[FIN] The Lonliest Number (Lex & Izaya)

[Shaddaling]

"Fried chicken sushi? Isn't that a true mockery of sushi?" He questioned, amused. Chicken sushi he had heard about, fried food and sushi? Not at all. "I'm seeing someone in Camphoreon, so I would have to decline that offer."

"It is hard to pull out that shade of red, more so when you are use to the black and white schemes." Lex turned back to his meal, finishing off his soup and breadsticks.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Well, as you just pointed out, sushi is more than just raw fish," the black-haired man answered, eating a piece of sashimi. "So who can say what would be a mockery of it?" Nevermind that that particular type and a bunch of other kinds of bad sushi were used by Dennis and Simon to discourage talk of violence in their restaurant. "Sushi rolls like the Vegas Roll, if you've heard of that one, are also fried, so it's not that different."

He smirked again. "And what would seeing someone in Camphoreon have to do with me taking you out for lunch?"

"It must be because it matches my eyes~" he mused aloud, eating a little more and sipping his tea. "So how long have you been a part of Team Rocket and stationed here in Kodo, Lexi-rin?"  

[Shaddaling]

"I'm rather sure fried chicken is american but perhaps you are right," Lex mused, tapping the table in thought. "I guess I could allow you to take me out to lunch, but in Camphoreon, I go by Sasha."

"Mmhm, I'm sensing a story here, but I think I will be polite enough not to inquire on it." He had a feeling that little remark about five years was true, and surely in that time he would have been promoted to grunt, so Lex was sensing a demotion.

"About a year and a half? Perhaps a bit more, when I joined everyone was in Ambergris," Lex mused and waved it off. "Long enough to get an idea but not nearly long enough to know everyone of importance."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"And what makes you believe that?" Izaya wanted to know. "Do the chickens have to be raised or killed or fried in America? People have been frying chickens since the Middle Ages in Europe. Likewise, would sushi rolls like the Vegas Roll and the California Roll be considered 'American' because they're named after American states, or would they be considered Japanese because they're sushi?

"And that's not even going into the fact that the people at Russia Sushi are Russian, though one of them is black and thus may have African origins in his more recent ancestry. So would that make the sushi that they create Russian or African rather than Japanese?" He finished up the last of his maki and put his tray away before returning to sip on his drink. "It's all a matter of perspective, you see."

"Understood, Sasha," he answered "Regarding stories, I'm an informant, so I'm really open when it comes to trading info as long as you have interesting stories for me in return."

Listening to Lex's background, he nodded in acknowledgement. "'Everyone' meaning...Team Rocket? Why Ambergris?"  

[Shaddaling]

"You are a well of knowledge about food, yet, aren't they both? America is a melting pot so things are twisted outside of there usual ethnicity to appeal to a mass audience. " He tapped a finger in thought. "Though I had nearly forgot Tempura."

"I guess it matters if you are going to judge them from where they are from or by the quality of their food? You can trace everyone back to Africa,such actual place is merely a cultural thing, and shouldn't that be more of sushi with a Russian twist? And even then, are they Russian from Russia or merely can trace their family back to Russia? I'm Russian, " Lex drawled. "And I hardly know the language."

"So for all I know Russia Sushi was merely a gimmick for I had not seen it myself," Lex turned to his meal finishing it.

"Mmhm, it was just were I ended up." Lex mused.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"My knowledge mostly centers around humans, as they are what I love more than anything else," the maroon-dressed man said. "Regarding America, that's true, but that also means they can't claim to be very original or have had very much originate there, least of all something as basic as fried chicken."

He chuckled. "Simon and Dennis either stick to traditional Japanese sushi or make their own concoctions, but said concoctions did not originate in Russia. As for those two, they were born and raised in Russia themselves; Simon's real name is Samia. They're ex-military - defects from the Soviet Special Forces who got tired of fighting and sought a more peaceful lifestyle."

The man's brows rose. "Ты русский, но вы не говорите по-русски? Почему нет?" Izaya asked. Cocking his head, he inquired, "Означает ли это, вы не можете понять, что я говорю сейчас?"

"So did you live anywhere before Ambregris?" he casually questioned.  

[Shaddaling]

"But they can probably claim deep fried Twinkies," which sounded horrible, but certainly calorie rich. "And I picked up you are speaking Russian.. just not what you said. Languages get lost when people move and when it is no longer a necessary for them to know it for communication."

"A few places," Lex folded his hands, looking at Nakura, thoughtful."Aulus must find you tiring, I wonder what Tambrey would say." Or K.O. He should speak to him sometime soon, maybe have a training session?  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Deep fried...what?" the Japanese man asked, trying not to laugh. "Sure, sure...though I don't think I've heard of that before."

He sneered. "True~ I got to practice speaking a lot with Simon and Dennis. And then a few other Russians here on Kodo, like Nadja, Frost, and Dith, so that's how I'm still fluent. Mostly I just know proverbs, though." Izaya beamed at him. "We could always just practice between the two of us, if you're interested~"

The man blinked. "Aulus? Agent Aulus? What made you bring him up? Or Agent Tambrey, for that matter?"  

[Shaddaling]

"I'm still adjusting to my new work load and training my Pokemon... so I think language lessons will have to wait for a while." Lex combed his curls back and paused, tugging on it slightly. "Probably should straighten this again sometime soon."

"Just curious if you knew them," Lex said and well Tambrey would be best to get any information out of then Aulus. Aulus had a habit of frowning. "Since you are a five year trainee?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Suit yourself," Izaya said, shrugging.

"Oh, yes. I know Aulus-san and Tam-chii very well," he answered. "What is your relation to them?" He couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy, but he was used to it by now. People had relationships with other people. That wasn't something he could help. Silently he reminded himself that all humans were his and he loved all humans, so none of the rest of it mattered.

"From what I understand, Trainee training is supposed to take a period of two months - no more, no less," the black-haired man said matter-of-factly. "While it's true that I am the only grunt who was demoted back to trainee so far as I know, that was done by a particularly irritable executive and I was promoted back to grunt after another two months of training. I was a grunt for four years after. This," he continued, gesturing to his uniform, "is something recent; an entirely different matter." He smirked grimly. "And I'm afraid it's a bit worse than simply being demoted this time. I'm known as being something of a troublemaker around here, you see."  

[Shaddaling]

"So that is what is going on, I was sensing a story behind that five year comment and the coloration of your uniform," Lex replied looking him up and down. "I was sensing a bit of a story."

If he actually cared about his reputation, it would be best not to talk to him, to shun him. Lex truly didn't care.

"Training and a few missions, isn't that how everyone meets?" Lex questioned, leaving it purposely vague.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"You did say that already," the crimson-eyed man agreed, "but I wasn't sure what you meant regarding 'a story'. There's a story behind everything, after all." He finished his drink and crumpled his tea box before tossing it into the nearest recycling receptacle. "Speaking of...why 'Sasha'?"

"Well aside from those two ways, there's working with them in their field of study, meeting them at mealtime like this, knowing them beforehand from elsewhere, being stuck with them in the infirmary, or hearing of them second-hand and seeking them out out of curiosity. Really, the possibilities are limitless," Izaya answered. "But if you'd rather not go into specifics like what kind of training or which particular mission, I can respect that."  

[Shaddaling]

"I am repeating myself a little bit aren't I? " Lex shrugged it off and nodded. "So there is." He wasn't interested in going in on either of the missions the memories were still painful and lingering.

"Sasha is a diminutive form of Alexander, so it is familiar and something easy to remember and on the same hand quite unique." Lex gave a light tug on his hair, pulling the curling strand straight.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Alexander?" Izaya repeated. "Ha! Well what do you know. That makes you the third Alexander of Team Rocket that I know. I suppose you must have heard of Hayes from Aulus, but there's another who goes simply by 'Xander'. What's more is you're all blonde," he noted, amused.

Nodding, at the explaination, he asked, "So no one comments on the fact that you go by what might normally be considered a feminine name in English?" Pausing, he added, "You said it's familiar, yet unique. What do you mean by that?"  

[Shaddaling]

Lex laughed, warm and bubbly and smirked slightly. " Mmhm, you hit the nail on the head. Sasha in english is a feminine name, it isn't a common one though. I like it, it is a name that people know and are familiar with and perhaps it ins't unique on its own but the double take people make when I introduce myself as such is wonderful."

"I think I spell mine much different but I have noticed in passing that there are a few Alexanders around here. I go by Lex by preference and well, it does make it less confusing. Though the blonde hair was not known to now. How odd." All three of them were blonde?