to hold onto me so I can get us there?" His words held no irritation or no sort of ill emotion, just curiosity.

He waited for Ren's response to his answer before he offered his arm, [ or simply told him where it was that they were meant to go] before they apparated away from the Atrium, the familiar pop filling the air as they disappeared from the Ministry. It was a few moments later when the two arrived a small distance away from the restaurant that they were meant to be going to, a place that was called Lahore's.

Upon entering the small restaurant, the two were immediately hit with a rush of warmth and the strong scent of exotic spices that filled the air. Serving as the hostess was a pretty young Indian woman who smiled warmly at the two men as soon as they entered. " Table for two?" She asked in a heavily accented voice, smiling when she received a small smile and a nod from Sebastian. She then proceeded to lead the two men to the dining room, where the two were seated at a booth that was secluded from the others surrounding it with a large wooden wall on either side of the booth. She waited patiently for the men to be seated before placing a menu down in front of each man with a smile and a promise that a waiter would be right with them before she hurried off to seat some other customers that had gathered at the front causing the Hungarian to almost smile again. " What do you think so far?"

[Ren Satoshi]

The restaurant served as a very impressive backdrop for the dinner they were planning on. He was instantly drawn in to the warm colors and bold Indian flair that the restaurant had. It was holding quite true to the heritage that it was meant to represent. Very impressive, actually.

"It's a very nice place, I don't know how I've managed to miss this. Thank you for showing it to me." He found a smile flickering over his face and remaining fixed to the spot. The smells in the air were an exotic and welcome assault on his senses. There were a lot of similar spices used in Indian and Japanese cuisine and the underlying tones always made him feel at home.

He chose a table near the back and chose to move the second seat to the left of the first so that neither had to sit with their back to the general populous, and offered him a seat with a gesture before sitting on his left. Why the left? Ren was left hand dominant, that way he wouldn't smack into Sebastian's hand while eating. As much as the thought lingered through the shadows of his sub conscious, he didn't want to make this uncomfortable.

Once settled, he took a look through the menu and studied the dishes carefully. "What have you tried here so far? I'm curious to know your opinion before I make a decision."

[Deleted]

"Well it isn't exactly common knowledge that this place exists, it is more of a small little place that only locals and foreginers seem to know about. I imagine if you don't have someone who knows about this beforehand, than you probably would not end up finding it, which is a shame."

The food that was served here was truly very good and the people that worked here seemed to always be so friendly, something that was a welcome change from the hostility that he often faced in his daily life.

Slowly his gaze shifted over to Ren and as he saw the small glimpse of a smile come onto the other man's face, he knew that he had made the right decision to bring him there. He had known from his travels that Japanese and Indian cusines were very similar [though Indians tended to use more spice in their food then their counterparts] and had figured that Ren would enjoy something that was even the slightest bit similar to something that he would find in Japan.

When they arrived at their table, he watched with a curious gaze as Ren moved a chair to the left of the first one before sitting down and gesturing to the second chair, silently asking him to sit which he did a moment later. He realized that with this particular arrangement, neither he or Ren would have to sit with their backs facing the other attendents of the restaurant, something that he greatly appreciated. Even in a place where he knew that he was safe, he did not like for anyone to be outside of his line of vision, a work habit of his that would seemingly never go away.

When Ren asked him what it was that he had had from the restaurant so far, he turned his gaze from the menu to Ren. " I am not sure how much help that I can be, since I am a vegetarian and have only consumed the dishes that have no meat in them, but everything that I have had here has been good, though my favorite thing to eat is the mixed vegetable curry with steamed rice and naan." His refusal to eat meat was something that often surprised the people that got to know him and in the past it had made him the subject of many of his immediate family's jokes in the past, back when they had been alive. They had joked that he would always be small and weak because of the lack of meat in his diet.

It was needless to say that when his seventeenth birthday came around and his growth spurt came around that the jokes stopped happening.

[Ren Satoshi]

"That helped more than you think it did." Ren had formed a look of pleased surprise upon his features. He had stopped eating meat when he turned 12 after he had begun to develop a huge adoration for animals and had made a steady diet of rice, vegetables, and nuts ever since that moment. However, he did not wish to admit such just yet. Sebastian would notice soon enough. Especially if he ordered what he planned on ordering. It would be a dead give away.

The server returned and asked for a drink order, Ren asked politely for a cup of saffron tea and a mango lassi. The Greek yogurt inside of the lassi was usually the protein needed to build his strength. Then he asked, "May I also get some garlic naan and red pepper hummus?"

He recalled from his travels that most Indian restaurants carried things like that on the off chance that someone would want it. As a vegetarian, he figured out soon that hummus was a wonderful way to supplement his protein. Plus, it was wonderful. The smooth texture and the zip of the peppers always made it enjoyable.

[Deleted]

When Ren said that he had helped more than he thought he did, he simply glanced at the other in slight confusion for a moment before giving him a very small smile. While he did not understand exactly how his words had helped the other, he was the slightest bit happy that he could help him in some sort of way even if it was for something simple. In his mind, he wondered if the other himself was some sort of vegetarian as well.

He was distracted from his thoughts when the server came to the table asking for their drink orders. Ren ordered a cup of tea along with a mango lassi, while he himself ordered a mango lassi as well along with a cup of passion fruit juice as well. The lassi that he was so fond of was a great source of protein because of the yougurt that was used inside of the drink and with the added benefits from the fresh mango, it was a very enjoyable and healthy treat for him. The passion fruit juice was something that was ordered simply to increase his vitamin intake and was something that would help give him the burst of energy that he needed in order to complete his assignments.

" I would also like an order of your chilli naan and a side order of the red sauce if you would." He had a strange fondness for foods that were either very sweet or very spicy, a preference that could be seen by anyone that was able to share a meal with him. Even when he was a child, his strange eating habits had gotten him attention from his parents, amusing and confusing them as they watched their son reject any dish that had meat of any kind it in, gobble down his vegetables happily [something they had never seen before], and eat foods that were even too spicy for them to handle happily.

Oh how those had been the days.

When the server left with their drink and side orders, all fell quiet for a moment. The quiet Hungarian sat in his chair, simply observing the others that both entered and left the restaurant for a moment. There were families that sat and ate together, laughing heartily at the stories that were being told by one of the elders. There were young couples who were out on dates and close friends that were simply sharing a meal with each other. It was interesting to see the bonds that people had with one another.

It was after a moment of quiet contemplation before his attention returned to Ren. "...I always find it interesting to just sit here and watch the people that come in here some times. People come in as pairs, as families and even sometimes they come in by themselves. It is said that you can learn a lot about people by observing even such simple things as the way that they interact with one another or even something as simple as the way that they carry themselves. As many times as I have been here, I always find myself learning something new about other humans, something that is almost fascinating...at least it is to me." He fell quiet again for a moment, his eyes moving from Ren to glance at a small group that had been seated nearby, a group of seemingly close friends before his attention returned to Ren. " I'm sorry that I told you all of that. You must think me strange." Hell, he probably would think that he was weird too if he had been someone else, but the fact was that he simply enjoyed watching people enjoy themselves. He enjoyed watching people that were happy.

Was that truly so strange?