very sporting to keep throwing out paper against an opponent who could only choose between rock and paper.
When my turn finally came, I went with scissors. The bear played rock. I didn’t get a balloon. I had traded a red balloon for my honor. Clenching my six-year-old fist, I watched a balloon bobbing in the proud hand of one of the winners. I didn’t regret the choice I made, but it didn’t make the taste of loss any less bitter.
I don’t think I’ve changed all that much since then.
“Are you listening?”
“What?”
Fumiko held my head between her palms. “You’re so warm.” The faint smell of olive blossoms hung in the air.
I opened my eyes. Fumiko was staring down at me with onyx eyes the same jet-black color as her hair. A smile blossomed on her face. “You say some weird things.”
“Really? I just say what comes into my head.”
“Most people put their thoughts through filter after filter, until they’ve distilled out all the impurities.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re weak.”
“I don’t feel all that strong.”
“But you are.”
A gentle breeze caressed my cheek. It felt good against my burning skin. I could smell her on that breeze. I couldn’t tell whether the air was warm or cool.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“The park near City Hall.”
“How’d we get here?”
“You walked on your own two feet.” She told me I’d fought with those guys for nearly twenty minutes before the attendant she called broke it up.
“What time is it?”
“Nearly one o’clock.”
“Where do you live?”
“Gotanda.”
“Then you better hurry.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll sleep here till morning.”
“I can’t leave you here like this.”
“Maybe not.”
The Tōbu Tōjō line had already stopped running, but if Fumiko hurried, she could still make the last train to Gotanda. I let my eyes flutter closed.
A splash sound FX. Something cold on my right hand.
“It’s raining.” Fumiko must have felt it too.
The skies were clear, but the volume of the plop plop plop sound FX rose, the number of drops on my arms keeping pace.
Of all the times for it to rain. My mouth twisted into a wry smile.
Fumiko’s voice rose above the rain. “We’ll be soaked if we stay here.”
“It’s just a summer rain. It’ll pass.”
“We should go somewhere. I know a place that stays open until morning.”
“I don’t feel like sitting.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We can sleep here,” I offered. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Then we’re not going to do anything?”
“What’s there to do?”
“You know…whatever.”
“Either way.” Not the right answer.
“Try not to care so much.”
“Sorry. I’m just tired,” I said.
“I know, I know. Sorry.”
Another uncomfortable pause. My turn to break it. “Hey, I was wondering. What were you doing in Kabuki-chō tonight?”
“Looking for that cat. You know, the blue one that makes dreams come true.”
The conversation with the bat lady came rushing back to me. You won't have much luck during the day.
Finding an honor student like Fumiko in a place like Kabukichō, after hours no less, didn’t make a helluva lot of sense, but the cat thing explained it. Fumiko Nagihara, a girl who searched the RL streets of Kabuki-chō by night for a blue cat, a girl who could flash a disarming hamburger-shop smile, did, in fact, have some interesting quirks lurking just beneath the surface. I didn’t believe for a second this blue cat actually existed, but something in me envied the fact that she did.
The two RL thugs who’d given me a complimentary twentyminute deep tissue massage were just a couple of ordinary punks. They weren’t world champions. They were nobodies. There would be no pride, no honor, in training through some power ballad montage to take my revenge on the likes of them. Scouring the virtual world to fight the best of the best was much more
When my turn finally came, I went with scissors. The bear played rock. I didn’t get a balloon. I had traded a red balloon for my honor. Clenching my six-year-old fist, I watched a balloon bobbing in the proud hand of one of the winners. I didn’t regret the choice I made, but it didn’t make the taste of loss any less bitter.
I don’t think I’ve changed all that much since then.
“Are you listening?”
“What?”
Fumiko held my head between her palms. “You’re so warm.” The faint smell of olive blossoms hung in the air.
I opened my eyes. Fumiko was staring down at me with onyx eyes the same jet-black color as her hair. A smile blossomed on her face. “You say some weird things.”
“Really? I just say what comes into my head.”
“Most people put their thoughts through filter after filter, until they’ve distilled out all the impurities.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re weak.”
“I don’t feel all that strong.”
“But you are.”
A gentle breeze caressed my cheek. It felt good against my burning skin. I could smell her on that breeze. I couldn’t tell whether the air was warm or cool.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“The park near City Hall.”
“How’d we get here?”
“You walked on your own two feet.” She told me I’d fought with those guys for nearly twenty minutes before the attendant she called broke it up.
“What time is it?”
“Nearly one o’clock.”
“Where do you live?”
“Gotanda.”
“Then you better hurry.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll sleep here till morning.”
“I can’t leave you here like this.”
“Maybe not.”
The Tōbu Tōjō line had already stopped running, but if Fumiko hurried, she could still make the last train to Gotanda. I let my eyes flutter closed.
A splash sound FX. Something cold on my right hand.
“It’s raining.” Fumiko must have felt it too.
The skies were clear, but the volume of the plop plop plop sound FX rose, the number of drops on my arms keeping pace.
Of all the times for it to rain. My mouth twisted into a wry smile.
Fumiko’s voice rose above the rain. “We’ll be soaked if we stay here.”
“It’s just a summer rain. It’ll pass.”
“We should go somewhere. I know a place that stays open until morning.”
“I don’t feel like sitting.”
“Then what should we do?”
“We can sleep here,” I offered. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
There was a long pause before she spoke again. “Then we’re not going to do anything?”
“What’s there to do?”
“You know…whatever.”
“Either way.” Not the right answer.
“Try not to care so much.”
“Sorry. I’m just tired,” I said.
“I know, I know. Sorry.”
Another uncomfortable pause. My turn to break it. “Hey, I was wondering. What were you doing in Kabuki-chō tonight?”
“Looking for that cat. You know, the blue one that makes dreams come true.”
The conversation with the bat lady came rushing back to me. You won't have much luck during the day.
Finding an honor student like Fumiko in a place like Kabukichō, after hours no less, didn’t make a helluva lot of sense, but the cat thing explained it. Fumiko Nagihara, a girl who searched the RL streets of Kabuki-chō by night for a blue cat, a girl who could flash a disarming hamburger-shop smile, did, in fact, have some interesting quirks lurking just beneath the surface. I didn’t believe for a second this blue cat actually existed, but something in me envied the fact that she did.
The two RL thugs who’d given me a complimentary twentyminute deep tissue massage were just a couple of ordinary punks. They weren’t world champions. They were nobodies. There would be no pride, no honor, in training through some power ballad montage to take my revenge on the likes of them. Scouring the virtual world to fight the best of the best was much more
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