Of Love and Food

“Really? That would be great information to know!” I’m overjoyed Hayahiko could let me in on a golden nugget of information so quickly. Maybe I can wrap this up today even.

Hayahiko looks around before giving his answer a bit quieter than before. “Yes. I heard she likes to frequent this one jazz café nearby. But it’s closed today.” There goes that plan. Straight to the trash in record time.

“That’s a shame. What’s a jazz café? And why are you whispering? By the way it sounds, wouldn’t it just be like a café that plays jazz music?”

“Oh, gosh. Well, it is what it sounds like. A café with music, but only delinquents frequent those! No self-respecting middle schooler would go there willingly! Especially not a girl.”

“Hm? Is that so? What’s so bad about them?” I guess Keiko is sort of a bad girl after all.

“They’re for adults with too much time on their hands. They are also loud, smoky, and give a bad impression. Kids should be at home studying, after all. The police will even go after you if the owner calls them. But the owner at that one lets students get away with it. That’s why it’s famous at our school and all the delinquents go there quite frequently.”

“Oh, I see how you heard about it then. I think I get the idea.” It’s pretty wild to think that the police will get involved for some students lounging at a café these days. Times have really changed.

“It’s the same for me really. I should have just gone straight home after school. I would never have done something like this before. I bet my mom is going to give me quite the tongue lashing when I get back, haha.”

“Oh no! I’m sorry! I feel bad!” I resist saying you should at least call your mom and tell her why you are going to be late tonight. They don’t have smartphones here. Maybe payphones are a thing yet?

“Don’t worry about it. If you’re here, that means this is just a memory world. So this is something like being in a dream for me. I thought about it today in class and I decided I would try to have some fun with it.” Hayahiko is taking this extraordinarily well for someone that got told they are in a fake world so to speak. If I was told that, I might have gone crazy.

“You might think it’s weird now, but after you become a veteran like myself, I bet you’ll understand. Time is a silly thing. You can’t fight it, so it’s better to just go with the flow.”

From his keychain form, Hota suddenly decided to speak up: “As one that doesn’t really feel time like you humans, I agree. Hayahiko has a good head on his shoulders. That’s why I chose him.” Hayahiko, of course, denies the compliment.

“What about me? Does that mean I have a good head on my shoulders?” I ask while pointing to myself. I want a compliment, too.

“Well, it means you’re good for something, at least.” I grimace. What a burn. Will I ever recover? Probably not.

“I think you are brave, Runa!” Hayahiko looks straight at me with a determined face. I can’t help but blush.

“Y-you really think so?” I stammer.

“Of course. You must have a good heart that wants to help people and real commitment to agree to Hota’s strange contract. I think that’s very valuable. It’s why I knew I could trust you.” My emotions are going on a rollercoaster. I don’t know what to say.

“…thank you.” I put my hand by my cheek reflectively. I hope I’m not making a weird face. I glance over at him when he isn’t looking. I study his profile and the way he walks. He’s not much taller than me but his shoulders are broader. He’s nice to look at. I couldn’t think of much else to say the rest of the way there.

It wasn’t much longer before we reached the place anyway. We eventually get to my apartment building and Hayahiko waves me off. I stand in front of my building watching him for a few seconds before realizing that I probably have no food in the fridge. It’s close to dinner time so food is on my brain. There’s no longer any convenience stores around every corner and I cannot ignore my basic instincts any longer. I must consult my keychain.

“Is there food in my room, Hota?”

“Probably not. There are a few small restaurants around here. It’ll be good to familiarize yourself with the area anyway. Maybe you’ll run into someone with information for your mission.”

“That’s highly unlikely, but I’m glad you’re optimistic.”

Hota leads me down the street further to a small restaurant he knows. He tells me the staff is friendly and the food is cheap. He neglects to mention whether the food is good or not but I guess he wouldn’t know. He doesn’t eat food like humans. Good enough for me I suppose. While walking, Hota tells me that this part of town is on the outskirts of Tokyo. It makes sense now that I think about it. That school did look small even for the time.

The early fall wind blows a chill down my spine. I’m glad for the long skirt. I look at the scenery along the paved road as I walk. There are fewer cars on the road than I’m used to and they seem to drive slower. People jaywalk more often as well. Women only carry their small children on their backs and strollers are nowhere to be seen. A family passes by me and I start to feel a bit homesick. I wonder how much longer I’ll be here until I can see my grandparents again. I wonder if the world I left is frozen or if it’s continuing without me? It’s a bit of a moot point since I’ll arrive back at the same second I left. Best not to think of these things too hard.

I arrive at a small restaurant entrance. It looks like an old place with a beat-up sign. I can smell the food from outside; it’s always a good sign when just walking by a place gets you hungry. Hota meant it when he said small. The doorway is barely taller enough for me and I’m not even fully grown yet. I duck underneath the half curtain and find a seat.

I order a rice bowl dish from the nice waitress. Her eyes are sharp with her hair pulled back in a short ponytail. Her gaze seems to cut right through me. Despite her looks, her voice is really warm and friendly. It seems like it’s just her working the floor taking orders and a man in the back cooking. They work well as a team though; her voice is able to carry throughout the restaurant even with the chatter of the guests. I feel a bit out of place sitting here alone in my school uniform while most of the guests are old men. I shift uncomfortably in my hard seat.

But that doesn’t last long. I forget all of my discomfort when the food arrives. The warm meat is seasoned perfectly and it goes so well with the rice. The portion size is great for the value, too! But I guess I’m not an expert when it comes to money inflation. I’m a little sad I probably can never come back here again unless it has somehow withstood the test of time. The waitress gives me a firm smile when I try to pay.

“This one’s on the house, miss.”

“What? No, I have to pay you for this. It was delicious.” I wave my hands and point to the money I took out of my wallet.

“I refuse. Leave that money on the table when you get up and I’ll shove it down your shirt.” What a threat. She looks like she means it too.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. You’re all alone here late on a school night in your uniform. You must have a rough family life at home.” She’s not really right but I suppose I do have a missing family in this world.

“Besides, you’re about the same age as my little sister. It would keep me up at night.”

I can’t help but relent and put the money back into my wallet. Her face is not taking no for an answer and I can see her arm muscles flex tightly as she crosses her arms. I feel a bit intimidated by her kindness here. I thank her as much as I can. As I leave I can hear her shouting more orders. I turn to mentally thank the lady once more before walking back.

“See? I told you they were friendly there!” Hota says. That is kind of an intense definition of friendly though.

I walk the short distance to my apartment and up the stairs. There are plenty of balconies with their laundry out to dry. Some balconies even have people out smoking and having conversations. Again with the smoking. It’s not very fancy but at least it doesn’t look like it’ll fall apart on me. The door, however, is so hard to open I wonder how long ago anyone has lived here. This was obviously originally a long empty place. I hope it isn’t haunted.

It is small! It is tiny! People live like this? The apartment is only a six tatami room. I could walk to the end in like three steps. It’s practically devoid of anything except a sink and a small cabinet. Luckily, there is at least a bathroom. I release a sigh of relief as I find a futon in the closet.

“So, how do you like 1972, Runa?” I see Hota turned back into his bunny form behind me. I rather missed seeing his adorable fur and green eyes. His whiskers twitch often.

“Well, it’s been pretty exciting, I guess.” I look off into the distance. What even happened today? I was so nervous it went by so fast.

“I’m glad it’s been going well for you. Some people fail the first time really quickly. I think the record is about ten minutes.” Hota says nodding with his paws crossed.

“Jeez, what happened to that person?”

“Accidentally spilled hot tea on a government official back in the 1920s. Admittedly, it was out of his control but it is still really funny remembering that guy’s face. It wasn’t Hayahiko that time, by the way.” Poor fella, but why did Hota bring that guy up? How would he know I was thinking about him? Is it written on my face?

“I’m glad I’ve made it a whole day so far. That reminds me, how long is the time limit here?”

“It’s not very cut and dry but I would say around three days.”

“Only three days? I’ve already spent one day and I feel like I got barely anything done!” I collapse on the tatami flooring. I’m suddenly exhausted.

“I think you’re doing great for your first time. You already found a great lead with that girl, Keiko, and Hayahiko told you where she likes to hang out. Are you going to try going tomorrow? Maybe you can invite him to go with you! I bet that would be fun for him.” Hota seems to be pressing me for some reason. What’s his deal? He’s making fun of me, isn’t he?

“That would be a good idea. I don’t know if he’ll agree to go with me though. He seems like a busy, studious boy. But he did say wanted to try having more fun since this is a memory world.” I hope he agrees.

“I bet he would. Try it out. He’d be very useful company.”

“Ok! Ok! I will! Are you happy? Anyway, tell me more about your powers in taking down Dust Bunnies!” I yell, eager to change topics.

“Hm. What do you want to know specifically? I don’t know if I can explain the physics of it all. That might require you to get a PhD first.” Nobody wants you to go that in depth. I was just going to chalk it up to magic anyway.

“Well like, say I decide one of the boys is a fake. What happens? Do I point at him and you attack or what?”

“When you decide that someone is the fake, you’ll tell me to act now. You’ll know you made the right choice if their eyes start to glow red. I’ll start to glow and imbue you with my powers. Your outfit will change and I’ll change back into my watch form onto your wrist. You’ll feel the power building up and you’ll know what to do from there. The person will change back into a Dust Bunny, they’ll be eradicated, and we’ll get spit out of this world back to your time. Mission accomplished.”

“I hope I’ll know what to do! Wait a second. Glowing, changing outfits, and strange power? That sounds just like a magical girl transformation!”