Monument For a Colossal Event

Handling disappointment well is never easy, especially when stakes are high. A sports person or a collective team of sports people lose more often than they win, which is meant to develop that skill better as they gradually adjust to a regular life.

Akihiro Tani has never played a sport at a high level, the closest thing was rooting for a sumo wrestler that occasionally lost. Because of that, he takes disappointment very poorly, even if it is something completely out of his control like a pizza that he allowed himself to believe was going to be good, having ended up being bad.

At least he can consider himself fortunate that he isn’t dealing with such a devastating tragedy alone, there is a friend at his side here to console him. This particular friend is well equipped with the wherewithal to mitigate crises, having done wonders with a friend group consisting of fellow models that never seem to be short of drama. She’s had to talk through gigs that have gone poorly, wardrobe malfunctions and plenty of breakups, so handling a bad lunch should be extra easy, right?

As a pro in this regard, Ume had the presence of mind to bring him to a spot carved out of the city sprawl that should help. It has been said that surrounding oneself in serenity is a good way to clear your mind, things like birdsong, the light flickering beneath a clear lake or a gentle breeze can do wonders for mental health. Thankfully, the Former Yasuda Garden where they currently are was only a couple blocks away from the restaurant they ate at for lunch.

In this beautiful piece of nature, Tani sits on a boulder at the edge of a small lake and sulks. The paved walkways and bird baths dispersed throughout the well manicured greenery of the garden have seemingly been lost on him this entire time.

With his heavy gaze latched onto the dancing light bouncing off the water in front of him, he slovenly asks, “You think this lake is deep enough to drown myself in?”

“Oh, stop already! It wasn’t even that bad!”

Ume’s brilliant idea to take him to this garden has not worked one bit.

All she can do is stand on guard beside him, ready to thwart whatever reckless action her forlorn friend might take in his fragile state of mind.

“I wonder what that chemical taste in the sauce was? I just can’t wrap my head around how a pizza could pass every positive trait yet fail so spectacularly. You think maybe they accidentally spilled battery acid on it?”

“Tani, it was just a mediocre pizza, it’s not the end of the world!”

“What if it is though?”

Ume clicks her tongue and pulls him up to his feet by his collar. “If it is, then we will make today the best day possible. Let’s get a move on!”

“Where are we going now?” Tani asks while being dragged away from the water.

“We’re gonna go on a walk!” she answers with a frolic.

The two exit the park and onto a main street, to the right is the Ryogoku train station a couple hundred meters away, and to the left is nothing but buildings and more roads, the sight of which prompts Tani to squint his eyes.

“I don’t have time for a walk, there’s a lot of work I need to do at home. Besides, it’s getting pretty dark.”

He heads towards the station but only takes a few steps before stopping in his tracks, he can sense that Ume isn’t following him and turns to check on her. She’s holding the bridge of her cap and pulling it down as if to avoid making direct eye contact with him.

“You really want to leave on such a downer?” she meekly asks, her once sportive demeanor has grown staid.

“There’s no better way to get over it than to do what I normally do.”

He again starts walking toward the station.

She purses her lips and mutters. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Excuse me?”

Taking in a deep determinative breath, she pushes her cap back atop her head and looks up to him. “If I let you go home now, I will have totally screwed up my goal for today.”

Tani scratches his head and sends her a quizzical glare.

“You’ve been sad about something lately, and between my photo shoot and the bad pizza, I’ve done nothing but make it worse so far. Give me one more chance to turn that frown upside down!”

“I’m not sad though, and I’m not frowning!”

“Okay I concede you might not be frowning at this very moment, but you’re definitely sad! Charl noticed the same thing, after our VR night you haven’t been as cheerful as normal.”

Tani’s heart skips a beat. Not only is he surprised to learn that he unintentionally comes across as a cheerful person, he’s even more taken aback by how bad he must be at keeping his feelings hidden from view.

It’s a rung on his ladder that he thought he has long since passed. If even Ume and Charl have noticed that he’s been feeling down about his run in with Viktor and Elisabet, he has no doubt that the keen eye of Anita has noticed the same. Whether he is exhausted or stressed, nothing has ever gotten past her; so his current emotional state might as well have been broadcasted over the loudspeakers at school.

He hides his face with his hand to shield himself from the biting wind of that potential outcome.

Just how far has he fallen from where he thought he was?

For Ume, his reaction confirms her belief that there is something pulling his spirit down, and this serves as motivation. A radiant smile brightens her face as she smoothly leans her back against a telephone pole. Moving gracefully, she uses her thumb to point towards the nearby Tokyo Skytree peaking over the horizon of buildings behind her.

“How about we walk to the Skytree so I can buy you an ice cream?”

She is beaming…

And Tani isn’t blind enough for that light not to reach his eyes.

She is trying to cheer him up despite him doing nothing to deserve it. He may have a schedule to keep, he may have strict rules set for himself that he dare not vary from, he may even try his best to be the opposite type of person to her… But he is still human, and still very malleable.

It was just a couple weeks ago that he told Ume he would take responsibility for time lost with her, and this is the good excuse he needs to justify staying away from the work waiting for him at home.

He does the math in his head and calculates that another hour or so would be taken off of tonight’s sleep if he chooses to go. Pondering on the choice between a little bit of sleep or accepting her offer, ice cream takes its spot atop the podium.

“That doesn’t sound too bad…”

“Yay!”

Tani hides a smile while pulling out his phone, “Alright, let’s get some directions.”

Ume blocks his hand from the screen in one swift motion. “How about we turn our cell phones off for the rest of the night? Let’s do this the old fashioned way and find our way there on our own.”

Tani looks up at the Skytree; it’s one of the five tallest buildings in the entire world and he’s sure they can find their way there without the aid of GPS, but he still wants to resist her suggestion.

“Doesn’t seem very efficient.”

“What good is efficiency when on an adventure? Let’s have fun and enjoy seeing some new things!”

The hidden smile now hijacks his lips, this turn of events has triggered the nostalgia button within his heart and he is called to embrace it.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

Ume does an excited little twirl and points towards their destination, “That’s more like it! The hero's journey begins!”

-------------------------------

Chagrin jabs at them after a long thirty minutes into their walk has passed. They don’t seem to be any closer to the Skytree, it looks the same as it was when they started their journey. This could mean one of two things; they’ve gotten turned around and are walking in relative circles, or the Tree itself is actually much further away than they originally thought.

Seeming so big and so close, it is a common mistake that people make when calculating depth perception. Not knowing that they've fallen headfirst into a tourist's folly, they can’t help but feel like they’ve gotten themselves lost somehow.

“Tani, this journey has become much more perilous than I thought it’d be!”

“This is why I said we should’ve used our phone maps, it’s getting really dark out and I have no clue if we’re going the right way!”

Ume shrugs away his complaint and says, “That is part of the fun though, it might even get easier to find in the dark once the Tree is all lit up and flashy.”

She makes a valid point, but the thought of traversing narrow alleyways and city streets yanks out a groan from Tani’s chest.

It won’t be much longer now until the sun completely sets, the street lights have already replaced the sun’s role of casting shadows off of parked cars and telephone wires. Tani has never been one to venture into the city too late after dark, being a homebody really limits his nightlife. In fact, the last time he can remember traversing the streets of Tokyo at night was when he bribed Wakanda-sensei into bringing him a new club member.

Ume seems to be very comfortable in the ever darkening streets they walk side by side on. The passing lights of cars illuminating them in occasional intervals doesn’t even do enough to catch her attention, nor does the noise and hectic nature of rush hour Tokyo.

She’s like a natural, even more, it’s like she thrives here. She moves with more confidence than earlier, her steps towards an uncertain direction float along in a feathery caper, the wind of which catches Tani in its gale.

He can’t help but wonder how and when she became this way. Back when they used to hangout as kids, she spent most of her time inside playing video games or watching old samurai movies, only occasionally heading out to buy a manga or support an anime premier. The two really have gone down opposite paths these last three plus years, both of them having lived entirely different lives and interacted with entirely different people who have helped shape them into who they are now.

The thought of which both impresses Tani, and inflicts him with a peculiar melancholy.

Turning away from a busy road and down a quieter street, the two reach a fork between two buildings with alleyways heading in the general direction of the Skytree. Although blocked from view, the bright beaming lights of the Tree brighten the sky above the buildings.

They are at an impasse.

Either choice could be correct or incorrect.

“Let’s go to the right.”----“Left is best!”

They both speak simultaneously.

They stop and stare at each other, reluctant to choose the other’s path.

“Uwa!” Ume swoons back in mock surprise. “The Hero’s dilemma!”

“Enough with the hero stuff will you?? Let’s just flip a coin, heads we go my way, tails we go yours?”

“Okay!”

Tani pulls a 100 yen coin from his pocket and flicks it up, catching it in his left hand and slapping it down on his right, he removes his hand to reveal the result.

Tails.

Ume puts her hands on her hips and strikes a pose, sending Tani a steely glare in the process before saying, “Never stray from the Way.”

“Now you’re throwing out Musashi quotes? Get your fantasies in order!”

“Hehehe” Ume celebrates her little victory and guides him into the alley with her.

It’s a lot darker where they walk now, this three meter wide space is hidden from the luminosity of the main streets and Skytree brightening the sky above them. The only pale things along their path now are the flood lights atop some distant residential buildings, and the occasional soft orange light escaping from the rooms of the people living there.

Looking straight ahead with a heightened focus, what surrounds them almost feels surreal. Ume is reminded of an old MMORPG she used to play, and explores what she’s seeing with a childlike wonder befitting of those pleasant memories. Tani is reminded that he’s one misstep away from twisting an ankle and being out of commission for a while, and cautiously moves with that in mind.

Because of this, he’s getting left behind.

“Hey slow down will you?” he implores.

Ume turns to him and walks backwards as she replies, “Has Akihiro Tani forgotten that he needs to get home to do work? Why are you so slow now?”

He wasn’t expecting her to tease him. “Don’t pretend to care about my schedule.”

“I only care for ice cream! We’ll be getting there tomorrow at the rate you’re going.”

“Fine, fine.” Tani speeds up to reach her.

Ume gives him a cheeky smile and pats his back upon catching up to her. “You’d make a good sidekick ya know?”

“And who are you supposed to be? Comedic relief characters don’t have sidekicks.”

“Oh, you think I’m funny?”

“Have you seen me laugh yet? That makes you a bad comedic relief character, maybe you'd be the one that always dies first in a horror film.”

“That’s harsh! I used to make you laugh a lot back in the day, I think you’re the one who lost his sense of humor.”

“Ha!” Tani puffs and pushes his glasses up the brim of his nose. “I’ll have you know, I have simply chosen not to laugh at poorly thought out jokes as a social crutch unless I absolutely have to. Some would even say I have mastered the art of a sense of humor.”

Ume glares at him as though he were a pitiful creature. “I dunno about that…”

“If you want to make me laugh, you’ll have to be more creative.”

“Creative, huh? I bet you just need to be reminded of a time before you became a stiff.”

Lost in their conversation, the two hardly notice that they’ve stumbled upon a long rectangular park separating tall housing complexes on both sides. Making their way through the Oyokogawa Water Park entrance, the walkway they’re on is snaking its way gently alongside a flowing rivulet.

Ume explores her surroundings and gestures for Tani to look towards something she sees.

“Oh look, a playground! Let’s check it out?”

With the Skytree in sight and now larger than at any point so far, he knows they’re only minutes away from their destination.

“What happened to your ice cream urgency??”

“We’ve been walking for a while now, a little break can’t hurt. Let’s go!”

Ume darts towards the playground, cascaded by a large banyan tree and illuminated only by a nearby flood light hanging over a parking garage; there are no children around to join her. She seems to relish in the fact that she has the swingset, slide, and jungle gym all to herself.

Tani follows her, but not without exasperation slowing his gait.

“Remember back in primary school when we used to see who could land the furthest jump off the swings? I bet I can still beat you.”

Watching her hop on one of the swings and propelling herself forward and back quickly gaining momentum, Tani replies curtly, “I feel comfortable admitting that you can definitely still beat me, I’m not even getting on that thing, I’m sure as hell not jumping off of it.”

“You used to be the one to challenge me, you’d get so mad when you lost, your little face got all red like a cherry! I can’t believe you’d admit defeat so easily.”

“As long as I’m not losing at something that actually matters, I can handle it. I forfeit the swing jump competition to you from this point to forever.”

“Oh c’mon!” Her swinging back and forth extenuates her voice as she speaks. “It’s just a swing, live a little will you?”

“Living a little and potentially breaking my leg while jumping off a swing are hardly one in the same!”

Ume responds to his protest by launching herself a couple meters off the swing and landing with the deft touch of an olympic gymnast. She sends him a telling glare and strikes a triumphant pose.

Tani views her athletic feat as an act of recklessness, and answers her successful launch with a dejected glare.

Hoping for a different reaction, Ume moves onto the next item in the playground. “How about we try the slide?”

Shifting his attention from the swing, he notices that what she wants to ride next is a long roller slide. Although not particularly high up, it makes up for it with ten meters of length, which in and of itself is fine, but there are no protective barriers on the sides to keep the rider safely within on the second half. Instead the cylinders are canting inwards at an angle, the physics of which keeps the child from falling despite its winding design.

Tani can only see himself falling off of it and hurting himself.

“That’s dangerous too.”

“Tani!” Ume stomps her way to him and grabs his collar. “You are 18 years old and you’re acting like a geezer already. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not!”

Pulling him along, the two make their way up the spiral staircase leading to the platform at the entrance of the slide. Despite Tani’s initial protest, he allows her to guide him without any real fight. Once there, she takes her seat and with a tilt of her neck, looks back to him.

“Would you like to come down with me? I’ll even let you hang onto my back if you’re scared.”

She taps on the area just behind her backside with a devilish wink.

Although obviously teasing him with playful innuendo, he’s more flustered by the thought of her seeing him as a coward too afraid to go alone. Comfortable enough not to compete against her in a dangerous activity, he isn’t comfortable letting her look down on him however.

“No, you go first and I’ll meet you down there.”

“Hehe, off I go then!”

She pushes herself forward and has a merry ride to the bottom. She got there fast, but it was a smooth ride down and not one he should be worried about. That being said, Tani has to harken back to times where something like this was as normal as a day out, when he was a kid he played in playgrounds with all his friends, including Ume. 

Not only that, he played rough, he can remember times where he came home with bruises and scrapes and thought nothing of it. He may be older now, more consciously aware of his health and how those bumps and bruises can affect his ability to do what he wants to do with his current life, but with age comes the ability to realize that simple child's play almost always leads to no injury whatsoever.

“Okay…” He pumps himself up and takes a seat. “I got this!”

Propelling himself forward down the slide, he finds himself moving a lot faster than he anticipated.

“!!”

He passes the part of the slide with the guardrail, and his internal danger-o-meter skyrockets as his speed gathers to a point where he’s certain he’ll fly right off the entire ride.

“How are you going so fast!?” Ume shouts incredulously.

“I can’t slow down!!”

Tani tries to find friction, but instead he accidentally twists his body in a way where the force completely turns him around to face the opposite direction.

“Wuahh!!”

With senses jumbled and eyes facing towards the top of the slide, he has no clue when he’s going to go crashing into the ground.

“I’ll catch you!”

In a flash, he feels himself tumbling, yet every bump against his body is soft, almost like he is rolling along a bed of pillows.

Ume has latched onto him and slowed his momentum so much that their impact with the rubber ground is minimal as they roll together.

Coming to a sudden stop, he finds himself on his back and looking up towards the night sky, but blocking his view is the face of Kimura Ume looking down on him, seeming almost as discombobulated as he is. The two have miraculously avoided injury thanks to Ume’s quick thinking.

However… The two have stumbled onto a dangerous landmine.

Her hat has fallen from her head and her dangling hair tickles at his nose from above him.

Their faces are mere inches from each other. 

Despite being so close, the delicate features of her feminine face are somewhat blurry to him, it's almost like her entire presence is engulfed in fuzzy electricity.

Tani is frozen, and she hasn’t made an effort to move her body off of his, in fact, it seems like her face might even be inching closer.

“Tani…” she says softly.

Her voice accompanied by the warmth of her breath feels like a ray of Summer sunlight on his skin.

The effects of Kimura Ume's next move from this position on top of him will certainly ripple through the rest of their lives.

She knows it even better than he does.

And thus… she acts accordingly…

The ** Date ---- To Be Continued!!