Orenji no Taiyou

[Taro Lawson]

Taro Lawson stretched his legs out as he yawned wide, the hum of his ship dying down as his brother next to him, stood and went to the controls on the left wall. Taro looked over at his back, then stood him self, and walked over, looking over his brother's shoulder to see the controls. Sighing, he put a hand on the boy's head.

"I am going to head out and see if we can't find a mechanic. This poor old thing needs a tune up," he said, speaking in thier native tongue of Japanese. His brother nodded mutely at him and Taro turned, going to the door of the cockpit and pressing his hand against a pressure plate next to the hatch. He hit it and the hatch hissed open and slowly lowered, steam clouding his vision from seeing anything. Coughing and waving his hand in front of his face, he began down the ramp, looking over his shoulder to look down the hall to see if anyone was coming. Seeing no one, he looked back through the cockpit door.

"Oh, and Jiro? If you see Jesimae, tell her to come out here. I imagine she'll want to stretch her legs a bit."

Continuing down the ramp, Taro jumped out onto the solid ground of the metal floors, looking about him, savoring the sounds of other people's voices. Now, he just had to find a mechanic. There was no way Jiro was going to be able to stabalize the engines. He had messed that up before.

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae yawned as she walked down the hallway where she had heard Taro speaking in Japanese. She hadn't taken the time to listen to his tone to see what was going on, but when she felt them dock and Taro head on out into the shipyard, whatever they were calling it these days.

She managed to make her way to the cockpit where she saw Jiro working his hands as he moved quickly preparing to shut down the ship. She smiled as she stood in the doorway and glanced at him.

"Morning, Jiro! Where did that brother of yours go?"

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro typed in a code hearing the computer respond to him and then initiate shut down, listening as the engines stopped and locked and the ship wound down. He smiled, pleased with himself for no good reason. He turned around to look at Jesimae and smiled, tugging on his rather uncomfortable leather jacket, unzipping it to get some air to his chest. He was burning alive.

"Yeah, he just went out. Think I am going to join him," Jiro strode over beside her, finally getting fed up with his jacket and pulling it off, feeling much better now that he was in the thin wife beater he had stolen from his brother. He stopped next to Jesimae, depositing the jacket on the floor and looking at her, smiling.

"Want to help me find him?"

[Jesimae Lawson]

Jesimae smiled and nodded. "You bet."

Jesimae and Jiro walked out into the space port where she heard the familiar sounds of people hard at work. The heat was almost overwhelming for the bright overhead lights, tools, and hot ships and other means of transporation were being repaired. The scent of fuel tickled her nose and almost made her sick to her stomach for it was overbearing and very strong.

The two walked over to Taro who stood talking to a rather large man, asking for a good mechanic.

“Good mechanic, huh?” The man snorted in either laughter or disgust, it was hard to tell, but when he smiled his action became warm. “You all are in luck! Tattooine’s, hell maybe the whole galaxies, finest mechanic housed here just three weeks ago!” Jesimae was happy to hear such news knowing how hard it used to be to receive even half-assed tune ups and repairs. The thought of a good mechanic working on Taro and Jiro’s ship tickled her for she was one step closer to leaving her past behind, where it rightfully belonged.

“I do have to warn you though,” The man started to wipe his hands free of grease preparing to go and get the mechanic. “The Priest does miracles, but...the manner in which the miracles are done...” The man shook his head and waved a hand at them, dismissing what he had just warned, if one would call it that. “Be right back, see if I can’t get ‘em over here.” The large man turned and walked quite a ways from where the ‘Angry Lady’ was docked. The three of them slowly began to migrate where they watched the man go, ignoring his orders to stay put. They walked past three large ships to a small cruiser where all they could see were greased gray pants and black boots. Despite the noise of hammering, drilling, welding, and talking the music that gradually became louder as they grew closer deafened all other sounds.

“Priest!” The man yelled as he looked down at the boots then his own filthy pair. “Priest!” He screamed again. He waited a few seconds before yelling again his action causing Jesimae to roll her eyes, the man not seeming to understand the guy didn’t hear. Yet again he screamed, laughing after he got no response and glanced up at the three of them. “I hate to...” Jesimae frowned at his words and watched him glare at the antique looking CD player that was being held together by electrical tape and cement glue that was decorated with spots of oil and grease. If this so-called “priest” worked “miracles” they certainly weren’t performing any by the look of the machine.

The man leaned over to the cardboard box it sat on, beside the large green tool box, and clicked it off the loud noise finally being silent. The second it seemed he had touched the player the person slid out from under the cruiser on a wheeled slate, standing up and giving at the machine a hard stare then over to the person responsible for it being turned off.

“Kyzer! You..baka!” The short mechanic walked up to the man, who was now identified, looking at him if he were the one who was 7 inches shorter. Despite the tiny 5’3 stature, crazy red hair that was tied in fashionable pig tails, and a completely black face the anger in their eyes could easily be seen. Hell, they looked more offended than angered.

“How many times have I told you? How many!? Did five years suddenly go down the drain when I left? Jeez! Any other time, any other artist, you can happily turn off, but never, NEVER, my Malice Mizer! To me that is a sin of life!” The passion in the girls voice made Jesimae want to laugh, such a short thing with a powerful set of lungs and vocal cords was rarely seen.

Kyzer laughed his pot belly jiggling as she turned it back on and put her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation to the murder he just committed. He pointed with his thumb in the direction of the three watching the drama unfold and continued to grin at her.

“I’ve got a few folks needing the best mechanic. If you didn’t poison your ears with such music maybe I wouldn’t have to turn it off to get your attention.”

“Well you smell like crap, but we don’t go around giving you bars of soap every time we meet do we?” Kyzer laughed as did the mechanic. He sighed out and walked towards them and pointed.

“There she is, I suggest, if she hires you, to get some good ear plugs both for the music AND her mouth!”

“Go eat a burger, heifer!” The man laughed as she turned the volume down slightly as she tossed a few unused tools into her box. The man winked at them as he walked on by letting them conduct their business.

“See what I mean? Play nice, Orange!” Jesimae watched the man walked away before she turned around to find Jiro and Taro advancing towards her. The girl wiped her hands on a stained rag and skipped a few songs until something fast and poppy came on. The girl, who he had called two different names, turned and watched the three approach her stopping at a safe distance a few feet away. She smiled at them her teeth abnormally white due to the black covering her face. The brown of her eyes were brought out by her hair and Jesimae couldn’t help but think she had to have been an interesting character.

“Sorry about Kyzer, he gets really hungry and just doesn’t act like himself.” Again she joked about this weight, winking at Jiro as her smile faded. “It’s easy to see he hates my Malice Mizer, I’ll appease him just this once with T.M. Revolution while I talk with you all.” She glanced at Jesimae the to Taro and Jiro, her eyes lingering a bit longer on the younger brother as she stuffed the red rag into the right back pocket of her coverall's.

“You asked for the best, here I am! What can I do for you handsome three?” The woman grinned and clapped her palms together then combed her fingers together and glanced at them, but she quickly pulled them apart and put her right hand on her forehead and let out an agitated sigh, gesturing her forgetfulness. She laughed gently and shook her head, letting he hand fall to her side.

“I’m sorry I am not being very professional here!” She lifted her right hand and reached it out to Jesimae and smiled. “I’m Orange Diren,” She moved down the line shaking Taro’s hand then holding it out for Jiro to take. “The best one man could have!”

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro had been surprised when he had heard Malice Mizer blaring from the old CD player. He collected Malice Mizer CD's along with other old Japanese bands, as you could rarely find them in CD format any longer. Jiro had just beginning to like this guy when he stood up and...it wasn't a guy at all. In fact it was a small girl, her crazy red hair pulled into very Japanese style ponytails, ones that Jiro had seen a lot in the NIHONGO district but no where else.

Looking at her intrigued him more. When she began to speak to them he could not see her face at all for the grease that was all over it. He couldn't help but smiled wide down at her, as he straight wide teeth shine out through the grease. She held her hand out for him to shake.

The best one man could have! she said and looked at Jiro. Jiro leaned forward towards her, trying to see her face properly. Unable to, he reached up, using his thumb and fingers to wipe away some of the grease.

"Orenji? I know you're in there," he said, wiping away enough to see her skin and get a proper look at her face. He leaned back and smiled, finally taking her hand and shaking it. "There you are. Jiro Lawson, nice to meet you." He smiled wide.

[Orange Diren]

Orenji? Did this guy call her name in Japanese!? She wanted to die. Her life seemed to revolve around Japan and anything dealing with it. Luckily, when he thumbed away some of the grease, that he couldn't see how red she had gotten. She was doing some unneccessary flirting and forgetting her place, but she couldn't help it! Jiro Lawson was too cute and looked too familiar to not forget what seh was doing and why they were talking to her.

"Jiro Lawson?" She repeated, surprised she had managed to say his name properly. Heck, she was surprised she could speak at all. She smiled and glanced away from him a second, embarrassed at how she thought he was so cute. She glanced up at him and didn't let his hand go.

"You look very familiar. I am sure you hear this all the time, but...you remind me of a Japanese singer." SHe let his hand go and turned to grab a few CD cases laying in her tool box. She smiled to herself when she found a crumpled photograph of the man she was talking about. She turned around, hoping he'd know who he was, stepping beside of him and pointing at the picture with her dirty hands.

"Gackt Camui, you two look a lot a like."

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro put a hand to his heart, reeling slightly as if he had been shot. This girl had no idea how many times his friends had teased him about it! It was ridiculous, though Jiro suposed there could be worse people to say that he looked like than Gackt Camui. He put his other hand to his head and sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"Ittai!" he groaned. "Brother never shuts up about it! Though I think he looks like Haido. I'm sure you know him if you know Gakuto-san. I think I would look better as him in his Malice Mizer visual kei days, but you know, I am not that talented with make-up," he chuckled, glancing down at the picture, then looking over her shoulder at the CD's interested in what she had. "What bands do you listen to?"

[Orange Diren]

She felt as if her body were one open nerve, she was too hyper and excited for words! This was the only man in the galaxy that knew who she was talking about, let alone mention how they liked Malice Mizer! She wantedto jump for joy, spin in a circle, give this guy a huge hug just for understanding who she was talking about.

Orange walked over to her tool box feeling a bit nervous for no apparent reason, well she was nervous that if she was caught chatting about her musical interests she'd probably get a lecture from hell. But she didn't care! This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to talk about her favorite music.

"Uh, all sorts! I mainly listen to Malice Mizer, Gackt..." She turned and glanced over her shoulder and pointed. "And how dare you say ouch, Gackt is very attractive!" She wanted to kick herself in the leg for saying that for she was implying what she first thought about Jiro Lawson.

"I love, LOVE, L'Arc~en~Ciel, and yeah your brother does look like Hyde. Oh! Miyavi! I loved Miyavi, but you can't hardly find much on him these days. Oh I dunno, I listen to whatever I can find. Which around here is pretty sparse." Seh looked at Jiro and smiled, she was overstepping her boundaries and not paying attention to the other two who were present. She bit her lower lip tasting the familiar bitter oil that was on her lip, tugging at her lip ring that was blended well with the black oil on her face.

"What is it you three are needing with your ship? I could honestly talk all day about JRock, or Japan in general, I sometimes feel it rules me life outside of the job."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro had honestly been enjoying the conversation. There was literally no one else in the galaxy who was into the oldies he and Jiro enjoyed. And he was happy to see that Jiro had a friend in the collecting area. But he also knew that Orange had a job and none of them wanted to stay there long. Taro walked up, putting a hand around Jiro's waist and smiling down at him, nodding back to the ship.

"Nazeka Jiro-kun, iku tame ni engine no kagi wo akeru shitagatte Orenji ha yoi ikken wo eru koto ga dekiru," he said. Jiro looked at him, smiling and turning, walking back towards the ship bouncing slightly in his step to a tune that must have been playing in his head. Taro smiled at the boy's back then turned back to the girl.

"We didn't want to have to stay here long, so, I hope we can get this fixed," he said, smiling at her as he put his hands behind his head. "Our engines have been giving us trouble since we took off. We've been having to shut them down and float aong until they cool down and we can start them again. She's an old girl, so it might just be age, but Jiro was speculating that it was a blown cooler fuse. If you can give her a look and touch up...what's your price?" Taro asked, and for some reason he felt uncomfortably like he was soliciting a prostitute having to say it that way. He chuckled a little bit at his thought and licked his lips. "I mean, what do we pay you for the tune up?"

[Orange Diren]

Orange smiled and chuckled lightly and glanced at the floor after his words escaped his mouth, it normally would have given her a bad feeling for a past incident that couldeasily tie those words to her memory, but she knew what he meant. She glanced up at him and shrugged her shoulder.

"Depends on how long it takes to fix it, which won't be long." People thought she was too cocky for her own good, but she couldn't help it she knew she was good at what she did. She sighed and walked over towards him, smiling gently as she glanced in between him and the woman.

"I promise I won't break your wallet, my rate usually is 30 credits an hour, but trust me you won't have to pay over 60 simply because I don't have three hours to spare."

[Taro Lawson]

Taro nodded, smiling down at her. Actually, the first time he'd really had to smile down at anyone. Most people towered over him. He turned and walked towards the ship, his brother already inside.

"Good. Come on, I'll take you to the engine room," Taro said. He jumped up the ramp into the ship, leading Orange and Jesimae down the hall to the lifts, boarding one and feeling it go down. As far down into the bely of the ship as it could.

When the doors opened, a wave of loud crashing sounds and the smell of oil and metal. Even with the ship shut down and the engines inactive, the ship still kept the climate control going and the lifts running. Taro stepped out from the rather cool lift into the hot steamy engine room, sighing immediately at the heat, and reaching into his back pocket, pulling out a hair tie and pulling his hair into a messy pontytail. He turned left beginning down the cat walk and looking about for his brother.

"Jiro-chan!" Taro shouted, smiling, knowing his brother hated it when he called him that. He heard a faint clanking sound from across the way and looked over. Jiro was lying on the edge of the catwalk, leaned over it and woking on something o ntop of one of the engines. He was looking over at them.

"Baka!" he called cheerfully, then waved them over. "Come on over, Orenji! The problem engine is this one!"

[Orange Diren]

Orange smiled and walked past the woman and the brother, she was too happy to hear Jiro's voice, especially when he called her Orenji. She saw him lying on his stomach, pointing to the engine that had the problem. She sat down beside of him and glanced at the object, enjoying how she could slightly smell Jiro as she leaned to her right to glance at the engine, immediately seeing the problem.

"When was the last time you happened to put oil in your engine?" It was a simple problem that could be seen by a small dial on the side of the engine, it could cause many minor problems but if they had to cool things off... Orange slid underneat the railing and slid in between two engines, glancing around to find where their fan belt was located.

She eyes the large piece of heavy metal and grease, the stench appeasing her senses, how she loved being able to taste the metallic oil when she breathed in. She scanned the area and saw something on the engine catch her eye. She stepped close and saw it was a pulley, she smiled and glanced around on the floor and saw a few pieces of bruned leather lying motionless.

"Fan belt is broken!" She walked around the engine to glare up at the catwalk seeing Jiro glancing down at her. "I say a new belt, an oil change and you all are ready to head home!" She hated to say that for the first time in her life she was actually relating to one human being, he was cute, he was Japanese, and obviously knew Malice Mizer and that meant a lot to her. It was a pity how quick she liked someone.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro smiled wide looking down at her as she looked up at him. He had know it had something to do with the cooling fuse. He looked up at his brother across the way.

"Watashi ha tadashikatta!" he called and his brother nodded, waving at him and smiling.

"Hai, hai," he said laughing. Jiro scowled then swung down in between the engines with Orange crouching down at picking up the poor beaten peices of the cooler fan belt. He stood back up and looked at Orange. "Well, this one's a goner. As for our oil...I dunno. We had a friend taking care of it back on Coruscant for a long time. So, I don't when it was last changed. We got out of there pretty quick so we didn't have time to do much of anything for this poor girl."

Jiro shrugged, grabbing the catwalk ledge again and pulling himself up sitting on the edge and looking back down at Orange.

"And Brother doesn't give me half the credit I should be getting for taking care of his ship," Jiro laughed again, standing up. "Love him too much to hate him for it though. I'll go get you tools, just sit tight."

[Orange Diren]

Orange grinned as she watched him look down at her and tell her to sit tight. She wanted to just hide her face for she was finding everything he did too cute. She knew her face was red and it was probably glowing through the grease that was still stuck on her face. She loved to hear him talk, especially in Japanese, then again she liked Jiro far normally than she should have.

She watched him walk away and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of nervousness and lean against the engine. She suddenly looked down at her outfit filthy coveralls and a stained tank top, how appealing she must have looked to him. She wanted to kick herself again for thinking that, this guy was needing his engine fixed and all she seemed to have in mind was how adorable he was, how much she loved his scent, his voice, the way he called her Orenji.

Orange rolled her eyes and stood up knowing that this was a job like any other one, these people were wanting her help and she was going to get paid for doing so...and by the time they headed back to that lovely planet she was yearning to go to...they wouldn't even remember her name.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro yawned wide as he walked down the catwalk towards the storage room on this level. He was wondering about Orange wonering about what her life had been like, wondering what had driven her here to this place to fix ships. She was far too pretty not to have someone for her. He wondered if she had a boyfriend.

Jiro bit his tongue immediately to punish himself for that thought. What a moron she must have thought he was! Why would she be interested in a Japanese, obsessive compulsive, far-too-attached-to-his-brother, loud mouth? It was a combination most girls found repulsive. Which was why he had been dumped by them so much. Come to think of it he hadn't had a relationship last longer than a couple of weeks besides...Jiro bit his lip, thinking. Ren. Ren Willcox. That's it, Ren. The boy he had been cell mates with in Jail, though he figured what they had hardly qualified as a relationship.

Shaking his head to get the thoughts from them, Jiro pressed his hand to the pressure plate next to the supplies door and went inside rummaging about until he found thier box of tools, smiling down at it. It was dirty and was covered in sentances in Japanese where he and his brother had gotten bored and written on it on particularly long trips when they would hang out down here. He culd probably find thier graffiti everywhere.

Turning and going back out, Jiro shut the door behind him and jogged back down the cat walk to where Orange was waiting down below him. He smiled, laying back down on his stomach and dropping the tool box in front of her.

"Ignore the stuff written on it. Brother and I would get bored and come down here to talk and, you know. We used to write on it sometimes before we went back up. We a little bit strange that way. Is everything in there you need? Do you need me to get more stuff?"

[Orange Diren]

Orange tried her best to keep her mind occupied and on the task they were paying her for, not to stand there and daydream about what a looker Jiro was. She turned and glanced at the engine noticing its age. Most people had upgraded a long time ago to the latest technology and models that required less maintenance and were a lot less bulkier and loud, but if she were to choose between that one and the newest engines she’d have to say the Lawson brothers had one of the best models.

She wasn’t into much high tech equipment simply because technology seemed to be a pain in the rear rather than a convenience, plus it was more work for her to do when she worked on such engines. Today people were being replaced left and right by other machines to fix machines. Of course if those machines broke they’d get another machine to fix the machine. It was one big chaotic, tiring, confusing and stupid circle and one couldn’t bestow their full trust in a machine when it came down to it, after all many problems could occur with mechanical robots and they could literally end up screwing people more so than hired work.

Orange admired the brothers for sticking with the older engines, despite their size and noisiness, they sure did get the job done. The larger the engine the more powerful it was, less technology to short out, and with regular check-ups and a good cleaning they lasted for centuries. She smiled as she touched the warm metal, she had too much attachment to objects of such mechanical and electrical difficulty, but that was why she chose the job she worked at professionally.

Orange heard footsteps closing in and she stepped towards the catwalk a few feet above her, she saw Jiro come into view and she hated to admit it, but she felt a little tug in her stomach. She watched him lay down then drop the box below and smile at her. God, if she weren’t professional she’d literally swoon at such a sight.

"Ignore the stuff written on it. Brother and I would get bored and come down here to talk and, you know. We used to write on it sometimes before we went back up. We a little bit strange that way. Is everything in there you need? Do you need me to get more stuff?" Orange bent down and scanned through the box and grabbing three tools as she shook her head.

“I am set.” She glanced up at him and smiled, perhaps too bright for her liking. In over thirteen years she had not once felt so self conscious than she did at that exact moment. She was so filthy, probably smelled like engine grease, oil, hell even body odor. She knew she must not have been that appealing to anyone, but with all the men she worked with she hardly thought looking good on the job was worth the effort, but when it came to people like the Lawson brothers...she had never wanted to be more feminine in her life.

Orange’s thinking went way off track from fixing a fan belt to her appearance, then to what Jiro must’ve thought of her. Orange suddenly hated being a mechanic, hated being dirty, hated being manly. Jiro probably thought she was this big butch lesbian who was trying her best to be as manly as possible. What better way to be more like a man than working a mans job, getting filthy, and working amongst nothing but men. She realized she was thinking about something that had no relevance to repairing their engine, but it was the way a woman’s mind worked, too quickly and too in-depth.

“All I need to do is reattach the belt, luckily you guys have one!” She pulled out a wrapped fan belt, many would just let the ship port workers get one and charge them out the wazoo, but she liked how they were prepared. She stood up holding the tools in her right hand while she glanced at the belt in her other. “This won’t take me ten minutes.” Orange looked up at him and slit her eyes. “I am going to go and get a few things from my post.” She sat the objects down beside the engine and walked over to the catwalk and grabbed the metal rails and pulled herself up, again her own actions bothering her beyond reason.

Short as she was she had the power to reach places much higher and pull herself up without a bit of help, why was she not liking the fact she was a hard worker and didn’t need any help? She smiled as she watched Jiro stand up, he looked so atsui, as they said in Japanese, in just a wifebeater that was snug on his body and allowed her to see his lean form. She turned away and walked towards the lift knowing she was going to goof and let Jiro see how much she liked him.

Jiro stood to her right in the lift as they made their way up a level where they both walked out into the ship port to hear the familiar sounds of hard workers. She jogged towards her station and walked over to a red metal cabinet where she quickly unlocked her pad lock and pulled open the door to grab a bucket of oil. She closed it with her foot and walked over to the cardboard box and grabbed her small CD player and jogged back to the ship where Jiro had stayed, watching her walk and move quickly to conserve time.

Before she knew it she was back in the engine room, looking up at Jiro and holding her hands up towards him as he lowered the oil to her by its handle. She grabbed the side of the black sealed bucket that looked as if she were handling paint instead of engine oil. She heard Jiro ask her if she had a good grip on it and she nodded, but the second she was sure of herself she felt her fingers slip slightly touching Jiro’s hand. She didn’t apologize let alone acknowledge the fact she had touched him at all, even though she was going nuts in her mind. She sat it down and smiled at him.

“Arigatou.” She said in his native tongue, a bit too proud of herself for saying ‘thank you’ in their own language. It was habit gone awry, it no longer felt proper to say ‘thank you’, ‘arigatou’ was the only way Orange felt she could say it to anyone.

She felt stupid when she finally had a moment to think about it so she quickly grabbed her player and glanced over her left shoulder to see Jiro leaning on the railing smiling at her.

“I can’t do a good job without Malice Mizer. I think I am gonna play ‘Thinking Under Moon’, hopefully you won’t mind.” She winked at him and pushed play with her dirty index finger.

The music filled the engine room perfectly, the sound echoing off the walls and back into her ears where she suddenly felt free and able to breathe. She walked behind the engine and quickly grabbed the belt and stretched it onto the pulley and wheel, tightening the two round objects with her two different wrenches. It only took her five minutes to put it on and she walked over to the large bucket and put the tip of her flat head screw driver under the lid and heard it pop open. She sat the lid on the ground and glanced at the slightly syrupy liquid that was amber in colour. She glanced up at Jiro and grinned. She dipped her right hand into the liquid and cupped out a little pool of oil watching it drip off her hand and into the bucket. She stood up and walked over to the belt and smeared it all over the belt, lubricating it so it would move swiftly. She bit her lower lip as she watched it drip off to the ground as she evenly layered it on there. When she felt she had done enough she grabbed the rag out of her pocket and wiped it off.

Orange hated how oil felt on her skin, slimy and warm like a wax glove that would only get off with soap and water. She walked over to the bucket of oil and lifted it up to Jiro who took it slowly, not wanting to spill it. She grabbed the railing and pulled herself up and walked a little to the right where she crawled over the rail and put her left foot on the engine and held out her hands for the bucket. Jiro watched her take it then manage to sit the bucket on top of the rugged and oddly shaped engine, then move away from the rail and crawl onto the engine. She bit her lower lip as she straddled the large object and grab a black knob so she could pour the oil into the engine. She grunted as she tired her best, even grabbing her rag and placing it over the lid trying to turn it after several failed attempts to remove it. Again she tried, but it wouldn’t budge. She let out a sigh and looked at Jiro as she thought for a moment then glanced back at the lid. She scooted back a bit putting her hands behind her back and leaning on her palms so she wouldn’t fall backwards and off the engine. She lifted her left leg up and kicked it with the heel of her boot trying to loosen it she scooted back only to learn that attempt had been in vain. She could have gotten a hammer, but she knew that a greased rag, her foot, and any other tool wouldn’t do, sadly she knew what would. A strong arm. A mans strong arm.

“Jiro-kun?” She glanced up at him and smiled a bit too excited to let Jiro see that, at times, she could be the helpless female, too. “Could you lend me a hand?”

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro had been watching her intently until she turned and spoke to him. He blinked once then twice, wondering why her words were so garbled. Then he realized that he had allowed his mind to think in Japanese. He shook his head, clearing it and switching it back to English. It was then that her words made sense. He smiled, looking back at her.

“Ah, okay,” he grunted. He swung a leg over the railing of the catwalk and planted his boot on the engine. He leaned back on the railing and pulled his other leg over, placing it on the engine as well. He stood straight and stood behind Orange, looking down. The way she was situated on the engine made it almost impossible for him to get around her without knocking her or himself down. He could have slipped past her, but he didn’t really feel like it. He smiled.

“Well…” he said. He leaned forward and planted his hands on her shoulders. “Sorry. I don’t mean to get so personal. If you close your eyes, it’ll be over in a second. “ He leaned down on her and stepped over her shoulder carefully placing his boot on the sliver of engine between her knees. He pulled his other leg up and over her, placing it beside his other foot. His balance was thrown off and he crouched down between her knees to regain it. He crept around the engine plug and plopped down across from Orange. He put his hands together and bowed to her.

“Gomen. I’m sure that’s just the view you wanted to see today. Now…” he said, smiling and looking down, hoping she didn’t see the blush creeping up in his cheeks.

Jiro was certain that that had been the biggest bit of flirting he had done in awhile. It felt odd to have his hormones raging again after what seemed like a long time of just plain not caring. But Orange had somehow made that all go away. His flirting instincts had flared up from his old club hopping days, and he was actually pulling out methods he had used to get people into bed with him.

And he was mentally beating himself up.

Orange was better than that, he knew. Why couldn’t he just treat her like…like Jesimae? Just talk to her and get to know her and let her know him, and not pull out the tricks from his hooker days? What was wrong with just talking?

But a bitter taste exploded into his mouth as he remembered that this was just a one time thing. After they left this place they’d never see Orange Diren again, and that would be that. His hormones would never raise their ugly head again.

Jiro scowled, his day feeling officially soured as he clamped a hand around the engine plug and twisted. For a moment, he felt nothing. Then there was some give, and it twisted off, popping into his hand. He smiled a little, leaning over and balancing it on Orange’s knee.

“She’s all yours, Orenji,” he said winking at her.

“Jiro-kun!” he heard a voice call to him from across the engine room. Jiro twisted around to see his brother standing there, looking at him. Jiro waved.

“Konnichiwa, Kyoudai!” he called, smiling.

“Jiro-kun, hotondo sa reru hito de aru ka watashi ha konpyuuta koshou wo kangaeru,” his brother said, pointing back over his shoulder. Jiro nodded.

“Ee, watashi tachi ha bun inai ni aru. Kyoudai, watashi tachi ha kanojyo wo yatotte mo ii ka. Kanojyo ha jissai ni yoi! Kanojyo ha katachi de watashi tachi no fune wo tamotsu koto ga dekiru,” Jiro said, looking over his shoulder and nodding to Orange. Taro shrugged.

“Watashi ha shira nai. Watashi ha sore nitsuite kangae nakere ba nara nai,” his brother said. Then he leaned around to look at Orange. “If my little boy gets on your nerves, I’ll be happy to take him off your hands.”

Jiro smiled, waving his hand. Taro walked and disappeared around some machinery. Jiro turned back to look at Orange. He shook his head, smiling and lying back on the engine, putting his hands behind his head.

“Yeah, and if he gets on your nerves, I’ll be happy to take him off your hands,” he smiled. “Sorry if Brother is a bit loud. We’ve always been so.” Jiro looked at Orange, then sat up, scratching his stomach under his shirt and laughing.

“Well, anyway. I am going to go get myself some food. Do you want anything while I’m up there? I think we’ve got some Osaka Wine.” He winked. “Not that I’m of legal age to drink it.”

[Orange Diren]

Orange couldn't hear waht he was saying all she could do was sit and stare at him and marvel in her mind how much she would just love to get her hands on him. She was surprised he didn't feel her literally gawking at him the entire time he was unplugging the oil cap, but when she heard him speaking in Japanese...her body temperature rised so high it was a wonder he couldn't feel it.

All of a sudden she finally saw Jiro standing up and scratching his stomach, as she sat below him she could see up his shirt. Again global temperature was bound to rise to new heights.

"No." She said with a frown, almost shocked she had even said a word correctly such a close encounter with Jiro had literally caused her mind to just disappear. "I'm going to be done here in two shakes of a lambs tail." Orange hated to think it, but it was the truth.

She grabbed the bucket and positioned it over the drain and poured it in. Like she had said the moment it oozed out of the bucket she was done and already had the cap on before she could even say she had finished.

Slowly she stood and let out a disgruntled sigh, all she needed was for Taro or Jiro to hand her the cash, sign the receipt, and head home. She smiled and ran her right wrist across her forehead, smearing away some black oil.

"We are done here, my friend." She suddenly felt sad, empty, and like she were crashing from a serious sugar rush. She stepped over towards the railing, her mind someplace else. But when her right foot slipped on some spilled grease one could easily bet she was in tune with her surroundings, especially when she was about to fall off balance.

[Jiro Lawson]

Jiro's instincts acted before his good sense took over. When she slipped, he automatically jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, catching her weight as her blanced tipped backwards. It was then he realized that she probably could have helped herself. He bit his lip, hoping she wouldn't get angry.

He carefully put her back on her feet, laughing slightly as he slipped around her to stand between her and the railing. He looked down at her. His hands had not left thier resting place on her sides, they wouldn't move even though his mind willed them too.

"Need to be careful up here, huh?" he said. He wrinkled his nose slightly as he smiled. He winked down at her, then leaned back on the railing and swung his legs over. They were a curse, being so long. So he felt as if he were swining them forever. But finally, he planted his large boots on the catwalk and stood straight. He turned back to Orange, and nodded over to the lifts.

"My brother said that the computer is malfunctioning, and was wondering if you would take a look at it. Sho always malfunctions. So, I imagine that it won't be that big of a deal," he said, shrugging. He smiled at her again. "Sorry."

[Orange Diren]

Her heart was pounding so quickly in her chest she knew at any given moment it would fly out and land on Jiro. She thought she had been frightened at falling just seconds ago, now she was frightened at having Jiro save her. She felt so hot, she felt sweat beading on the back of her neck and probably all over her body. Jiro...in Orange's book of men he was probably the top rated one even if she didn't sleep with him. Knowing this man was enough and sure enough when he was gone she'd probably obsess over him for a while then find someone new. Hey, there was always Kyzer.

Orange laughed and let out a nervous sigh as she crawled over the railing, at least this new problem gave her a for more minutes with Jiro. She glanced up at him and sat down the empty bucket and grabbed her red rag and wiped her face clean, although it was now no longer black it still had stains, she knew. She bit her lower lip and shrugged her shoulder and looked at Jiro, perhaps a bit too long and too judgemental, God he was hot.

"Sure, I can take a look at it." She smiled her body still reminiscing about Jiro's arms being around her waist. How she would love to feel that one more time before he left.

Orange stuffed the rag into her pocket and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and rubbed her sweaty palms dry on her coveralls. "Show me the way, babe." How she hated old habits.