[b][i]Ashton Andrews-Hyuga[/i][/b]

Ashton seemed to be on a roll. Not only did he get apple pie and sweet tea out of this deal, but he had the attention of Daiyu and everyone else. Now to find a way to leverage that into information, friendships, and good impressions in general. And yes, he liked the attention - He had to admit that.

Carefully eating his apple and sweet tea, he observed the etiquette, waiting for the others to talk first… Only for the fast pace and wide variety of individual conversations to catch him off-guard - So many people were talking about so many things! Chelsea did greet him, though, and Ashton courteously replied, this time in English, “Happy to meet you for the first time, Ms. Chelsea. I’m glad that this group can meet in such… Serene surroundings.”

That was true enough. Now to be a mischievous boy and discreetly ogle Seo despite his injuries, as his listening skills were not good enough to allow him to parse what people were talking about. Also, to gush at Takashi’s fashion sense - He wasn’t a fashion enthusiast, but he liked beautiful things, clothing included. 

He breathed in and out as he looked for a chance to socialize, but found himself gravitating towards Chris despite his best efforts to get interested in someone else. And so the first words he blurted out were, “So, Chris Bell, was it? Happy to meet you, my name is Ashton Andrews-Hyuga, Japanese-American Cyber-security specialist - I’m good with computers and drones.” A slight smirk, this time directed at most everyone else, “I even hacked this place once in my attempt to get hired - I thought that if I demonstrated the flaws in their cyber-security, they’d hire me. And they did.”

Then back to Chris alone, “So, what was up with the reported incidents a while ago? I want to know your side of the story.”

And to everyone else, “What do you think of the Administrator - Ochisuta-[i]sama[/i], I mean? I tried to get to his office, but his secretary saw through my attempt to place myself on his schedule and told me to go away. Shows that the Administrator is competent enough to pay attention to the human side of his security, I’d say.”

[i]Why did that topic come out? I sound egotistical now! And I might get in trouble. Oh, well, it’s too late to get out of this hole anyway.[/i]

“And yes, I am… Fascinated with our Administrator. I read his dossier and what info I am qualified for several times now and there are still omissions that point to more stuff I want to know,” Ashton continued musing. “He’s a literal mystery, after all!”

A smile, “And of course, it goes without saying that I am a fan of the current Prime Minister and his policies!”

[@GrizzTheMauler][@Landaus Five-One][@MK2][@silvermist1116]