On the Streets

Ryuji’s stomach howled as a piping hot stack of tempura, karaage, and tonkatsu was set before him. He was moderately impressed by the neatly placed tower of food, resting on a tray of white rice. The staff must have taken pride in artistic food placement, sure to appeal to children and adults alike. The unusually large order somehow held up the entire trip from kitchen to customer.

Giving in to his pangs of hunger, Ryuji cautiously went to pluck a piece of tempura out.

“Jenga!”

The sudden cry from his internal companion caused him to jerk, the whole pile toppling over onto the table. With a sigh, Ryuji plopped the consolation prize into his mouth.

“Wish you’d warn me before chiming in.”

“Ehehe~~ You totally looked in the mood for playing with your food.”

“I just happen to appreciate dedication to one’s craft.”

Ryuji looked over to the mental projection of Grace, keeping his voice low. There were other customers in the restaurant, so the last thing he needed was someone noticing how he was talking to himself.

Despite being only in his head, Ryuji had little control over what she did at any given moment, making it hit home more and more that she was her own person. Yet, he could hardly get annoyed at her after proving how resourceful she was.

Being comatose in the hospital for days meant that he hadn’t eaten anything in just as long. When he turned to Grace to ask of their surroundings, she pulled up a nifty map not unlike a GPS, lighting up various eateries within a short distance. It was certainly convenient as he didn’t have a phone. Fortunately, the Doc had slipped him a Fukuzawa bill along with the note, so he had plenty to cover the tab.

As Ryuji reached over to eat the fallen items from the furthest one inward, a hum escaped from his lips. It took only a single bar for Grace to pick up on it.

“Oo, I know that jingle. Piping hot rice! Freshly made sides! All with a personal touch!~~ Leave lunch to us, of course dinner too!~~ Hokka Hokka, Hokka Hok-KA!~~”

Guh! Having someone jump on my bad habits is going to be such a pain!

Ryuji had to admit that the charm of a catchy restaurant jingle made it hard for him not to go in sometimes. That certainly had been the decisive point for this meal. But having someone belt out the lyrics made him shrink back self-consciously. Not to mention, she was dancing along happily. It was impossible to ignore, and almost just as hard not to smile.

The way that Grace interacted with the surroundings made it feel like she was physically there, despite him being the only one able to see her. It took effort not to get up and counter with some retort, but all he would hit was thin air while others wondered if he was crazy.

Despite that, Grace’s whimsical nature was starting to grow on him. They brought back memories of Ojou back in the day. And there was no way he could ever get mad in that case. He simply smiled and continued eating to the tune of Grace’s singing.

With a full stomach checking off one of his worries, Ryuji stepped back into the streets, the projected map hovering in one corner of his vision. The hospital was not too far from his home of Kakushicho, but the underground tunnel had spit him out at the Gyoen National Gardens, in a different direction than his turf. Still, a thirty-minute walk back home awaited. It was close enough not to bother with a train, but long enough that he needed to be wary of being spotted.

Guarding Grace would be wisest on familiar grounds, with the backing of his Yamaoka Family as well as the Tenjou Clan. The Azumito Alliance was running amok, wielding weapons first and questions later. Once the Doc had truly slipped from its grasp, they would come looking for him next.

“Hmm, a disguise would be useful.” He looked down at the cheap, gaudy suit that gave off the obvious vibe of a thug that would attract more attention to him than needed.

Fortunately, a Don Quijote was around the corner, a convenience store that had just about anything one could want normally. Stepping through the door, a familiar jingle played in the background.

Oh no.

“Don-don-don donki~~~Don Quijote~~~~”

“Knew it. You just couldn’t resist, could you?”

Grace spun around, light on her feet as she bounced around the store like a child. He decided that it was just best to ignore her and continue with his task as she paraded around the store, putting any mascot to shame in sheer enthusiasm. Quickly, he fished out a hoodie, sweatpants, and a pair of sunglasses from the densely-packed shelves.

Ryuji turned around to see Grace had changed from her nurse outfit into something more casual. His eyes lingered on her as it looked like she was still in the middle of deciding in front of a mirror. Looking down, he realized that it was what he had grabbed off the racks.

With a snap of the finger, a light swirled around Grace before the hoodie and sweatpants underwent a tie-dye, adding flair to match her personality. A boombox materialized out of nowhere to complement the look. She was ready to hit the streets. A smile came to Ryuji’s face as he walked over to the register and paid for the items. He ducked into some back alley and quickly changed into the punk attire.

Soon enough, Grace was right next to him, funky attire and glasses to make them twinsies, imitating his movements as well. Ryuji let loose and started rolling with it. He swayed back and forth, following the beat of the imaginary boombox. When Grace moved to follow him in sync, Ryuji threw in some struts, which she had no trouble following. That only made Ryuji dig harder in curiosity.

“We look the part. But can you keep up?”

Ryuji sank down and planted his palm on the ground, twisting his body into a spin. He twirled and kicked up, setting another hand down to transition into a held flip kick. Upside down, his eyes met Grace’s, who giggled as she mirrored his movements.

“I see. Time to get serious.”

Ryuji rolled and flipped and ran mid-air, all skills learned on the streets. He tucked himself into positions that would give some break dancers pause. Being in a color gang wasn’t all about fights on each other’s turf. His time in high school was full of guys just trying to have a bit of fun in between. But to Ryuji, even such skills were a source of inspiration in combat, particularly ones that kept onlookers in surprise with unpredictability.

In a fight where escaping an opponent’s sight became a big advantage, Ryuji found that changing his approach allowed him to slip right under those he fought. A strike out of nowhere would come before they knew what hit them.

But Grace moved as he did. She probably could because of their connected mind. Yet, it was no less amusing for Ryuji to see her follow along like they were a dancing duet.

A sudden pain gripped Ryuji’s side, forcing him to fall out of his spin. Comically, Grace did the same as well. Ryuji pulled up his shirt on one side, noticing that his wrappings were getting redder. He had probably re-opened the wound by getting too into it.

“I should have warned you as a proper nurse does, but you looked like you were having too much fun.”

“Who’s to blame for that?” Ryuji shot back cheekily.

“I thought it was best to synchronize my actions with yours, seeing as Haru- er, Dr. Higashi left me with you. I’ll be much more useful in my predictions.”

“Can’t say that it’s an unwelcome change. As weird as this situation is, it brings back some happy memories.”

“Of what?” Grace tilted her head, eyes beaming with interest.

“Of that time Ojou tried to teach me to dance.”

v

Ryuji hadn’t known anything about it at all, having grown up in a bakery. He saw people on TV throwing themselves around wildly as ‘dancing’, so when Miyabi asked if he wanted to try dancing with her, he had all the wrong ideas.

A sense of awkward disappointment came when he discovered what she meant was a slow, artistic kind of dancing. He could only sum it up in one word right in her face.

“Boring.”

“Is that so? Ballroom dancing is what I was taught. I think it’s pretty fun once you get up to a certain point.”

Ryuji stared as Miyabi moved alone across the wide-open floor, an imaginary partner accompanying her. It didn’t take long before a strange feeling swept over Ryuji. The same expression that she had when playing music shone whenever she turned toward him.

Despite taking not a single step outside of her home, a sense of freedom came from those moments. Before Ryuji knew it, he had moved forward, trying to imitate that feeling, his arms and legs fumbling to copy her moves.

He was someone that learned by imitation, so it didn’t take long before he could follow along, shaking off his hesitation to simply enjoy the moment. And with that, he began to see. It didn’t matter what he thought initially. He could still see the good of it when in a different person’s shoes.

v

“Miyabi-ojou taught me a lot of things, even though she was so much younger than me. I guess she had a completely different perspective on life. Even if she was kept bottled up in some fancy mansion, that didn’t mean she had to hide herself away. She could find ways to shine.”

It felt strange for him to talk about the person right in front of him, even if she didn’t remember who she used to be.

Ryuji kept on break dancing, but with the intensity dialed down. He had wanted to show Miyabi his way of dancing but never got the chance to. Perhaps, he was compensating for it in front of Grace now.

“Compared to the me that didn’t really see the opportunities staring at my face, I felt a bit ashamed in her presence. It made me want to take hold of whatever was before me and just do it. Try it out before complaining. If a kid like her ain’t complaining, then why the hell can’t I suck it up too?”

Ryuji’s path went down a vastly different direction by just trying, even if he made mistakes along the way. If he hadn’t met Miyabi, he wasn’t sure where he’d be at, probably floundering along as some salaryman for some tiny wage. Stable and boring it would have been. Not at all like the unpredictable life he had grown accustomed to.

He especially wouldn’t have met his new companion, who was unlike anything he had ever dreamed about. Ryuji felt like relishing in the moment, but he spotted someone approaching with an ill vibe.

“Hey asshole! Get your drunk, lame ass out of my way!”

Ryuji’s eyes narrowed. It took only one moment for him to know who exactly he was dealing with.

Gaudy, dark outfit with a yellow scarf tied to his arm. Brutish attitude befitting of a greenhorn thug. Ryuji could smell them from a mile away. He slowly rose up and faced the man.

“What’s it to you? Back alley’s free to pass.”

“Guess you don’t know, but see this scarf? This is our turf, old man! Go do your spider crawl somewhere else!”

“Oh? I guess you have no appreciation for dance. Man, times have really changed for the worst.”

Normally, Ryuji would only need to flash his yakuza pin to scare off any member of the colored gangs, but he didn’t exactly have it on him.

“Dance your ass out of my sight before I wipe it all over the ground.”

But what Ryuji did have was his forceful personality.

“My pleasure.”

He dropped down into a chair freeze, making the thug drop his guard in confusion. With that opening, Ryuji turned into a top and kicked his legs out, windmilling the man in one swift motion before sending him flying into a bunch of trash cans.

Before he could even recover from being thrown, Ryuji had already used the momentum to kick up and flip in midair. A heel in full rotation slammed into his chest, hammering the thug into the pavement.

“Ooo, I never thought of using those moves in such a way!” Grace clapped at Ryuji’s finisher.

Ryuji stood frozen for a moment, a mental image of Miyabi trying to take down any attackers with such techniques playing out. He shook his head like it was the worst thing in the world.

“Maybe it was best that I never had the chance to.”

He put his hood back over his head and moved deeper into the alleys before anyone could come poking around at the commotion.