"Ticket number 223. Please come to window four."
The intercom was at the volume to where you feel like you've won some lottery, but no. This is no lottery. Today I was on a quest.
"Do you think there will be issues?" the girl clung to my arm as I walked us to the partition marked with a bold kanji.
"There shouldn't be too much of a problem."
This quest was one to get this mysterious other-worldly woman her citizenship.
Of course, every piece of paperwork was complicated to the point where we couldn't sign off on any of them. She didn't have bank info, a passport, or ID. So, eventually, it came down to giving a name and birth date. Apparently that was good enough for citizenship since she was "born on Japanese soil..." or so we say.
We simply said she was born at home, so no hospital work could be given. There wasn't any parent information to give, so it was hard to get through that as well. I was surprised we even managed to get citizenship at all.
Perhaps the worker we were assigned to was too lenient because before we knew it we had already registered her under a name and birth date. We decided her odd, other-worldly name, "Selina Fotiapetra" would be simplified to "Runa Kaji," for that was apparently the rough translation of her name. Even if we hadn't thought it out too much, we decided we had spent enough time hassling this single worker, so we made an effort to leave as soon as possible.
"So I'm Runa... my name had something to do with the moon... and 'Luna' is 'moon' in Latin, yes?"
"Mhm. Selina has something to do with the moon, and Runa sounds a bit better than Tsuki. Is it not a good name?"
"No. It's a great name, that's why I decided to write it."
As she spoke, she held the paper with her info in both her hands, slightly scaped from before. Her wounds looked a lot better, but it was still hard to look at her and not worry.
"They said you'd get your identification card in a few days, so until then you'll carry that paper on you."
"Identification card? Why would I need that?"
"It's essentially how someone would be able to identify you if needed... also, why'd you choose 24 as your age? Was there a reason for that?"
"Hmm... I don't think so, I just thought that fit me well. I was born on the second day of the fifth imperial month of the year."
"And how many months are there in the imperial calendar?"
"Ten."
"Two less than ours then..."
"There are twelve months in this world? How would you even keep track...?"
Hearing that was odd, in a way that only made me want to confront her, but I held off. Something wasn't sitting right with me. Suddenly I was fronted by an occurrence you only see in mediocre anime and young adult novels. Let alone losing my job, this was an entirely other problem.
"Listen, Runa. For now, we are essentially family. I don't know what your personal goals are or what-not. However, I know you can't get by yet in this world. So, until then I'm going to have you stay with me."
"And if I disagree?"
"I can't stop you, but I do want to help you in whatever ways I can. I'm not lying when I say that."
She didn't respond, walking directly behind me. The shopping street took itself up in deafening noise. We made our way into a department store.
"Since you're to stay with me, we should start by getting you clothes and a futon."
"This is your world's clothing? It's odd, using such wealthy silk and thread for a commoner's apparel."
"There's nothing odd about it... this is a first-world country."
"So there are even countries in this world? Are they all this fortunate and carefree?"
"Mmn... for the most part. Some countries aren't as lucky, though."
She gave a nod as if to show she understood. She made a selection of clothing, not paying much attention to the price tags... she must've really taken me for a wealthy person. That's going to trouble me.
I managed to keep everything under 50,000 yen and made our departure as swiftly as possible. My coat covered her current clothing-body armor and all. So, I wasn't too hesitant to have her walking around in public.
My next concern was to secure a job that can feed two... in a tech-based industry, it wasn't too hard to find a programming job. But, finding a good job close to home was going to be a luck-based feat.
Surely, Runa couldn't work a job quite yet, not until she learns her etiquette. Right... etiquette.
"I'm hungry."
Runa didn't waste her time getting to the point. For some reason, I respected that.
"What are you wanting?"
"Sahuj."
"Well, you see... I don't think this world will have the food from your world. Is ramen fine?"
"Ramen?"
*
Sitting amongst other exhausted individuals in one small ramen shop, I felt way too familiar with the awkwardness. Runa was gaping to the decorations and smells around the counter. I had ordered us both the most basic ramen you could get. Pork, naruto, egg, green onion, and buckwheat noodles.
Despite how basic it was, when we were presented with the 500 yen bowls, Runa couldn't help but grab onto my shoulder and announce her thoughts.
"Your meals are even this luxurious?"
The others in the shop, amongst the counter, didn't seem to pay attention to her remark. Perhaps they were too tired, drunk, or simply didn't care.
This woman had a long way to go before she would understand how easy-going our world really is.
*
Unpacking everything there was at my apartment, Runa made her first proper tour of the small living space. She was particularly struck with the appliances in the kitchen space and the bathroom.
The idea of a box being able to cook something without fire was a hard concept for her. More-so the way a bathtub or showerhead could simply "summon" water was mesmerizing to her.
Needless to say, the thing that mesmerized me was the number of things that seemed alien only to her. It slowly assured the fact that she was in fact from another world.
In a way, I was enjoying it.