Three years later.
At least Maiko had waited until the flight attendants were finished with their choreographed dance-like instructions on how to use the inflatable life vests and oxygen masks that would drop down from the ceiling in case of an emergency before she started in. Haruka had been hoping they'd at least be in the air before Maiko launched into another tirade.
"You're such a stereotype."
This old argument resurfacing, Haruka thought. "I am not."
"Yes you are. Look at you! Boil down every cultural stereotype about Japan, and it distills down to you. Shall we go down the list? Train with a Katana? Check. Karate? Check. How many Kimono did you pack? Three?"
"Two," Haruka tried interjecting, but Maiko just continued on her rhetorical listing.
"You sit in seiza style when you watch TV, you..."
"What about you?" Haru finally broke in, "You're more of a stereotypical Japanese girl than I am."
"No way!"
"Oh, really? I seem to recall you coming to sword class for three months. Why? Oh, that's right, because you fell in love with that Hakuoki manga. All through junior high your dream was to be in one of those idol pop girl bands, like AKB47."
"Forty-eight!" Maiko interjected, but Haruka kept going.
"How many anime characters do you cosplay? You're wearing a Hello Kitty T-shirt right now! You're so... girly!"
"You could stand to be a bit more girly!" Maiko retorted. "Maybe you'd have a boyfriend if you were less serious!"
"I don't have time for a boyfriend!" Haru grumbled, and for the most part she felt it was true. Between med school, work, and her continuing martial arts lessons, she didn't feel she had much time left over for a social life. It wasn't like she'd never had a boyfriend before, but her sister, despite being two years younger, had always been far ahead of her when it came to relationships. Then again, looking at the amount of drama Maiko so often went through, Haruka didn't always consider her own comparative lack dating history a bad thing.
"Maybe you would if you spent a little less time living in the past. What's the point of studying swordplay anymore? It's not like you can even pretend it's for self-defense. Sure, you're prepared if someone attacks you with a rolled up tatami mat and you have your sword on you! What does it really do for you?"
"You mean aside from this flight that we're on? This whole trip to Europe, where I'm a Cultural Ambassador to the European Iaido and Kendo Tournament?" In the past several years, there had been a surging interest in Japanese culture in parts of Europe, starting in France with an interest in anime and manga, that had branched out and spread to other regions, all the while growing beyond pop culture interest and into historical and cultural aspects as well.
Further conversation on the topic stalled as the airplane started lifting off, and Maiko eagerly turned toward the window, watching as Tokyo grew smaller beneath them and marveling at how, shrinking as it seemed to be, it still stretched on as far as the eye could see. When she finally turned back from the window, Haruka had her headphones in and was already watching a movie on the small screen built into the seat in front of her.
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