Back Then

After leaving The Store, I remembered a day not too long ago, where the three of us — Ren, Junpei and I — spent some time together.

It was one of the rare days they actually got me out of my room to have some real fun. Usually, I regret any time spent away from my work. I often dreaded every moment leading up to it.

But that day was, to say the least, an exception.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I had put on anything potentially considered ‘stylish’. Yet the other two convinced me to wear something extravagant. Well, in my case. To other people in my class, what I wore wasn’t even the bare minimum of what fashion supposedly required of someone my age. Unless you think a slightly baggy shirt, regular shorts, and trainers worth forty dollars is extravagant.

Regardless, I made sure to walk behind Ren and Junpei so people wouldn’t notice me on our way to the Bowling Alley. Their constant blabbering also helped camouflage me, as anyone who walked past had their eyes glued to them because of their obnoxious shouting — or ‘loud voices’ as they liked to call it.

Though they were being far too loud, they both talked over each other so much that I couldn’t quite decipher the topic of their conversation. They had to be disagreeing with each other, but that was obvious.

While their bickering felt as though it was never going to end, I felt at ease and enjoyed being in their presence — even if I wasn’t really getting involved.

At one moment, they both frantically turned to me, both expressing the same look of angry desperation. They spoke over each other again. “So, Taro. Who do you agree with?”

I kept my composure and pretended I could understand what they had been talking about. I stood as though I were thinking, but in reality I was analysing their faces, seeing who I thought looked more deserving of my support.

Junpei, as usual, looked a little cuter and more innocent, so I didn’t hesitate to pick his side. I also wanted to see how amusing Ren’s reaction to my response would be. It was definitely worth it.

Yet it didn’t seem to stop them. Their squabbling ensued, and so did the weird looks we got from people who were also walking around the town.

If you walked past us, your immediate thought would certainly be that Ren and Junpei couldn’t stand each other. That they fought with one another at every chance they got. It would be a very reasonable presumption, but you couldn’t be more wrong.

They clearly enjoyed bouncing off each other and were comfortable with doing it for a long period of time. Hard feelings never seemed to exist between them.

Even once we got to the Bowling Alley, it continued.

I wish I could’ve reduced myself to such levels of carelessness, but I thought I’d look silly doing it. I’d probably have embarrassed myself in front of everyone, and ruined Ren and Junpei’s flow.

It didn’t appear to distract Ren while we were bowling, however. He left both Junpei and me far in the dust. Thinking about it, I can’t really remember if Junpei beat me or not. I promise that my mind has blurred somewhat from that moment of the day.

Subconsciously, my body was telling me to call it a day. That I needed to retreat back to my room. Yet Ren and Junpei said they were only getting started. So I ignored my body for once, and stayed with them.

I usually ate all of my meals in my room, so I was clearly unaware of Ren and Junpei’s monstrous appetites. They ploughed through several plates of fast-food in minutes, burping without covering their mouths and stroking their puffed bellies.

I know I refuse to eat at the dinner table, but at least I’m aware of basic manners. Their actions didn’t annoy me, though. I actually found them quite funny, giggling harder the more they did it. I couldn’t say the people around us were too pleased.

What was most surprising was Junpei’s behaviour on our way home. Despite eating twice as much as what seemed to be the daily food intake of a horse, he pleaded to Ren to buy him packets of sweets.

“Please, Ren. Gaming together is nowhere near as fun when we don’t have sweets to munch on. I know you want them too.”

Junpei’s pleading was clearly unnecessary. Ren gave me a funny look and shrugged his shoulders, quickly looking back at Junpei confused. “I know. That’s why we’re walking to the sweet shop before we go home. You’re making it seem like I don’t always say yes when you ask.”

I once again faded into the background as Ren’s comment somehow reignited their bickering. It was intriguing watching them interact. Tiring to say the least, but an unforgettable experience nevertheless.

Upon returning home, I looked to the ceiling and huffed. I was tired — completely worn out. I needed some sleep. After all, it was getting late. I had to make sure I woke up at seven in the morning, just like every other day.

As I closed the door to my room, I heard Ren and Junpei yell my name just before it closed. I almost didn’t stop the door, but I felt it would be rude if I had.

“What do you think you’re doing, Taro? The day isn’t over yet. We’ve still got some gaming to do,” Junpei gleefully said as he wrapped his arm around me and lightly began dragging me out of my room.

“I’m not so sure, guys. It’s getting late, and I’m tired”.

My weak defensive attempts to get out of their late-night gaming session failed miserably. Usually I’m sharper in honing my skills to find a way around doing these sorts of things. Today, however, for some reason, I couldn’t pull it off.

I did have one trick up my sleeve. But it failed. I was glad it did.

“But don’t we only have two controllers? I can’t play then, right?”

Junpei’s cheesy smile was matched by the way he answered — in a squeaky, mischievous voice that sounded almost rehearsed. “Don’t worry about that. My friend left his controller here the other day by accident, so you can use his”.

We sat down and played the game for hours, ignoring schedules and our bodies that screamed at us to get some rest.

I didn’t feel normal that night. Though I was awfully tired, my body felt quite the opposite. I think it was because, for the first time in a while, I only had one care in the world.

That was to win as many races as possible.

I did manage to win a few races near the beginning of our gaming session. Though, I was almost certain that they were letting me win at first, because afterwards they crushed me every other time. It was a clever trap to keep me invested in the game.

After my score at the top of the leaderboard began to fade, I couldn’t help but continue playing until I caught back up to them.

It never happened, of course, but there wasn’t a moment where I felt like it was impossible.

Either way, losing didn’t bother me that night. I enjoyed the time I spent with my brothers.

From the moment Junpei died, I always wished I had spent more days like that with them.

It’s a shame I only thought that after Junpei was no longer with us.