mark i

[rockstark]

[there's music drifting over the network this morning. loud, upbeat hip hop, to be precise. it's almost drowning out the sound of power tools. after a few minutes of this, a hand reaches into the view of the video feed and grabs a water bottle. Tony dictates idly from somewhere offscreen]

So, I think I'm getting my bearings. Thanks to those of you on the volunteer can opener brigade, that is. I gotta hand it to this place, it's like Mardi Gras with better beads. I flash my shoulder at the natives and they give me free power tools. So, uh, things are coming along. I might almost be able to make a decent pad for myself at this rate, lack of answers aside.

[what he neglects to say is that as soon as he IS settled, he'll he looking for said answers.]

One question, though. What's this I keep hearing about kids?

Comments

[parasolspinning]

[Just a completely normal high school student. Really. Pay no attention to the white hair, it means nothing!]

Oh no! Not story time I don't think I can take it!

[rockstark]

Yeah, no, it's already turning your hair white. Maybe you had enough horrors for one day.

.... Seriously, though, is that natural? You don't look albino.

[parasolspinning]

[That earns a confused blink from Shiro, and he actually stops to tug on a bit of his bangs.]

My hair?

... oh. Yes. It's natural. It's always been like this. And no, I'm not albino.

[rockstark]

Oh. ... Well, that's new. ... Tony Stark, bee-tee-double-you. Nice to meet you.

[parasolspinning]

Eheh... there's... reasons for it. But that's a long and complicated story.

Nice to meet you, Stark-san. I'm Yashiro Isana, but everyone calls me Shiro.

[rockstark]

Well, Shiro, everyone calls me Tony, so just forget about Stark-san. You been here long?

[parasolspinning]

Alright! And not very long, no. You?

[rockstark]

Few days now... From the look of the network archive, I got here at the turn of the year. Not bad timing. Maybe you guys can call it The Year Of The Stark.

[parasolspinning]

Yes, I noticed that.

[Which wasn't much of a jump for Shiro - it had only been the second week of December back home.]

Aha... I'm not so sure about that. They seem to enjoy their fish themed things.

[rockstark]

Hmm. Then I'll just have to get a fish named after me in time for next year.

[parasolspinning]

Well there are a lot of fish in the sea, relatively speaking.