MAGO - Stardust Crusaders X OC

Chapter Fourteen: Thursday, December 15

The night passed fast. The group was due to arrive at Varanasi the next day, and the journey went fast for Sana. Mostly because she had a seat next to Noriaki, and the pair had talked until they'd fallen asleep. And then, in the morning, there was the odd bit of conversation, but the pair were quite content to look out of the window and exchange little tidbits.

The only reason Sana had gotten this seat was because Polnareff wanted to sit nearer to Nena. Sana already knew what he was thinking, but to be honest, she was grateful anyway. Still, Polnareff didn't stop at just sitting next to Nena and having normal conversations with her, like Sana did with Noriaki. Instead, he was trying to give her dating advice, or something like that, and she was entirely unresponsive.

"Listen up. I don't usually get on a soapbox like this, but stupid people are just that," Polnareff said. "You could repeat something a million times over and they still won't listen. You know the type, don't you? There's just no helping the poor souls. But, you know, uh- hold on, I never got your name, did I?"

"Nena," Nena said. Of course. Polnareff hadn't been around when she'd introduced herself. In true Polnareff fashion, he was in the bathroom at the time.

"Nena, that's a great name," Polnareff said. Sana smiled to herself. "Daughter of a wealthy family in the sacred city of Varanasi that we're passing through, right?"

There was a pause, presumably, where Nena was supposed to respond, but she didn't. Polnareff kept talking. "You're good-looking and you've got a good head on your shoulders. I've got an eye for people. Which leads me to my point."

Of course he was going about it like this. His methods of flirting were never the same, not quite. Generally, it involved compliments, but for the most part, it was just a random guess - and he still hadn't found the right formula. Sana felt a little bad for him.

"Hol Horse is a terrible lying bastard, got it?" Polnareff asked. "He was manipulating you! Think how your parents would feel."

Nena didn't respond.

"Do you hear me? You can't end up like this!" Polnareff said. "I know it's easy when you're in love, but you can't afford to see the world with such a narrow view!"

That was true. It was solid advice, in this instance. Hol Horse was an entertaining character, but mostly in a bad way. Sana agreed with Polnareff about that. Nena should most definitely not have been dating him, but...

"Take a step back and look at the whole picture!" Polnareff said. Sana grinned to herself, and bit her lip to suppress a laugh. Noriaki noticed, and leaned in.

"But it's fine when he does it," Noriaki whispered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Sana smiled.

"You're being mean," Sana murmured, still smiling so he knew it wasn't serious. "It's good advice. He's right about Hol Horse. Most likely, I'd tell her the same kind of thing."

"Ah, but we both know that his motives aren't as sound as his words," Noriaki said. Sana looked at him, and had to stifle a laugh. He had her there.

Polnareff was still talking to Nena, and Sana was grateful for that, because then she could laugh quietly without him noticing. She felt a little bad, but something about the way Noriaki had said it- Sana was such an idiot, and she knew it. Still, it was funny.

"Hey. We're almost there," Noriaki said, as the shuttle bus crossed a bridge.

Sana leaned past Noriaki and looked out of the window. They were crossing a huge river, with people in boats and candles on the water. There were vast steps up to a marketplace, and there was so much going on that Sana didn't even know where to look. People leading cattle through the street. People attending a funeral, or something that resembled one. People bathing in the river. So many stalls. And the architecture. Sana didn't even know where to begin with that. It was lovely, like nothing she'd ever seen before.