| Void part 2

“What happened, Mister? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Haha. Another joke of yours? Seems like someone had a failed dream of a comedian.”

“Except I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to be funny. If it’s proof you need. I mean, as long as it’s not too bothersome I guess?” he playfully twirled his glass cup before emptying it.

“.…”

“Yeah, I really needed that.”

“Leah??”

“Wait. Is the thought of you lusting over a boy really getting to you? I won’t worry about that if I were you. I’m pretty cute, don’t you think?” he winked.

“Don’t screw with me!!!”

“Oh, he can speak now.” he turned to the bartender.

“Who sent you?? Was it my wife?? I know she’s capable of pulling off something like this.”

“It seems like your son got his intellect from your wife. Of course, everything I said earlier was a lie. You left your tag in your breast pocket and even an idiot could see it if they went close enough, despite the lights. That one’s on you.”

“Now listen here. I paid good money for you. You best believe I will be fully compensated.”

“Whatever. Take that up with the boss. The private room you met him in should be open.”

“Glass house, my foot. You’re a fraud.”

“Hey, hey. Hold on. I still want to talk to you.”

“You’re crazy.” he sneered as he walked away. Only to be stopped by the sheer frustration he felt.

“Trust me, you won’t regret it.”

“You think you can do as you please? If you keep this up, I’ll ruin you.”

“Hah? See, threats are either bullets or duds. You can tell when someone is the real deal and you my friend are not.” he waved his hand, urging the frustrated geezer to come over.

“What do you want?” he begrudgingly slid a cigarette out the pack and lit it up.

“Don’t let me ruin your night. I’ve taken a keen interest in you, that’s all. I want to know more about you. If you make a scene, who knows what would happen? If we do get banned, I mean I don’t really care. I’m not trying to save face either. The ball is in your court.”

“You think threatening me would work??”

“Well, you’re as soft as pudding but then again, this is a new side of you, Mister. I think the ladies would prefer this persona over the plain old you that only attracts them with his pockets. What do you think?”

He watched as his veins surfaced from his arms. He was not taking any of this lightly. Rightfully so, but in response, the young man was calm and collected.

“You’re terrifying…” he uttered a sigh of defeat.

“And you’re just a pushover.”

“.….”

“Come on, just sit.” he smiled as the voice of the hostess who the man was enchanted by a few seconds ago rang out.

“ I don’t bite.”

He reluctantly sat with his arms crossed. His disappointment was visible. There was a dim white light that surfaced in the middle of their conversation. A patterned vibration followed and the man pulled out his smart-phone that had been buzzing, hesitating to pick it up.

In the club, cell phones were not banned but were also not encouraged unless absolutely necessary…Why??? Probably because it ruined the bubbling mood.

“Seems like you also love breaking the rules, Mister.”

“Shut it.”

“It’s fine, though. I break the rules too. So, let’s see. Why do you cheat in the first place?”

“Are you stupid??”

“....”

As their eyes met once again, it turned into a battle of attrition.

*sigh*

“It’s my wife. She sucks the life out of me. Always nagging and pointing out every single thing I do or say wrong. Do you know how it is living with such a woman?”

“Hmm. Can’t say I do.”

Much to the bartender’s surprise, he was summoned yet again by him, gesturing for another round.

“I might be high up the ladder, somewhere most people can never get to in their lifetimes. But at the end of the day, as long as there’s someone at the very top, you’re still a worm.” with each word he uttered, the glass was at risk of shattering. Subconsciously, he kept tapping the half empty glass repeatedly. All the young man could do was watch.

“You’re just a worm with a bigger paycheck. I have shitty days as well and when I come home, guess who welcomes me back? That’s right, the love of my life that makes me feel even shittier. If I returned the favour, the whole house would be a war zone.”

“Sounds rough.”

“I don’t know what happened but it was after we had our son. He doesn’t even talk to me. It feels like I’m isolated in my own home and then, I’m led to believe I’m the villain?”

“So annoying wife and anti-social son, right?”

“Talking to you is just as suffocating. You’re lucky I’m intoxicated.”

“You on the other hand should be lucky to be my test subject. You might be just another irresponsible adult at a night club but hey, at least this conversation happened. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect or anything. Just a curious adult talking to another curious adult, so let’s not make a fuss.”

At this point, the man could no longer light up in response to every provocation. His stupidity dawning on him proved to be the perfect sedative.

“Plus work.. At the end of the day I am just relieving all the pent up stress. That’s all. You can’t blame me. I’m only human.”

“Nope, I can. Mister, even I can spot the problem here. How well do you communicate with your wife?”

“What does that have to do with what I---”

“Just answer, you old fart.”

“..I try to but I get shut down pretty quickly. It’s funny how she’s my wife but she’s the tyrant. A tyrant without any power. Also overprotective and doesn’t trust a single word I say. She’s been like that from the start.” he finally snuck in a chuckle.

“Can you blame her?”

“She started this whole mess we’re in. No way you’re shifting the blame on me.”

“Has there been any time when pointing the finger has led to a positive conclusion?”

“.….”

“Exactly. I hate picturing myself as the opposite sex but if I were your wife, even I won’t trust you. You seem like a pretty unreliable guy. Your words are even shaky, like you are purposely trying to stray from the truth.”

“What makes you think you can sit there and talk to me like you know shit?? You haven’t even experienced adulthood yet.”

“.…And as for your son. Have you ever thought that maybe..Just maybe, he’s actually scared of you??”

“Scared of me? Of all people?”

“If you truly believe you’ve been put in a situation where you can’t say anything other than a compliment without it blowing over, how about you don’t? I mean, good cop bad cop scenarios are not limited to questioning.”

“So, you’re saying I should leave all that to his mother. That will also cause problems in it’s own way. It’s rather complicated.” the young man shook his head with his eyes glued to the man’s hands. They softened, nearly trembling even.

“Mister, you have a lot of work to do with your family. All I have to say is….. Here is not the right place to start. If you need someone to talk to, your wife should be the first person you think of and not some random women at a club. If you can’t keep a stable marriage then get a divorce already.”

“No shit. Fucking brat. If everything was that straightforward then life would be easier for a lot of people. Your clueless self thinks he can give life lessons to adults with that condescending attitude like you’re above it all. You know nothing about this world and you sure don’t know anything about what it means to be a responsible adult. You’re fucking clueless, brat!!”

*ahem*

“.…….Well, that’s all the advice I can give. Stay strong, old geezer. No harm no foul. I trust you also won’t be saying anything, right?” He turned to the bartender who looked down and resumed his elegant drink shaking.

“I didn’t hear a single thing, Miss Leah.”

“That’s great. As of today…”

He waved and walked out with his coat cleanly folded on his arms. His mission was a success.

“There’s no one named Leah.”

He got to the exit and passed through the alley, covering himself in his dark coat and suddenly……Suddenly the wind felt absent, his heels that clattered with each bold step became quiet and he found himself levitating. With a slight push, he found himself, moments after, in the sky laughing hysterically.

He spread his arms wide like wings and went higher and higher. He was testing his limits and in a way provoking the forces of nature that bound him to the earth. His expression contained the bold words “Am I above the law of gravity?!”.

Quite cheeky but not really….His eyes saw Tokyo in its entirety. From that height he saw lights, ant sized people and weirdly shaped buildings. It fueled a question in his mind. If the moon suddenly stopped glowing, will they need to worry at all with the amount of light at every corner??

He finally got to his apartment and smoothly passed through the glass window that he always left open at night. The narrow entrance from the window didn’t allow for any stealthy movements.

Nevermind that, the room was lit up but he didn’t seem to care either. He probably left it on before leaving. He dropped on his bed with all his weight and laughed even harder as the bed made weird noises. His rose coloured eyes sparkled as he cackled until his insides were hurting.

“That was weird…but fun. I’m never doing it again though.”

“That idiot. I’ll definitely get him back for….”

She stopped by his door and was baffled by the sight in front of her. His red lipstick was wiped off but not completely, his heels were dangling from his legs, if not for the laces that held his legs in place, they would have been gone.

His silk dress and gold necklace were still in place. However, his wig already came off.

They stared at each other for some time, wondering how they were in front of each other. The next hurdle was what to say. Surely, that wasn’t too difficult?

“Umm did I drink too much?”

“Yua-san?”

“That voice…. You sound like Zirou. You even look like him. Doppelganger??”

“Hold up, Yua-san. It’s me, Zirou.”

“Eh?”

“Uhh.. I can explain..” he held both his hands up in surrender.

“It’s fine, I think... Cross-dressing urges are allowed.”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Either way, you’ve got a lot of nerve making me wait here for two hours and here you are in a dress, looking like a queen of the night.”

“I called you here?”

“Yes. For the rent…” she crossed her arms.

“Oh…”

“You don’t remember?”

“I mean, why would I call you here just to pay rent? Can’t I always send it to you?”

“I should be asking you!!!”

“L-Let me check my phone..”

“So you dragged me here for nothing?!?!?”

“Hehe………. my bad??”

“I see.”

“It’s fine?”

“OF COURSE NOT!!!!”

Her slippers landed right on his forehead, pushing him back to his bed. How could he calm his steaming landlady?

“Don’t go to sleep, damn it.” she grabbed him by the collar, ignoring the padding that flew out.

“Ouch.. Anyway, I have the money with me.”

“Does that have anything to do with why you’re dressed like that?”

“Maybe?”

“Gross...” she dropped him….

“Hey, that hurt.. Besides, when a man has three months of rent unpaid, he has to do some pretty messed up stuff. Am I right?”

“It’s your fault for not getting a regular job.”

“Ugh.”

“Fine. Let’s talk about it while we drink.”

“Oh no you don’t. You’re already drunk.”

“Come on, I don’t easily get drunk, and you have already taken alcohol so what’s the big deal?”

“You’re quite reckless, you know that?”

“I’ll take it as a compliment.”

Little time passed and by then, they were already laughing together with beer cans in their hands.

“So let me get this straight. What you’re telling me is you have a client that gave you a job involving her husband so you had to confirm her suspicions by catching him in the act?”

“That’s pretty much the summary.”

“Of all the methods, you chose dressing up as a girl??”

“Hold on. I’m not done explaining!!!”

“You dummy. There’s nothing to explain.”

“With context, it makes more sense. You just keep focusing on that part.”

“Like I’ve said, I don’t condemn cross dressing so it’s fine.”

“Ahh, this is a pain.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. This is the life of adults. Hang in there.”

“I thought you were going to lecture me about how illegal this is.” he uttered a deep sigh as he still had half a can of beer left. The apartment was fairly small but at least it was spacious enough for two people to have an enjoyable meal without feeling clustered.

“I’ve given up on you.” she sighed.

“Liar. By the way, he said I was a special hostess or something along those lines. I mean,I was just being sarcastic most of the time.” he chuckled while turning his attention to the lady who was half asleep.

“He doesn’t know quality service even if it hit him in the face. Those rich pricks.” he rolled his can to the tip of her feet.

“But is it that hard to tell that you’re a guy or is it just me?”

“Can’t say I blame them. No matter the gender, I’m pretty desirable, right? Besides, you make it sound like I’m muscular or something.”

“With your menacing--”

“Seductive.”

“Menacing face..”

“Booo.”

The unfazed woman was more bothered by her empty can.

“You’re probably the most sketchy tenant I’ve had so far.”

“But you love spending time with that same sketchy tenant, huh?”

“Hey, what’s with that look?? I know what you’re up to.”

“Me?”

“You’re teasing me again…”

“By the way, I’m done with these clothes. I’m sure you’ll be able to use them.”

“Uhhh..”

“Don’t you want to look more feminine? I love your natural look but you would look three times better with some make-up. Enough with the tom-boy get up.”

He took a quick glance at the dark haired woman who dressed in regular jeans and her typical long sleeves. For some reason, she folded it back anytime she had stuff to do.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

She stared at the mirror, with two instant flashes that ran across her mind.

The first was the dress and how good it would look on her. After all, it made even him look like a beauty. The second was the cost of maintaining such a life style if it was indeed a perfect fit.

“I bet you’re overthinking things again. Calm down, this is free and you don’t have to buy another. Looking good in this dress is more than enough.”

“This doesn’t mean I’m reducing your rent, though.” her smile faded instantly when money was involved.

“You’re almost as funny as me. Let me take it off right now.”

“Wait wait wait.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Why the hell are you changing in front of me??”

“Heh..”

“I’ve told you many times. I won’t be teased by a teenage boy.”

“You say that way too much. I’ll soon be turning twenty. I’m technically an adult.”

She clenched her fists tightly as she approached the door while he held in his laughter. She was his landlady and he was her insufferable tenant but their relationship was similar to that of siblings.

They say blood is thicker than water but in this case, the love he received from her was second to none. She was his best friend, his sister and maybe even his mother figure. The details were not important, all he knew was that he cared for her deeply and she felt the same way.

It had only been two years since this relationship started but those two years were quite special and even irreplaceable to him.

“You’re overreacting, Yua-san.”

“It’s just…”

“Easy there.. I get it.. You’re about to have a nose bleed.”

“Fine. I’ll come get the dress later, happy?”

“That’s fine by me. Goodnight.”

“Yeah, goodnight.”

Another deep sigh slithered out of his mouth as he returned to his bed that seemed extra appealing today. This was his chance to get some decent rest without any interruption. He sprung on his bed once more, ready to close his eyes when his ringtone got in the way.

“Who’s that???? Mrs Haruto…Huh… Perfect timing.”

After a few seconds of mental stimulation, he finally got up and picked up the call. Days like these usually left him with a very short temper and perverse behaviour but he still had to get through his last client for the day in a peaceful manner.

Of course, this was a major cause for concern but he was confident of pulling it off fairly easily.

“Hello, Mrs Haruto. I’m surprised that you called.. Huh? No, it’s because it’s so late. I was expecting a call in the morning… Isn’t your husband home? Hmm, right. Why am I being so formal? Haha, don’t think much of it. Anyway, about what you asked me, I have some news for you.”

His pursed lips braced for impact; with a frown, he abruptly poured out his harmless yet deceitful observation.. It felt like the sweet, considerate lie of a mother to a young and ignorant child. No malicious intent behind it, the opposite in fact. The truth, however, is that a lie will always be a lie no matter how harmless or harmful it really is.

“No, I didn’t see him. Your information must have been wrong….Yeah, I think you were worrying over nothing. Maybe the poor guy just goes to the bar with his boss or something. You know how imposing they can be. Yeah, I appreciate that, but there’s something else…”

He was already one foot in, there was no need to back off at this point.

“You see, I think we should stop seeing each other. No, you didn’t do…Wait, perhaps you did. You cheated on him and that’s quite terrible. I’m grateful for all you’ve done for me.”

‘Is this really the right move’ he questioned as his words sunk deeper in.

“You were one of my very first customers and the best I’ve had but then I think you should work on your relationship instead of looking for someone replaceable like me, don’t you think??? You’ll get through it..”

His half assed smile said it all. What a load of garbage he was spewing. His words held no weight, even he could see that but they kept coming.

“Despite what I said earlier, I would be able to make an exception only if you are ‘renting a friend’. I would even give a fifty percent discount just for you.. Haa, right, I know. I’m just as shitty. Yeah….Thanks for everything.”

*beep*

He turned his phone off and once more, laid himself on his bed with a little bit of discomfort in his chest.

“I did the right thing. After all, what he did with those women was the same thing she did with me. If it takes a single lie to save their marriage, then I should be the one to do it. I hope those two idiots use this chance wisely. Jeez, what’s wrong with all these couples? If you plan on cheating, then just get a divorce already.”

He shrugged off the unease in his chest and closed his eyes until…….

*grrrr*

His stomach growled loudly; he jumped out of bed in frustration.

“What now???”

He ran to his refrigerator, hoping for a meal, half eaten or not. He was hoping for a miracle but came across a desert instead. Only a bottle of water was in sight, and some half full mayonnaise in a jar.

“I’m freaking screwed.”

He ran through his clothes and picked a combination of all black. A black cap with a black jacket, black trousers and of course black shoes. He never forgot his nose mask. It felt like the standard celebrity disguise but it served a different purpose. He opened his window and made sure the coast was clear before jumping out. In less than a second, he was already above the rooftop of the building.

It was a race against time, his stomach growled even more fiercely after each passing second.

“Damn it, I ate a few hours ago so what the hell is going on?”

Luckily for him, there was a convenience store close by which brought the race to a close. He casually walked in, his eyes sparkled as he saw an eat-in area. A bunch of chairs and tables around to put that comfort setting to the max.

“Thank you so much. You’re a life saver.” he nearly grabbed her hands in excitement.

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Oh, sorry about that. I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”

“No problem at all, Sir.”

“Good.”

After a couple of minutes, his growling stomach had gone quiet; he finally tamed the beast. He walked towards the exit with his plastic bag, filled with about every flavour of cup noodles you could find. Food wise, he was a man of diversity but when his finances put him in a tight spot then he would choose survival first but this was a way smaller form of diversity, at least in terms of flavour.

He stepped out of the store and walked to the back where the absence of light made it the perfect spot to take off but then he hesitated. After all, he didn’t know if his plastic bag would be affected.

“I’ll just take it easy in the air.”

His eyes went dull and he spent the rest of the night thinking of how he was going to gain an advantage against his business rivals. Every step ahead of the other could be crucial so thought had to be given to every detail. He had a rather eccentric job but it was also fun and paid well. He was part of a “rent a friend” service that could be accessible by anyone.

The only problem was that with any service oriented job with a rapidly expanding target audience, the demand increased tenfold, and so did the competition. Things were never this hard since he began but now all he needed were some fresh ideas that would blow his competition away to get things moving smoothly.

He constantly rubbed his head as he approached multiple dead ends with every idea that spawned from his head. He kept that up till he got to the bridge close to his apartment. In front of him was a sight that pushed the thoughts in his head back to the shadows.

“What the hell?”

There was a man dressed in corporate wear, his jacket was no where to be found and all that was left were the stains all over his body.

He fell over multiple times before reaching the bridge so that explained everything. However, his behaviour was still a mystery. He ran like someone being chased but there was no one behind him. Did he go insane? Was the office work a bit too overwhelming??

He only watched as this man got to the middle of the bridge and stood at the very edge. That wasn’t all. His aura felt corrupt or better still, had a certain feel to it.

“Ugh. He’s covered in it.”

The man had the scent of a monster, at least that was what he called it. The more appropriate word would be “apparitions”. Japan was full of them and has been for around the past twenty years so this wasn’t his first encounter with something more on the supernatural side.

His rose-coloured eyes lit up in excitement but he scrunched his nose in disgust. Gently placing his bag on the ground, he levitated.

“This feeling.. Even though it has been a while, it seems like I can’t help myself.