Mukanshin

Mukanshin walked up to the restaurant door and proceeded inside. As usual, his appearance attracted a lot of attention. Mukanshin had silvery hair, which by itself isn't odd, but Mukanshin looks no older than 25 years old and his hair reached down to the bottom of his back. He is amongst a rare group of people called albinos. He doesn't completely lack melanin, the pigment causing coloration of the skin, eyes, and hair, but is instead between the level of the most extreme albinos and ordinary humans. Mukanshin is also quite tall, approaching 7 feet, with a large muscular build. He wears baggy clothes to try to disguise his features, but they can only go so far.

The waitress greets him and leads him across the building to a booth near the corner. "Are you ready to order?"

"I believe so," he replied. "I'll have the large t-bone steak cooked rare. However, I don't want any of the sides, only meat. And I'll just have water for the drink." Mukanshin rarely eats anything other than meats. Since he was born, he has always had a carnivorous diet, especially for undercooked meat. His well-defined canine teeth match his appetite for flesh.

"Alrighty. I'll be back in a moment with your water." The waitress walked off into the employee area. Momentarily she returned with a glass of water. "There you go." She sat the filled glass on the table in front of Mukanshin. Mukanshin nodded in appreciation as she walks off again.

Mukanshin glanced around to get another glimpse of his surroundings. The other people in the restaurant had mostly quit staring. One young lady, however, was still staring at him as if perplexed by his odd features. He aimed his vision at her and narrowed his eyes to show his displeasure with her impoliteness. It seemed to work. She returned her gaze to her female companion across from her and muttered a few words. Mukanshin didn't really care if she was talking about him, as long as she wasn't staring. However, the girl then stood up and walked towards Mukanshin. She was dressed in somewhat casual clothing: normal jeans and a loose t-shirt. Her hair was fairly long and black and pulled back into a pony-tail.

"How did you get your hair to be that color?" she inquisited at Mukanshin, who was frustrated that she was disturbing his peace.

"I didn't," he responded. "It's naturally this color. Now if you'll..."

She interrupted him. "Your hair is naturally silver?! That's impossible."

Mukanshin narrowed his eyes and grumbled slightly. "You're a rude girl. First, you stare at me. Then you interrupt my peace. Now you're calling me a liar?"

She half smiled. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. Can I sit down for a moment?"

Mukanshin maintained his disgruntled expression. "Good idea. Why don't you go back and sit with your friend?" He noticed a discontented look grow on the girl's face. He took in a deep breathe and let it back out. "Sorry... I don't have very good social skills. Please have a seat. I could use some interesting conversation."

The girl reluctantly sat in the bench seat across from Mukanshin. "What's your name?"

He replied with his name.

"Moo what? That's a strange name."

Mukanshin smiled with humor. "Mu-kan-shin. My mother must've had a likeness for Japanese."

She smiled back. "Can I just call you moo?"

His face became disgruntled again. "No."

She shook her head. "You sure can't take a joke, can you, Mu... ka... shin?"

Mukanshin scratched his head and sighed slightly. "I guess that's close enough. What's your name?"

She stated with a sudden energy, "I'm Erica."

Mukanshin maintained a straight face while he tried to antagonize her. "Hmm... Can I just call you Er?"

Erica laughed out loud. "Sure, but you'll be the one people laught at when you yell it across a room."

Mukanshin chuckled. "Perhaps you're right. I guess I'll just stick with Erica."

Erica's friend got up from her table and walked to where Erica and Mukanshin sat. "I'm going to go, ok Erica?"

Erica replied, "Ok, Jes. But first I'd like you to meet Mukashin. And Mukashin, meet Jessica, my friend."

Jessica smiled and bowed her head. "Mukanshin? That's a very interesting name."

He grinned slightly. "You're not the first to call it interesting, but I believe you are the first to pronounce it right on the first try." Erica appeared a bit irritated that Jessica said it with such ease.

Jessica concluded, "Well I'll be off now. I'll call you later Erica."

The two said their farewells to Jessica just as Mukanshin's steak was arriving. Mukanshin again nodded at the waitress just before she walked off again. Erica glanced at the undercooked steak and winced. "I think they forgot to cook it."

Mukanshin shook his head. "I ordered it rare."

Erica's face contorted with disgust. The disgust only grew as he started cutting off pieces of the steak and eating them. She decided to change the subject. "So why is your hair gray at such an early age?"

Mukanshin responded between bites. "I have albinism."

Erica exclaimed, "Of course! But wait, don't albinos have red eyes and really pale skin? Your skin is kind of pale, but not really."

He munched on his mouthful for a moment before replying. "I have what you might call partial albinism so my skin is only somewhat darker than usual and I'm wearing colored contact lenses." Mukanshin was getting irritated talking about his condition, but tried to remain polite.

Erica smiled at him. "Well I think you're kinda sexy."

Mukanshin sighed and stared down at his partly eaten steak. "You don't have to lie to spare my feelings. I've grown used to people staring at me like I'm a freak."

Erica narrowed her eyes. "Are you calling me a liar?" Mukanshin stopped chewing for a moment and stared thoughtfully at the area of the table between the two before she continued. "You do look unusual but it's in a good way. Has no one told you before?"

He looked back up at her face. "I was homeschooled and haven't really talked to other people much. Do you really think I'm attractive?"

She grew frustrated. "If you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe someone else. Excuse me girls," she called out to another couple of ladies sitting at a nearby table.

"What are you doing?!" Mukanshin's eyes widened in surprise and he interjected. "Don't..."

The two ladies were looking back at Mukanshin and Erica. Erica continued, "Do you think this guy with me looks attractive?"

One of them quickly responded, "He looks unusual, but definately hot." The other thought for a moment, then shyly nodded.

Erica looked back at Mukanshin, smirked, and noted, "Now do you believe me?" He angrily got up and started walking away. "Where are you going?"

Mukanshin walked to the cashier, paid for his dinner plus a tip for the waitress, and promptly walked outside. He stood on the sidewalk just away from the doors pondering what had just happened.

In a few minutes, Erica walked outside and stopped next to him. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd be offended."

He looked back at her with glistening eyes and a smile. "Thank you."

She asked confusedly, "For what?"

He replied, "For making me feel like a normal person."