As the pair walked along the street of Diviner's City many other people had begun to notice Modoru's getup. His jet black, plated armor really stood out in a crowd. Nokosu noticed it too and looked back at him.
"We're going to have get you new clothes, you can't keep wearing that armor for the rest of the time here. It's going to draw unnecessary attention," Nokosu said.
"Sure, I don't like getting eyeballed either," said Modoru as a young couple hurried past Modoru clearly scared. "On a another note though, I need to know. How are you able to teleport without a C.S device?"
"Eat first, then talk," Nokosu said. Modoru then nodded in agreement as he was famished as well. They walked into Fanwan restaurant and the smell of fresh rice bowls filled the air. Taking a table near the door, Nokosu flagged down one of the waitresses.
"Hey Agatha," Nokosu said, "Could we get two number 13? And 2 iced teas. Thanks."
"You got it sweetheart," said Agatha who quickly wrote it down and called the order in Chinese to the chef. Modoru gave Nokosu a questioned look.
"How long have you been coming here?" Modoru asked.
"Must I repeat myself?.....Sorry, I'm always more uptight before I eat. Even in the future." Nokosu revealed. "But to answer your question, this is only place I eat. Its close to my apartment and close to the mine. I'd say its strategically placed wouldn't you say soldier?" For a second time, Modoru smiled.
"Makes sense," Modoru said. "Also I kinda wanted order something….."
"Trust me, you'll like it. Are you a ricebowl guy?" Nokosu quizzed.
"Of course, its my main dish as well." Modoru said.
"Good. Then you'll like it....oh good here it is," Nokosu said. As Agatha deftly wove her way between the tables, she deposited both their bowls and teas.
"Enjoy sweetie!" Agatha said.
"Thanks a bunch," Nokosu said. He immediately dug in but Modoru took a second to take a look at it. The bowl was filled ¾ of the way full, so not enough to be too much but enough to be filling. The rice itself looked very rich and fresh and was very slightly covered with soy sauce. Amongst the garnishes was peas, corn and green onion. The meat was smaller, but not diced cuts of salmon. It looked amazing. Modoru did a quick prayer, and dug in as well. They both ate in silence as the dish's appetizing taste did the talking. Finishing first, Nokosu sighed out loud, and waited for Modoru to finish as he drank his iced tea. As Modoru savored his dish, he took a break and looked at Nokosu.
"I can eat and talk if you want," Modoru said.
"Sure, that's fine with me. What do you want to know?" Nokosu asked. Taking a quick bite, then washing it down with iced tea, Modoru looked back at Nokosu and asked his questions.
"First off, how are you teleporting without a C.S device?" asked Modoru.
"Right. Ok so, it freaked me out actually the first time I found out. I was standing under those portable heaters in the rain, then felt a tingle down my spine. Next thing you know, bam, I was out in the rain. I had an inkling as to what had happened so I tested it out in my apartment. I got an ironing machine and pushed my hand to the surface. Funny enough it doesn't hurt, it just sends a tingle down my spine and next thing you know; I teleport. So my conclusions was this. The only material out there that teleports when heated is…."
"Xenophite." Modoru said as he completed his statement.
"Exactly. I must have fused with the Xenophite during the time travel. My only question now though is how come you didn't fuse with the Xenophite?" Nokosu asked.
"It could be because I had my C.S device with me. The Xenophite must have all reacted with the C.S device causing me to travel farther back in time than you." Modoru surmised in between bites of rice.
"That does make sense. Anyway. I realized I could travel around the city as a teleporter, but I had to be careful because I didn't want unnecessary attention. People know about Xenophite but there are no C.S devices yet. If they see some random teleporter, they might begin to riot for needing one." Nokosu said. As Modoru listened and nodded he took one last bite of his ricebowl.
"Wow, that was good. Thanks, Nokosu," Modoru said gratefully.
"No problemo. Was there something else you wanted to know?" Nokosu asked.
"Only one other thing, its more of an apology actually. I wanted to apologize for saying you had no drive. You definitely have a lot of it having been able to survive here for 6 months on your own. That was my experience in the military talking. As a kid I was juvenile thief and I went to prison for 2 years. I resolved after that time to take things more seriously, life and work. But in retrospect I shouldn't have even said that knowing where I've been in the past. So, I get it." Modoru explained.
"You really didn't need to apologize, as I had honestly forgotten about it already, but thank you. Your right though. I've sort of been living comfortably as an archaeologist….in the future. I do want to become a lead. I just need the experience. I guess for better or worse, this time travel issue has pushed me. Maybe I should be thanking you really." Nokosu empathized.
"Well thank me when we get back, you can become lead then." Modoru said.
"Deal," Nokosu said. "So my friend, where to now?"
"Well, you said you have an apartment right?" Modoru said.
"I do. It's pretty shitty. But it's the most I could afford. Good thing currency is still the same in the future as in the past." Nokosu said. Nokosu flagged down Agatha and Nokosu paid for both of them. As they left the restaurant, they walked half a block north and reached a housing complex. Going up 3 floors, and 3 doors down from the elevator they arrived at number 34. As he opened the door, Modoru surveyed the room. It was quite clean and tidy. The only place that untidy was a pile of papers and books near the window to the back of the room.
"Excuse the pile of papers, I took most of the books about Xenophite home with me," Nokosu said as he headed to the kitchen to get some water for both of them. As he returned, Modoru had taken off his shoes and waited for him.
"Thank you," Modoru said as he took the glass of water from Nokosu.
"If you want you can sleep on the couch," Nokosu said.
"Thanks, I think I will. I'm probably going to turn in now. We should get up early tomorrow. We need to find more Xenophite as soon as possible. Do you know where to start?" Modoru said gesturing to the pile of papers. Nokosu glanced at the papers and thought for a second.
"From my research I've found out that there are some Xenophite digs around the city. But most of them are secured and funded by a company called the Shibuya Corporation. We would need to get in touch with the company and see what's possible."
"Ok, sounds good," Modoru said. "See you tomorrow."
"You as well."