Is it a boy or a girl? (OPEN)

Kumiko thought for a moment. She then nodded and gestured him towards the back. "Yeah, that would be great! Some of these things need to be put in places I really can't reach." She turned and led Jack to the back and into the storage area. She put the box down on a nearby stool and opened it.

"We've been really excited for this to come. It'll be something new for us to use." She took a bottle out and reached up to a shelf just out of her reach.

Stepping close, and pressing lightly agaist Kumiko's back, Jack reached hi long arms up and shifted the bottle onto the shelf.
"Something New and Exciting? Now I'm curious."
Jack made sure the bottle was steady and stepped back, lingering close for a moment as he did so.
that smile was still their, albeit a bit more muffled and relaxed now.

Kumiko blushed slightly when Jack came up behind her, but she didn't mind it all too much...

"Thanks... Um yeah, some of these spices are going into a rum cake, it's an American recipe. Have you heard of it?" She finished putting the rest of the bottles away and stacked the box in the corner. She turned and tucked one of the curled pieces of hair behind her ear.

"Actually, we tried making it before and it turned out pretty good. Want a piece?" Kumiko smoothed the front and back of her uniform, although there was no reason to really.

"I have, in fact, heard of rum cake. I tried it once when I was with my dad at a resuraunt. And I would love to test it for you."
He laughed a bit, his hair drooping agian, almost reaching his eyes. muttering a slight oath in irish, re reached in his pocket and pulled out a bandanna, quickly tying it off at his hair line.
witht he hair away from his forehard, there was the marking of several slight scars.
"Stupid hair. I like it long, but it gets in the way."

Kumiko tilted her head slightly. "I think it looks cute long." She went and grabbed two plates and the cake. "How much do you want? You really can have as much as you want~" She smiled sweetly at him.

She barely noticed the scars on his forehead. She thought about asking but that would probably be rude of her. She just cut herself a little bit of cake and sat at a two person table.

"I'll take a slice, about this big" he cut himself a good inch of the cake and sat calmly across from Kimiko.
"So, Explain to me this maid cafe concept. I'm still slightly confused. Is it simply a style of sevice?"
his voice was truely curious, being form Ireland, this was his first time directly interacting with one.

"So, basically a maid cafe is where anyone can come in and pay for time to spend with a maid. There's all different types of cafes around Tokyo, but this is one of the best ones." She laughs. "Not trying to be biased, but it is~ Anyways, you can pay for things like activities, have them make you food and drinks, just talk, it's pretty basic." Kumiko took a petite bit of cake.

"You can even request time with Tsundere maids or Dandere maids. For example, I'm the resident Deredere maid. But like I said, our time will be free of charge for you~"

"kay, so its essentailly a social Cafe. where you can converse with a random person without judge ment, or for personal enjoyment. thats cool. in ireland you just had to sneak into bars and talk to the old guys who survived 'the War!'."
There was an obvious joking tone to jacks voice, as he took a bite of cake.
"hmmm. This is absolutly delicious! I love it."

Kumiko sat up a little straighter at the compliment. "Thank you~!" She finished her tiny piece of cake and rest her small chin in her hands still facing Jack. She scanned his face and her mouth turned up slightly in a warm and friendly manner.

Kumiko felt very at ease right now. Way more at ease than she had felt in a long time. She completely forgot about stressful things. Wow okay she felt that was weird but it was true!

Jack slowly ate the rest of the cake as well, savoring it.
The longer Kumiko looked the more she'd see, the freckels across his mouth and upper cheeks. there were several lighter lines and scratches, and his nose was slightly out of shape, possibly natural or maybe it was broken before? it was unclear, but his green eyes were light and glowing, a the deep green of sunlight through tree leaves.
"Hmmm... that was amazing. you. Kumiko, are a brilliant cook."
Jack smiled, totally oblivious it to the crumbs stuck around his mouth from the cake, and grinning slightly.
"So, what else is a common thing for a dashing younger man to do in a maid cafe?" he spoke in a jesting but still honest tone, his irish accent bleeing into his words as he spoke.

Kumiko giggled slightly. "You've got a little something there..." She reached across the table with a napkin and wiped off Jack's mouth. She sat back down smiling a little. He was looking cuter and cuter by the minute. She blushed slightly and took his plate.

"I'll be right back." she quickly got up and left the dishes back in the kitchen, snd checked her looks in the bottom of a large pan.

leaning forward a bit as kumiko wiped his mouth with the napkin, feeling ever so slightly over counscious of her beautiful lips, and then she turned away ans grabbed the plates and headed to the kitchen.
Jack was feeling amazingly good. maybe it was the beautiful girl, or the good food, or just that the stars were on his side or something. but he felt really good.
he ran his hand through his hair while Kumiko was in the kitchen, pulling out the bandanna, he shook his hair out, it falling into its usual left sided part and ran his fingers across the front, sweeping it to the side.
he spoke softly in irish. "Man, I should have moved here sooner, I like the way lifes been turning since i did."

Kumiko hurried back to the table and gracefully sat down. "Oh! Your hair's down~ I really like it~" Her hand started to reach out but she stopped and just lightly tapped her fingers on the table. She avoided direct eye contact in case she would start blushing again.

"So, Jack-san, can I ask why you're student teaching? I mean, are you planning on being a teacher or some sort?" She quickly glanced up under her dark eyelashes.

Jack had been willing to let her touch his hair, and was some what sad when she pulled back.
"Well, I want to change the way schools work. they relay on an antiquitated theory and backing, and haven't changed much since the age of imperialization."
he had started slow, but as he spoke, his words grew a bit bolder.
"College isn't that much better usually. they place such a stress on some hardcore knowledge they neglect the emotional and creative side of the equation."
his right hand was on the table, a small drawing pencil in it as he scratched at a napkin there. glancing back to kumiko's face often. with his left hand he gestured a bit, emphazing things.
"One day, i want to start a school, and change things. Its going to be hard, and I need to understand where things are going wrong first. what better way then to see how the teachers do things, and look at how its flawed up close."
He grimaced, as though there was a dark though passing his mind
then he glanced up, the pencil finishing a few more quick marks.
"and you, what do you want to do?"

Kumiko folded her hands.

"Well... Can I tell you something that is sort of well difficult for me to accept?" She put her hand on top of Jack's left hand and looked directly at him. "I am an heiress, I suppose that's the right word. Do you know of the Fujiwara company? Well both of my parents own and run it. So I technically never will have to work, but they want me to take control someday with my brother..." She scanned his face for signs that appeared when she told people that she was an heiress to such a big company.

"I'm sorry! That wasn't really an answer was it?" She laughed a little and took her hand away. She picked at her nails, a little embarrassed that she just said that to him. She felt like if he and her were to get along, then it would only be because of her status. She looked back up and realized there was a sketch on the napkin under Jack's right hand. She leaned forward slightly to see it.

Jacks jaw Droped, for but a moment,
"hehehhe Holy Shit."
Jack began to laugh, a booming happy and humerous sound.
"So this is what its like to be on the other side of those words."
he shifted his hand, setting the pencil down as he slowly calmed from a laugh to a giggle.
"guess what heiress Kimiko, My last name is McMANUS! have you ever heard of the MCMANUS corperation? the indusry that spans from Ireland to japan? I'm one of its 2 heirs, me and my brother are equal share holders of its majority 70% stock."
jack had a grin so wide on his face as he looked at kimiko his head cocked slanted left.
"I run the courier service as a personal income, and to be self relaiant. till my dad passes me controll when I finish law and buisness school.

Kumiko stared at him wide eyed. How had she not made the connection?! She mentally slapped herself and started blushing furiously. "I feel so ridiculous right now! I heard my parents talk about that company before, and I don't even know how this could have slipped my mind!" Her nerves, though, were at ease.

Then, she started laughing uncontrollably. Her laugh perfectly fit her small stature. She wasn't quite sure why she was laughing. It could have been from all of the pent up stress or the fact that she finally met someone who seemed like her.

"You are amazing~! I mean, really, you fooled me!"

jack relaxed, still smiling like a madman. and enjoying Kumiko's laugh, pure as it sounded.

"what, the fact I'm a street smart young man who lives with his stepbrother and goes to college with a dream for the future? well, thats the thing. its all true! I dream of changing education! I just didn't say I was going to be self bankrolled."

His hand had finally shofted, revealing that there as a beautiful sketch of kumiko's head, illumiated from the left, on the paper. he ahdn't finished the shoulders and hair jsut yeat, but it was incredibly detailed. it looked like she did when she smiled.

"So, wonderfully intellegant heir of the Fujiwara company. Waht do you think of me now?"
his grin was still their, showing perfect teeth and his green eyes were sparkling.

Kumiko's mouth made a soft 'O' shape as she saw the sketch. "I think you are quite the wonderful young man~ Quite wonderful..." The last two words she spoke in a quieter wistful tone.

"That, and you are a very talented artist. Who is that supposed to be?" she asked in a slightly joking tone. It was obviously her, the face was like a photo of her. She moved her chair around the table a little to Jack's right to look at it and get closer to him. A smile was stuck on her face.

"Well, clever girl, this" he picked up the pencil and continued the sketch, his eyes flowing over kumiko's features, the pencil filling in those small details of her face. he shifted closer to her as well, getting closer, his green eyes looking at those small aspect people go over, a faint old scar, a stray strand of hair, a wrinkle and a blemish. all are filld in by jacks quick hand, short soft lines filling the napkins. it wasn't a mona lisa, but it was still amazing.
"Is you, the beauty that gave me a cake, tld me some thoughts, and made me laugh in amazment and joy."
he began the shoulders, doing the small frills as he slowly shifted a bit clser.
"its for you, of you."

"I love it... It's so beautiful..." Kumiko spoke in a hushed tone, revering the art that was being created right in front of her. She looked up at Jack an noticed their faces weren't that far from each other. She quickly looked back down at the drawing, occasionally moving her eyes back to Jack, his eyes, his lips, all of the features she found so wonderful.

"Jack? I think, I, um..." As she spoke she slowly moved to kiss him.

JAck slowly turned his haead, and going with the flow, towards Kumiko,
breathing softly in a thick accent,
"kumiko..."
he tilted his head, the pencil slowed to a stop as he moved in for the kiss, his lips made contact.
pressing softly against kumikos.

A delicate hand slammed down on the table next to kumiko.
"Please remove your manly lips from Kumiko. We do not allow such indecent practices in our place of employment."

Kumiko jumped up and out of her chair. Her heart skipped a beat when she and Jack kissed, but it nearly stopped when the hand slammed down.

"Was that really necessary?!" She put a hand to hear heart and took in a deep breath. "It's not like I'm charging him for it or anything. It's a personal thing." she muttered. She loved this girl and all, but really, she was sort of scary sometimes.

Jack had jumped backwards, and was almost half out of his chair, hand flickering up, to a guarding position, but only for a second.
"I'm sorry. I did not realize it was against the rules.... and it just sort of..... ummm..."
he trailed off, his face turning bright red, his hand behind his head, scratching his neck.
his other hand was now relaxed at his side.
the picture, now complete, lay on the table.