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Atsushi Nakajima cannot speak English.
ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA CANNOT SPEAK ENGLISH.
And here he is now, about to enter a predominantly English-speaking country. For the first time. And it’s Lucy’s country.
Lucy’s country, her home, where he’d be completely out of his element and sticking right by her side like a kitten. A confused kitten. Atsushi is confused. They aren’t even there yet and he’s already so, so confused by these people, and these smells, and these sounds, and everything. Just existing made his brain pound inside his skull, his eyes ache even though they were closed, his thoughts cloudy. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t already want to go home.
No wonder the Agency had been worried about the idea of him leaving the country for the first time. He didn’t think it was even possible to be as overwhelmed as he was now. Maybe he should’ve taken Yosano up on her offer of essential oils or let Kunikida write him a list of calming strategies… Or let Kyouka plant a bomb in his suitcase, just in case. Wait, he’s happy he didn’t allow that last one actually.
He breathes out, almost silently. They were in a place called Vancouver now, so it’s not like he could change his mind.
They’re sitting side by side next to their airport gate, holding hands. Atsushi feels her hand squeeze his and his mind clears immediately as a result, as if she herself was a remedy. He looks over at Lucy, expecting to see her brilliant green eyes staring back at him. Instead, she’s peacefully reading a book. He can see that she’s just as tired; her braids are somehow more messy than usual and sometimes, her eyelids flutter close for a few seconds. Even so, she has an aura of giddiness around her that makes him smile softly.
That’s right! Even if Atsushi was in a new place he’d never been before, Lucy stayed familiar. She was still her same, beautiful, overconfident self. Even if she was speaking a language he didn’t understand, it was her same, brash tone that the sounds were delivered in. She was the same, and she was happy. Lucy was going home and she invited Atsushi to come with her. He really was lucky to even have this opportunity with her.
Gently, he squeezes her hand back. He watches as her smile grows ever so slightly, as she begins to hum.
Lucy is such an extraordinary woman. She’d come all the way to Japan, learned his language, his culture, his everything. Sure, she’d done it for her job to destroy Japan, but she continued even after that just to make him comfortable and happy. So, Atsushi decides at this moment that he’d learn about her. No, he’d do more than learn English. He’d learn everything there is to know about her home and culture during this trip, even if it would kill him! Because he loved her and he wanted her to know that just like he knew she did.
His newfound determination washes away his anxiety for the time being. Arsushi’s able to sleep peacefully next to her as she reads up until it’s time for them to board.
~~~
On the plane ride leading up to their final destination, Lucy does her best to educate him about Canada.
Atsushi knows now that Canada is divided into 13 parts and she’s from the part called ‘Prince Edward Island’ (Sometimes they called it P E I!) She lived in the capital of her province, which they call ‘Charlottetown’. When he asked who Prince Edward and Charlotte were, she could only shrug in response. So these were mysteries even Canadians didn’t know.
He’s also been educated in geography. He’s learned that Prince Edward Island is the smallest region in her country, by a long shot. It’s so small that she practically knows everyone there (at least, she says that she hopes she still does. A lot can change in the little time she’s been gone). She also says that she’s one of the only ability users in her province. Most of them apparently migrate to a place called Nova Scotia, or a bigger place named Ontario. Atsushi thinks these names are stranger than Prince Edward Island.
Regardless of whatever Atsushi didn’t understand about Canada, all the talk they did about it got him excited. They both find themselves looking at the flight path on the TV more than they’d like to admit in anticipation for their arrival. Lucy points out every city of interest to Atsushi and he listens dutifully. It was so interesting to him how much there was to learn, especially how the information didn’t seem to ever stop. He wonders if this is how she felt when he explains Japan to her.
He tries asking her about what her town looks like, but she only responds with a “you’ll see” and a “we’re going to have to buy you a proper coat.” Atsushi felt as though he should probably be worried by this response, but her smile while she said it was too comforting to give it much thought. A place that made someone as wonderful as Lucy had to be just as nice as her.
~~~
Atsushi Nakajima is wrong.
Atsushi Nakajima also still cannot speak English. He’s becoming increasingly aware of this fact.
P E I is cold. It’s freezing and absolutely miserable. The sky always seemed to be the same colour as Atsushi’s hair, no matter what time of day it happened to be; it gave the island a dull tint of grey that made him feel worse than he really was. The cold wind from the sea smelled like alcohol and salt mixed together, too, which gave him a headache. And the waves, they were so high here! He felt as though he could hear them crashing from the city centre. Which he could, actually, that’s not a hallucination, because the city centre was right next to the ocean. Lucy really wasn’t exaggerating when she said this place was small.
The people who lived here were weird, too. Nobody ever dressed up, outside of himself, or if they were dressed nicely it was covered up by their giant coats. He doubted the latter, though; people only ever seemed to wear sweatpants or leggings and hoodies on this island. He wondered if his wearing actual clothing made everyone else feel underdressed. …He also wondered if the people who lived here thought he was weird. He didn’t exactly like all the looks he got whenever he walked anywhere with Lucy.
She was right, too, everyone did seem to know her. Whenever they went anywhere, someone always stopped her. Of course, Atsushi couldn’t understand what was being said, but he thought he understood the gist of each conversation by the tones of their voices.
“Lucy? Is that you, after all this time?”
Around here, Lucy would say something that sounded like a Canadian name to greet them,
“-yes, it’s really me! I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?”
“I’m wonderful! Where have you been?”
“I moved to Japan to be with my boyfriend! We’re just visiting here now.”
Around this point, whoever she was talking with would look at him. Atsushi never knows what to do when this happens, if he was supposed to wave and smile or bow or shake their hand, so he settles on a brief nod of the head. That’s normally sufficient for the stranger, who takes the hint that he has no clue what’s going on.
Then he can’t exactly tell what happens here, but he hears his name pronounced differently than normal and knows that he’s being introduced. He nods his head again to be polite and stays quiet as they continue to (assumedly) talk about him. He manages to catch certain words that he’s learned from books or TV, like ‘nice’ or ‘Japan’, but most of it flies over his head.
Then they both start moving in opposite directions from each other, so Atsushi follows. They say ‘Bye-bye now’, and move on with their days. Lucy explains the gist of the conversation to him in Japanese afterwards. Each interaction leaves him with the notion that he still has a lot to learn.
Atsushi Nakajima really does not know English. He needs to start taking classes when they go back home.
~~~
On what seems to be the hottest day of their visit, (it’s really only 8C. He’s not sure how this can be considered warm.) Lucy takes him to a boardwalk for ice cream. She says that this place is called Cow’s and it’s very popular in her country. Atsushi still doesn’t know why they’d get ice cream on such a cold day, (the forever cloudy sky only seemed to make it colder,) but it did seem like a nice place.
They order a strawberry and a vanilla and make their way down the boardwalk. The wind from the ocean only makes this experience ten times worse, but the ice cream is nice. It’s sweet and much more creamy than he expected it to be. He really feels like a character in those American movies, now, the ones with the couples who love long walks on the beach. This isn’t a beach, but it’s a long strand of wood running right by it, so close enough.
Actually, all the food here made him feel like an American. They seemed to have an affinity for oily foods here in huge portions. He was sure that if he didn’t have the appetite of literally a tiger, he wouldn’t be able to finish anything that they ordered. This island was good at fish, though, and he very much appreciated that. Lucy knew all the best restaurants in town for fish, which happened to be almost all of them. (He should’ve expected that a fishing island would be good at seafood, honestly.) It was like a smaller, more American Yokohama in that sense, which comforted him.
“-You look like you want another one.” Lucy cuts off his inner monologue, making Atsushi look down at his hands. Oh, he’d already eaten the entire thing.
He looks back behind them. …The ice cream shop was still right there. They hadn’t walked that far at all yet.
“Oh. Um… Yes please.”
His girlfriend is already turned around and walking back to the store when he answers, snickering. Sheepishly, he follows behind her. Atsushi now understands the hype of eating ice cream in not ice cream weather.
~~~
“How do you like PEI so far?” Lucy asks him eventually when they're both alone on a beach. The sky is red from the sunset, and so is the sand, both the same shade as Lucy’s hair. He thinks it’s cute.
“P E I? Er…”
The question was a difficult one to answer. Now that he’s spent some time here, Atsushi doesn’t really think he likes Prince Edward Island all too much. It was different from Japan, and he knows that different isn’t a bad thing, but… this was too different. It was foreign in a way that he thought was pretty from a distance, in a way he didn’t understand. He very much prefers how life works back at home than over here, he’s decided.
But how to tell Lucy that without disappointing her? He didn’t want to make her upset, especially since she tried her hardest to make him feel comfortable here. He really did try to like Canada, but he just doesn’t as much as she does and he feels horrible about it. He can’t help but wonder if this is how she feels whenever he shows her something back at home. Oh god, what if she doesn’t actually like Yokohama either?
He forgets that she’s looking at him, waiting for an answer until she tilts her head. Pushing these thoughts aside for now, he smiles at her (although a little uncertainly) and shrugs.
“It’s… definitely not like home. But learning about what makes you… you, has been amazing. You’re beautiful like your island.”
Atsushi answers, pushing one of her braids out of the way softly. Lucy’s expression softens, and her eyebrows raise. He watches as her cheeks tint the same shade as her hair and the ground below them.
“Oh… that’s what you think?”
She asks, softly. He nods, continuing to examine her for any indications of what she could truly be thinking. He watches as her eyes trail to the ground, then to the sea, thoughtfully, then-
“HAH! As if you’d ever find this place that pretty!”
Lucy laughs so hard and suddenly that her companion jumps, getting sand all over himself. He sits up quickly, hands raise to either side of his head defensively,
“What?! But I-”
“Atsushi, take one look at this dumpster hole. You’re telling me you’d genuinely want to live in a place like this for the rest of your life? With weather like this? With approximately -3 options for entertainment? Come on, I can see through you better than Dazai can!”
“Hey, but- Wait, I didn’t mean- I do like it here! It’s interesting! I-“
She smirks.
“I know you don’t like this place. I don’t either! That’s the magic of Prince Edward Island! You only miss it when you haven’t been here in ages!”
Lucy flops onto her back, putting her hands behind her head to support herself. Atsushi sighs in defeat. Lucy was right, right, and more than right. He’s mostly thankful that she doesn’t seem to be bothered by his real opinion on her island.
“Fine, so I might’ve meant it like that. But-”
He’s cut off by a dramatic gasp from his girlfriend as she sits up,
“ATSUSHI! You’re telling me that you were telling the truth when you said that I was beautiful like my island?! You think I’m a dumpster hole?!”
“NO! I DID NOT MEAN THAT! I was trying to say that-”
“No, no, no! I will not hear it! I can’t believe you’d tell me such a thing with no remorse, as a guest in my own country, no less!”
“I’m sorry!! I really didn’t!”
“You’re so gullible, you know! I’m just joking with you!”
…
P E I is colder at night, Atsushi learns quickly. It’s not the most pleasant feeling, but he likes the way the waves look in the dark and he likes the way he’s holding Lucy as they watch them more than he hates the cold. He uses his tail in an attempt to keep them warm, but Lucy’s giant hoodie they’re sharing does a better job at it.
“Hey, did you learn any English while you were here? Don’t think I didn’t notice you glaring at every sign we walked past.”
Lucy speaks softly, but Atsushi can hear the tease in her voice. He looks up at the stars as he thinks about it.
When he speaks, he does so in her native language.
“Um… small. I’m… doing? No, uh… I’m trying. Yeah. I’m trying.”
The Canadian laughs softly, nuzzling more into her boyfriend.
“You’re doing good. You have time to practice.”
Atsushi Nakajima cannot speak English, but he’ll probably get the gist of it eventually. Especially since they’ve decided to make these visits to Canada yearly.