The young man, of course, wasn't paying her any attention... until she approached him, and spoke to him, in her native Japanese (right?)

The man didn't turn towards her, but did speak, as fluently as she did.

No... I'm looking at the sunrise. It's quite beautiful, isn't it? He pointed out to it, and smiled. It was a rather impressive one indeed, the colors and shades it made, particularly in combination with the clouds in that area, was pretty breathtaking, to be honest.

His shoulder length hair swayed slightly, as he glanced to the girl. He looked slightly curious, actually.

Never seen you before... what was your name? He was fluent, but not exactly perfect in manners. He didn't quite use the correct honorifics or anything like that, either. Perhaps he was a foreigner after all.

She smiled at his skilled use of the local language; she was bilingual (one of the few marks of pride of potential intelligence that she possessed), but had approached using Japanese first.

She watched him a moment, smiling, and turned to look at the sunset with him. She brushed her bangs aside, stepping back a little and admiring the view. She was lucky to be up this early, catching sight of it. Finally, at his question, she turned back to him.

<"Thanks... I'm Karen. Father's American."> She explains at the English-sounding name... of course, Karin was also a Japanese one... she smiled faintly and added. <"I don't live far from here... I don't think I've seen you around here either. What's your name?"> So far, this seemed so strange and quaint. She wasn't sure what to believe, but she tried to take things 'in the moment'...

Strange and quaint indeed. Antipode wasn't perfect, of course, but this certainly seemed like a reasonable type of regular meeting between normal humans. The young boy smiled a little bit. Perhaps he acted a little coy, but either way, he responded fairly quickly.

I see. American, is he? I've never been there... my name is Ichigo. I can't say I've been here since birth, but... The young man let the sentence trail off, allowing a pause to take it's place. If she looked closely, she might see him glancing at her... well, glancing at her figure, perhaps. But in that discrete way, where there was at least a passable attempt to hide it. He wasn't a gawker, at least!

She hesitated, nodding to him. Finally, she smiled a bit and sighed. 'Was that all just a nightmare... or is THIS the dream?' She mused over the foreboding words he had said last, but then shook her head. At this point, there was nothing she could do but see what was going to happen.

"Nice to meet you Ichigo." She smiles and crosses her arms lightly, then looks around a touch. "Do you live near here at all?" She couldn't help shake this sense of unease... that she should do something... but for the moment she stifled it.

Ichigo looked at her again, thinking for a moment. He glanced around, as if searching for the direction he was supposed to go.

Yeah... I live around here. Um... I know the address, but...

A look of worry crossed his face. Uncertainty.

I've only lived in this city a short time. I think I'm... yeah, I'm definitely lost. I know it's within some blocks of here, but honestly I can't tell where it is. A look of embarrassment now.

She blinks at Ichigo twice, then nodded a little. She could see it; the streets rarely followed a logical pattern out here, and she looked sympathetic as he looked around forlornly.

"Here, it's no problem. I'll walk with you and help you find home. Ok?" She smiles encouragingly at him, then gestures up and down the street. "Do you remember which way you came from, at least? If we start walking, I bet it'll help jog your memory."

Ichigo merely smiled a little bit, still embarrassed somewhat.

Nodding, he looked around, an expression of concern on his face. The young man turned, and tentatively raised a hand, pointing in a direction.

I'm pretty sure it was that way. Let's go, okay? He set off, glancing back at her as they began moving. He was obviously a little stiff, but nonetheless, it was hard to be surprised. He was clearly not perfect with the language. Well, the language itself he was skilled with. But not honorifics or other subtle touches. Too proper or too casual, depending on the moment.

He gave a sigh, glancing around. He seemed almost a sightseer, examining the locations with relish. Of course she didn't know that this entire region, pulled out of her memories and reproduced with creative perfection, was brand new to Ichigo... that is, of course, Antipode's new avatar. A single level of consciousness, isolated and placed into a simulated human form. He had enough data, after all, to pull it off. And Ichigo was the first product of these efforts.

Forgive me for asking. You seem quite... in shape. Do you train for any particular sport?

She watches Ichigo's reactions, not sure what to make of the young man. Of all of this. She shook her head a little as she walked with him; at his question, her unease was temporarily dispelled with enthusiasm! "Oh! Yes! I'm taking kendo. And martial arts, of course." She smiled broadly to him. "I've been doing a bit of sports at school, too. It keeps me in shape. What about you?" He didn't look it, exactly, but it couldn't hurt to ask...

Ichigo was silent for a moment, as if thinking of how to answer the question. He wasn't walking quickly at the moment, and certainly didn't seem to have any drive to go to any particular location. He really did seem lost.

Well... I haven't trained in any particular martial arts or anything, but I think I'm in pretty good shape... I like to tell myself that, anyway. He smiled a little bit, then.

Kendo and martial arts, huh? You look like you've been doing some training. Like you could actually hold your own in a fight. Not something I see very often. It's... nice.

She tilts her head at him, smiling faintly but warmly. "Thank you. I try my best... and I have gotten into a few fights in my day." She says with a faint grin, confessing freely to something generally looked-down upon in such a society.

"I try and avoid it though, it's really... um, lacking grace." She finally says. It was kind of nice talking to him; she tucked her hands in her pockets and tried to relax as she looked for his home. As they head up the street, she looks off over the rooftops at the many 'motel-style' apartment buildings that were so common in this side of the prefecture.

Large structures, they were wide and squat apartment buildings that were accessed from the outside instead of inside. It was cheap housing, but space was valuable in Japan. She was fortunate enough not to live in one, and she more intuitively looked towards the closer buildings after, the more sub-urban style homes to many a family."Anything you recognize yet?"

He was really, rather obviously paying more attention to her words than the area around them.

Lacking grace or not, it's pretty cool that you're able to do that. He laughed for a moment, and smiled, more affectionately. He looked in the direction she was gazing, seeing all the buildings. The truth was, none of them would be filled... except when she could feel the sensations of it. Seeing it, hearing, smelling, being in the area, anything at all within Karin's ability to sense was there. Otherwise, it was still an illusion. But one without flaw. One that she'd never feel as unreal. At least until the unreality was revealed.

Ichigo glanced off silently for a few moments. Hopefully you won't have to deal with monsters or anything like from those anime...He shook his head, hoping his joke wouldn't go too badly. In truth, of course, Ichigo knew what he was, and was acting the role as best as he could. He felt it, for the most part. But he knew he couldn't tell her the truth yet. He was so new at... everything, that he feared failing.

I'm sorry, bad joke! But... I think I'm getting a feeling of the area. Let's continue this way, okay?

She smiles faintly at his compliment, though it vanished quickly at his joke. She raised her eyebrows at his words, a bit of color draining from her face... she recovers fairly quickly, shaking her head and sighing.

"Ok. Yeah, so why such a strange question?" She chuckles as she tries to force the unnerved feeling aside, her hair dancing and swaying as she spun about to walk backwards, looking straight at him now. She was a little put-off by the question, and beginning to suspect something again, as full as the illusion was. But, she didn't appear angry...

Ichigo stopped for a moment, looking confused for a moment. Almost... no, worried. His eyes widened just the smallest bit, and he stared at her briefly.

But, such a reaction lasted only the shortest blink of an eye, and then he blushed, glancing away.

Um, sorry... just something weird that blurted out of my mouth... He looked rather sad after that, before turning slightly farther away. I've always been odd like that... saying or doing something weird that freaks people out... I'm really sorry.

Of course, literally speaking, he was always doing and saying things that freaked people out... but what tentacle monster didn't?

She blinks at him a few times, stopping walking. She scuffles the toes of her feet for a minute against the cement, thinking. Her arms fold across her chest as she frowns, deep in thought. What should she do about this? The emotions seemed genuine. But was it a deception? Was all this? Then what was the point?

...To ask her out? 'Gad... this is... so... weird.' She shook her head in bemusement and sighed, realizing something quite simple and plain, and looked to him with a vaguely bemused smile. "Ok, ok. It's all good, I'm not upset or anything." She looked around again, brushing her long hair back out of her eyes. "Any of this look familiar?" She asked, still keeping a friendly eye on him.

Um... yeah... I think we're getting in the right direction... he looked at her curiously, seeing the expression there on her face, for just a moment. Like an epiphany, an amused grin.

What... was that look for? He asked for, still somewhat embarrassed. He seemed almost sensitive, considering his strange words. Like he was afraid to push her away, or afraid he already had.

He continued walking, though, even as he glanced at her from time to time. They were quickly approaching the place he intended, and he'd recognize it soon.