Third Person:
"Cheers!", rang from a certain bar in the Kabukicho District followed by a chorus of clinks and splashes of alcohol. A man with spiky black hair slammed his soles on the hard-wood table, clearly inebriated from the jug of Kirin Ichiban beer in his right palm.
"Kibou-Dan is back, baby~" He yelled precariously across the halls, before following it up with a drunken belch.
"Damn it, Kenji! This is why we never go out for alcohol," snapped the bespectacled woman on his right. Megumi's stern, no-nonsense expression hid her inner party animal from within for she knew that she was the only person capable of talking sense into her crazed boyfriend. "Besides, we're celebrating Seiji-Kun's return. At least, try to ease up- Aaaaand, you're already trying to make out with that Daruma statue. Okay, down boy! Down!"
Seiji who was already tipsy after a few swigs of Gekkeikan sake, calmly placed his drink beside him. "Hey guys, it's fine. Work hard, party hard amirite? Just enjoy these drinks and worry about the repercussions hic- afterwards!"
"That's so unlike you. You're always the one who's cautious-" The flustered Marika whose face was now the same shade of pink as her dyed hair, burped, interrupting her concerned speech.
The man in question, glanced at his childhood friend for a brief second before an uncharacteristic lecherous grin emerged out of him. Without warning, he threw his arm around Marika, holding her close to his chest.
She let out a quick "eep" from the sudden gesture of affection as she began to twist nervously in his hold. "H-huh? What's this all a sudden?"
Kenji lips retracted from the statue, twisting into a delighted smile. "Grabbing the relationship by the balls huh? About damn time."
"By the ball- Excuse you!? That's so- Seiji!!!!" Marika screamed, red in the face as she was now being cuddled by her delicious crush. His face rubbed against hers cheek-to-cheek while Marika's pale face turned redder and redder. Such an unexpected move from the romantically obtuse Seiji even caught the serious and quiet Megumi off guard.
Flicking her glasses up awkwardly so that the overhead fan lights won't blur her vision, Megumi softly spoke in her usual cold, analytical tone. "Listen, Seiji. I know you missed Marika- berp Almost been five years since you were forced to leave by your fath- Mr IchiJiku, right? But that doesn't mea-"
Ignoring his bespectacled friend's lectures, Seiji began to droop side to side in glee like the Wacky Waving Inflatable Tube Guy from the various commercials. "Ease up, Mari~ Your frown will taint your beauty," Seiji hiccuped.
"I'm. Not. Frowning!" The frowning, pink-haired girl stuttered. "I just think it's too early for.... c-carnal? Yeah that's the word! Carnal stuff like this you know? A day hasn't even passed yet since we all got back together!"
"Too early? You're fuckin' with me, right? The day he got deported to Harvard, you wailed all night and day like a newborn baby!" Kenji guffawed, slamming down his beer canteen in victory.
"You two were crying too, moron!" Marika stammered, unable to hide her embarrassment and resorting to juvenile accusations.
"Ha! Real men don't cry! Just like how real men don't hide their carnal desires~" With pure machismo, Kenji threw his beefy arm around his girlfriend. Too much machismo in fact, as he slowly and sneakily burrowed his palms into Megumi's-
"And real men don't show off their women by assaulting her in front of young, impressionable people.... BOY."
The happy-go-lucky Kenji's wide grin immediately drooped into his smile a horrified frown as his girlfriend's snake-like eyes burrowed into his dark brown eyes and more importantly, his fragile ego. "A-assault? Baby, we're just flirting~" His excuse fell on deaf ears as Megumi's thin face and ever-so sadistic leer slinked closer and closer until.... Kenji felt a smack peck on his lips.
"Just a little payback for that loving gesture, tehe~" Megumi's "tehe" came out cold as if laced with venomous sadism or venomous flirtation. Possibly both.
Indicated by the cold sweat, Kenji sobered up. "Was Megumi always so sadistic like that?" Seiji pondered, sobering him. He lowered his arm off Marika and his drink in tow. "God, that was intense."
"Meh." Thought the unenthused pink-haired girl, immediately reaching out for Seiji's drink that she mistakenly thought was hers. She casually took a sip from the glass, unknowingly sharing an indirect-kiss from her beloved. "Typical Ken-Gumi behavior if you ask me."
-
After an hour or two of chatter and drunken banter, the Shuten-Doji Art Bar's activities began to die down. A quick call from the bartender was all it took for Koisuru Fortune Cookie by AKB48 to abruptly end, truly signifying the closure of the bar for the day. What followed soon after was a gaggle of toasted customers exiting the premises while others slumped over in the booths, knocked out cold.
Outside the bar stood the bustling nightlife of Shinjuku's Kabukicho District. The various blinding lights emitting from the electronic billboards and traffic lights merged with the shuffling of pedestrians, forming an illusion of uninterrupted peace. An illusion that trapped every local citizen…. apart from one individual. A singular man, clad in a black leather jacket and denim jeans stepped out of a nearby alleyway in frustration.
"Damn it, another dead end." The man cursed in fluent English with an accent that couldn't be replicated by a native Japanese speaker. Gritting his teeth, the Japanese-American man fumbled with his apple-shaped phone.
"Piece of trash can't even track Rakavs like it's engineered to do. Stupid four-eyes." He muttered under his breath, making sure that nobody within ear-distance could hear him. Unable to give up, he mash buttons in a specific sequence similar to a video game input. The square monitor flashed from a camo-green to a scanner that visually analyzed the man's tawny yet clean-shaven face.
Isamu Zakuro. Confirmed. The device beeped, catching the eye of a few bystanders.
"Shut up!" Isamu snapped through his gritted teeth, cupping the device deep in his folded palms in retaliation. "Was Hoshino really incapable of installing a mute-"
Shut up? The device crackled. Initiating witty retort: Look who's talking, you depressed edgelord :)
"I'm not a- Damn it all, I don't have time for this!" Noticing that the locals were starting to stare at him, Isamu slunk back into the alleyway. As he did, he knocked over a trashcan along with a feasting black cat nestled above a plastic bag full of rotting produce.
After getting scratched aggressively, Isamu placed the device near his mouth so that the device and only the device alone could hear him. "Listen up. Begin tracking down any mana signals within the vicinity. It doesn't matter how small, just do it and pinpoint each one of them. And be precise."
The device beeped once more, recognizing its orders. Roger that but first, get your stank lips away from me. I don't swing that way, you gay-wad.
"That shit-eating smarm that Hoshino programmed into you's gonna be the death of me."
And so's your whack-ass fade of a haircut but at least you're able to change that part of you, unlike me :(
Having just about enough, Isamu shoved his sassy apple gadget deep into his coat pocket. Seething, he stormed out the alleyway along with the black cat from earlier which was now clinging to the back of Isamu's coat. "When I get back to base, I'm gonna give that four-eyes a piece of my-"
"Alright, Kenji. You got this. Just let it all out and then take one teensy step- Oh no." A brownish, gravy-like substance was all Isamu could see as a bandana-wearing, drunk projectile vomited all over him.
"Holy mother of-" Isamu's screams of pure disgust radiated throughout the streets and into the art bar, waking up every drunken straggler within. A few seconds later, more sounds of sloshing from multiple alcohol-induced vomit reverberated throughout the building. On cue, a pale-faced and disgruntled Shinji steadily approached Isamu which frightened Isamu.
"I apologize for my friend, he's a-" Only a second into his apology, he too immediately vomited all over Isamu. Marika and Megumi followed soon after, creating a domino of vomit that littered the entrance of the art bar. Thinking that he got isekai'd into a low-budget B-Grade horror movie, Isamu shoved his grandfather's charm out as if it was some type of magical ward against the undead.
"Get away, you foul zombies! You'll never take me ali-" Before he could finish, the bundle of fur clinging onto Isamu's coat began to heave. And then, a stream of bile poured from its mouth, joining in on the drunken afterparty. "You too?!"
Finally regaining his composure, Seiji wiped away the saliva that tricked from his mouth with his sleeve. "I'm really sorry. Here, let me wipe all that off for you," Seiji spoke in near-perfect English.
Reaching into his kangaroo pocket, Seiji pulled out a pink handkerchief with an embroidered image of a lip on it. Courtesy of his beloved mother. "If you think that small parchment is enough to wipe... all this off, then you're sorely mistaken. Just leave me alone." Isamu barked, facepalming in the process.
"Don't say that friend~" Seiji cooed, still drunk out of his mind. "Here, smile smile~"
"Ah, dude! You still got bile on your fingerti- Get off me!" On reflex, Isamu shoved Seiji away and into the cold pavement. He then immediately took out Suntory water bottle and began rinsing out his mouth.
"Hey! That not nice! You a duck!" Kenji snapped in broken English, confusing the aquatic bird with the word dick.
"Waaahhhhhh! No fair! You're supposed to do the smile smile thing to me and me alone!" Marika drunkenly cried in Japanese.
"No worries, Mari~ You're always the go-to when I wanna make people smile." Seiji replied back in the same language while gently patting her silky hair.
"Idiots. Holy shit, I'm surrounded by idiots." Isamu thought, preparing to book it. Before he does, however, Isamu gave the group a warning in the most fluent Japanese speech he could muster. "Just.... Be careful, alright? You don't wanna get caught with your pants down in these trying times."
As he said so, Kenji's loose belt finally gave in. With a quick whoosh of the wind, his pants slinked down, revealing his Ampanman--themed underwear in all its glory.
"....... You know, what. Never mind." With that, Isamu patted himself down and began to make his way to his next destination. As he did so, however, he took a final glance at the merry group of friends. The laughter, flushed joyous faces, camaraderie and even hints of romance. Isamu remembered when he experienced such melancholy. A melancholy…. that he believed would never come back. A delusion, nothing more. Frowning, he glanced back at the fruit-shaped device that was now beeping and showing areas of interest.
"I've got work to do now. If I don't, these smiles might just be these people's last-" His thoughts trailed off as he slapped himself in the face in an attempt to close off any possible anxiety and negative thoughts. Unbeknownst to Isamu, Shinji stared back at the barf-covered man in strange nostalgia.
"Nostalgia? That can't be right. I just met this person and yet..." He glanced back down at his palms which were gripping the fossilized fruit again. Glowing and pulsating, Seiji couldn't help but wonder if this rock was making him feel these emotions. Even after he let it go, Seiji couldn't help that he knew Isamu all too well and that this was far from the last time that he'll see him again.
Seiji:
"Seiji~ Shower's ready now~" Came my childhood friend's soothing voice from the bathroom.
Gee, when was the last time I took a shower? I reeled back in disgust as I breathed in the rank B.O. coming from my armpit. "Y-yeah! I'll be right there! I just need to finish something up!"
"Hurry then, cuz your scent's gonna give dad a bad impression after all these years. You and I both know that we wouldn't want that~" Mari teased.
Whether it was her honeyed words or the remnants of alcohol kicking in my blood, I felt my face heat up. Considering it to be the latter, I took more sips from my insulated canteen. The cold stream of water rushed down my throat and into my body which was in desperate need to hydration. After that whole puke-fest, all four of us chugged down as much water as we could so hopefully…. No. It's better to be safe than sorry.
After downing an entire canteen's worth of water, I opened up my laptop to where I left off in my research. Four tabs of screenshots taken by my phone showed up, each depicting several murals composed of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Or… mostly anyway. Some of the writing lining the walls seemed to be undocumented, peaking my curiosity to no end. Curiosity that was required to uncover the secrets of that fossilized fruit.
Gotta be answers hidden somewhere. There's just gotta. Filled with drive, I enlarged a particular tab that held my interest throughout the past week. In it, contained an illustration of what seemed to be four plots of land that were separated by a giant X. In the middle of that giant X, however, was a fruit. A purple-colored fruit to be precise. That wasn't the only thing that stuck out to me, however. This was the only mural that contained a language that I wasn't familiar with. If only the most important piece of this puzzle was written in hieroglyphics....
"Wow, that's so cool!" A voice behind me uttered. I whipped my head back to see that Mari with her now wet and undyed black hair was happily spying my monitor.
"Thank you! Although, pretty devious of you to spy on someone else's private work." I added with a wink. Ew. Why the hell'd you wink after that, weirdo?
I wanted to give my self the meanest facepalm but I resisted the urge to make myself more of an idiot than I was in this current situation. Sigh. Must still that alcohol from earlier.
I wasn't too sure if it was my stupid wink or the fact that she just came out of the bath but Mari's face seemed more red than I'd ever seen her in my life. Nah, it must be a coincidence.
Crossing her arms, Mari scrunched up her face into what I call her iconic judgmental mother look. Softly she chastised, "Well it must not be very private if you leave that whole screen out in the open like that, Mr Lady-Killer."
Now my face started to heat up again. "Lady- That wasn't my-"
"Relax, Romeo." Mari interrupted, making her way next to me on the couch. She then rested her head delicately on her palms, eyeing me with a mischievous look. "You can't embarrass yourself more than you already did at the bar~"
My face must've turned into a furnace working overtime because sweat began dripping down the side of my temple. What did I do when I was black-out drunk?
"Ease up, Mari~ Your frown will taint your beauty~" She cooed in what seemed like a woman's attempt at a masculine, baritone voice.
"I didn't say that!" ...…. Did I?
As soon as I uttered those words, Mari's playful smile grew bigger like the Cheshire Cat. She then reached for her iPhone, giggling in the process. What she showed me next, horrified me to the bone.
"Is that what I look like drunk?" I heaved as I stared at the recording of my drunk antics.
"Am I rubbing cheek to- Oh christ, I didn't even shave!"
Almost instinctually, I began rubbing my cheeks. To my horror, they were littered with small facial hairs that made up my five o'clock shadow. Oh no, oh dear god!
I felt something soft wrap around my neck. It was Mari's lithe arm which acted like a warm scarf that was trying to protect me from the cold, deadly arctic that was my embarrassment. "Megumi recorded that for us. Isn't that nice?"
That Megumi... why I outta-
"It truly felt like the gang was truly back, you know." She paused, rubbing my shoulders. "Soooooo….. don't be too embarrassed, okay?"
I simply nodded back. Seemingly in an attempt to change the subject, Mari pointed at my monitor again. "What do these words mean, Seiji?"
"That's the thing, I have no idea. This is the only mural that isn't written in hieroglyphics. This one seems like an undiscovered language altogether."
I could just feel the curiosity radiating from her starry-lit eyes. "Oh my gooosh! You could get famous off the discovery like that one archeologist who proved that gryphons existed! I think his name was Yuu-"
"Not for fame, only to find answers regarding a certain... subject." I corrected her as I hid the existence of the fossilized fruit. Its teleporting, mind-warping attributes are too bizarre and unexplainable for another person, especially Mari to know about. Perhaps telling someone about it would plant a curse on them for generations to come or something of that effect. Heck, the purple thing looks straight-up like a curse object out of Jujutsu Kaisen already. Thankfully, she didn't question me further. She simply smiled, clearly intrigued with what I had to say.
Before I could explain what little I've discovered, I heard the apartment door whoosh open. Standing in front of the doorway, an exhausted yet familiar face greeted us.
"Sis, I'm back! DanDanDango's weren't open all day so I couldn't get us any-" She paused, pale-faced as if she saw a ghost in broad daylight. However, her facial expression changed into a scornful glare. "Oh. The traitor returned, I see."
"Mariya!" Her older sister snapped, jumping out of the couch.
"Tch. What? You felt like coming back to rub salt in our wounds with your wealth or something?" Her words struck me like a sharp arrow to my chest. Seems like Riya hasn't forgiven me for leaving.
"How dare you! You of all people should know that Seiji had no say in-"
"Can it!" Mariya barked. "Do you seriously still believe that letter was faked or something? And even if it was, the damage has already been done!"
I forced myself to interject. "Riya, please! I can explain, just-"
"Riya?" The pure vitriol in her words made me pause mid-sentence. Hurt. Those were the exact words that described Mariya's eyes at this very second. It made my heart lurch, thinking that I was the cause of that pain.
"Did you really think that you could come back in our lives, act like my older brother again, and pretend that the past five years didn't-"
"Enough!" Before I could stop Mari, the slapping sound echoed through the room. Sprawled on the ground, Mariya was clutching her reddened cheek. The teary-eyed girl stared at her older sister in disbelief before folding her fists in rage. Realizing what she had done in the spur of the moment, Mari attempted to say something but-
"Are you serious, Marika?" Her younger sister snapped. "Are you seriously gonna let this gold digger live with us, rent-free when mom's still in the hospital and dad's still slaving away?"
What? Now this was news to me.
"R-Riya." Mari stuttered. "You, dad and I have all discussed this earlier in advance. Seiji has done so much for us in the past, it's about time we-"
"Guys, it's fine really." I interrupted, breaking up the trance that I was in. Both of them turned to me, one face full of concern and another full of wrath. Gulping guiltily at Mariya's face in particular , I managed to resume with, "I wasn't planning on staying here for long. Maybe just for one night but now I could see that I'll just be a burden to everyone. You're right, Mariya. Sorry."
"No! You can't, we-"
"You heard him, sis." Mariya snapped. "Just let him go."
With that, Mariya spun around and headed straight up the stairs. Although, I couldn't help but notice her teeth gritting as she did so. She does want me to leave... doesn't she?
"I'm sorry about all this, Seiji. I had no idea that Riya….." Turning around, I noticed that Mari was on her knees, sobbing. Gently, I knelt on one knee and gently patted her on the back.
"Hey, it's fine. Everything will be al-" I froze. Black... particles? I had to be imagining thing because dark, pollen-like orbs were falling out of Mari's hair and onto the wooden floor beneath us. I attempted to swipe them away from her but my hand just passed through them as if they never existed in the first place. And that's when I felt it. Something pointed and coarse was rubbing my right thigh.
It can't be... I dug into my cargo pocket and to my horror, my hand pulled up a familiar purple rock...
"Ex-excuse me for a moment." My crying friend stared up at me in confusion but before she could see what it was holding, I chucked it at my luggage as fast as I could.
"What was that?" She sniffled.
"D-don't worry about it." I stuttered. It's gone. The black pollen-like particles are all gone. What the actual hell is going on...
After a long pause, Mari whispered under her breath, stifling her tears. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here?"
"I- You told me that I could hear with everyone but..... rent-free?"
"Yeah." She sighed. "Sorry I never said it. Knowing you, you would've made a fuss and- well. Me and dad just wanted to repay you."
Hearing those words, I reminisced about the past. After mother passed away, I frequently visited the Momoi's much to my his dismay. This family fed me, entertained me, taught me to be an individual and more importantly, they saw me as family. If anything, I should be replaying them for their kindness. Not the other way around.
"Really? I'm starting to think your sister was right about me being a gold digger cuz that's all I did when we were children."
"You gave me a 3,000,000 yen gold watch for my 10th birthday." She stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Huh. I did do that, didn't I? Quick, Seiji. Think of something that'll prove that the Momoi family aren't in my debt- "You being a part of my life is worth more than any flawless diamond under the sun."
God, what kinda cliche-ass bullcrap am I spewing n- "Why's your face getting red?"
"N-nothing stupid! Why aren't you willing to live with us, huh? T- that's the real q-question here!" Mari spouted in a higher octave than normal.
"I mean, aren't you guys financially struggling right now? Plus according to your sister, your mother's in the hos-" I paused, taking in what I just said. "Your mother's in the hospital?! Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Mari sighed, frowning once more. "You would've rushed back to Japan the second I told you, Mr Busybody." This woman knows me so well.
"Plus, I didn't want you to worry about us and all. I wanted to make sure everything at home was fine so you'll be able to enjoy your return stress-free. But then everything kept getting worse: mom's condition never got better, dad's now working longer hours, and my sister constantly argues with-" She paused as tears streamed down her face.
"I just don't know what to-" I immediately went on my knees, facing Mari eye to eye. The look of utter sadness etched on my dear friend's face.... It made me want to cry. I knew I had to do something. I had to bust out the-
"Smile-smile~" I rested my fingers on the corners of her mouth and then slowly lifted them up. "Everything will be alright. No worries~"
She just blankly stared at me for a few silent seconds until- "Heh. I should've seen that coming."
Taking that as a cue, I gently helped up my now voluntarily-smiling friend onto her feet. Once I did so, she snuck in a sniff at my shoulders before grimacing, "Oof. Instead of smile-smile, why don't you shower-shower?"
"And then I could finally sleep-sleep." I added to the tease.
"Sleep? So does that mean-" Her eyes practically brightened up like a beacon, making my heart skip a beat.
"I'd like to stay here if you guys are still willing." I glanced back at the stairway and for a second, I could've swore I saw a pair of feet poking out from the top. "But only until I'm able to get up on my feet."
"You could stay here longer than that, you know?" She grumbled, puffing up her cheeks and crossing her arms.
"I need to find a job and contribute my share before I could even think about doing that!" I laughed.
"Tch. Always such a busy-body. I told you, it's fine! I work two different jobs, surely I'll be able to support the both of us."
Before I could retort, she pointed her finger at me with a large snapping sound. "You got that, buster? Relax and focus on your studies!"
"Yes ma'am!" I gave her a playful salute which made her giggle in response. And with that, it was off to the showers for me. However, as I began to make my way towards the stairway, I couldn't help but stare at the purple rock which now rested neatly on top of my luggage. It was like the thing was calling to me, aiming to be the center of my attention.
Mr Godai….. just what made you interested in this thing, so much so that you were willing to give up your life? Well, standing here and blocking the stairway weren't going to solve anything. Tomorrow's gonna be another day. Another day which I'm sure will be as eventful as the first.