Stoicism

Two weeks have gone by since that day. A calm, boring, mundane two weeks.

Junepai stood before his bathroom mirror, hands held on either side of the cold sink, the sound of running water and the humming of the lights blending into one stream of white noise. He looked up from the water and into the mirror, staring into his own eyes with a blank expression.

“Why won’t it go away?” He shuddered, splashing water on his face before grabbing a towel and drying himself off.

The sound of shouting caught his attention.

He shut off his light and turned off the sink, stepping out of his bathroom and into the hallway. As he proceeded, the sound of yelling and TV chatter grew louder.

“Yeah! Die! Die!”
He rounded the corner, and sitting on his velvet couch, with her one leg up on his coffee table, was Sylvie.

The living room of his home was spacious and minimally decorated. The floors were polished wood, the plain white walls naked. The couch, the coffee table, and the wide-screen TV were the only things of note in the living room. There were a few flower pots, most of them empty, but they were so dull that anyone could glance over them. The kitchen was just as empty, with your standard items like a refrigerator.

“Jeez, have you moved from that couch a single time since we’ve come here?” He asked, arms crossed.

“I’ve showered, and brushed my teeth, and eaten potato chips.” She spoke plainly, her eyes stuck on the blaring screen before her.

Junepai silently grumbled to himself, examining Sylvie's appearance. She’d been wearing one of the many night gowns she packed herself, her long hair tied into a ponytail, her eyes shimmering gold.

She’s cute. He thought, but man, she looks just like her. He thought of Himeno, then thought of Sylvie. If Himeno took after Sylvie, she would be much cuter. He shook his head and groaned.

What the hell is this feeling? Sylvie is a cute girl, but just thinking that way feels wrong for some reason. Dad, what am I missing? He thought of his mom, shaking his head in dismay. 

“Hey, I’ve gotta get going.” He spoke plainly, heading for the front door.

“Can I regenerate my leg yet?” She looked over to him with a pout.

“Are you gonna ask that every day? It’s like we already told you, you won’t be able to regenerate your leg until the evidence has been fully processed. Just be patient, alright.” He let out a sigh.

“Hmph.” She turned away from him, still pouting.

“I’ll pick up some more potato chips for you on my way back.”

“Oh! I saw a commercial for these bacon-flavored ones. Could you get those?” Her eyes glimmered, and Junepai couldn’t help but smile. He stuffed his feet into his black sneakers, pulling his keys from his jacket pocket.

“If I see them, sure. Make sure you keep quiet while I’m out, and keep the blinds closed.”

“I know.”

He was off not much later.

There were a plethora of other houses surrounding his, a narrow road stretching outward in both directions. A woman checking her mail waved at him with a smile, and he waved back. He took notice of an all black car sitting further down the road, its windows tinted. He pretended not to notice, stuffing both his hands into his pockets.

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He stopped at a small restaurant, peering in through the window, eyes meeting Himeno's. She sat alone at a booth with a small plastic baggie in her hand. He stepped inside, and a woman with a menu in hand greeted him with a wide smile.

“How can I help you today, sir?”

“I’m with the girl over there.” He responded, pointing toward her booth.

“Oh, ok, we’ll be right with you two in a second.” She bowed slightly.

Himeno peered at him from the side, never fully facing him, her head propped up by her hand.

“You’re late.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He settled into the booth, taking notice of her attire.

“I thought we agreed on casual attire. Work clothes hardly classify as casual.”

“We never agreed on anything. You made a suggestion, and I ignored it.”

Junepai sighed.

“Usually, people who go on dates don’t wear their work clothes. They usually dress like me. Jacket, jeans, sneakers.”

“We aren’t on a date.”

“To them we are.” His voice dropped, “We aren’t going to be fooling anybody if you keep acting so difficult.”

“Quit your whining.” She pushed the baggie toward him. “There should be enough blood in there to last her another week if need be, and there’s a bag of potato chips in there.”

She started to stand, Junepai reaching over the table and grabbing her hand.

“What are you doing?” He hissed.

“I’m leaving.” She snatched her hand away.

“What part of ‘act natural’ don’t you get?”

She stood there for a moment, a conflicted expression on her face.

“Ugh! Fine.” She plopped back down.

“We don’t have to order much, just enough to make it believable.”
She picked up the menu, holding it up in a way that it formed a barrier between the two of them.

Junepai leaned over, only for her to move the menu in front of him.

“Seriously?”

“I’m just doing what you said and looking for something to order.”

“Right.” He grumbled.

The woman from before approached their table with a notepad in hand, that same smile on her face.

“Are you guys ready to order?” She looked between them both.

“Yup.” Himeno set down her menu. “I’d like your double-stack cheeseburger with extra bacon and a strawberry milkshake.”
The woman looked taken aback by her order, “That’s really what you want?”
“Why wouldn’t I want it? Burgers are good.”

“Well, it’s just... That particular burger is full of calories, I’m sure a fine lady such as yourself would like to refrain-” Himeno flashed her a glare, the woman choking on her own words.

“Right, and what would you like, sir?”

“The same as her.”
She scribbled in her notepad, “Would you guys like to share a milkshake?”

“Sure.”

“Hell no.” Himeno and Junepai spoke at the same time, the two of them glaring at each other.

“So is that a yes or a no?”

“No milkshake is fine,” Himeno stated, crossing her arms.

“Alright, I’ll be right back with your orders.” She left the two of them to bask in their awkwardness.

“So, have you heard back from NN?” Junepai asked.

“If I heard anything from him, you’d know.”

“Right.”

There was a large lull.

“Well, maybe we should get to know each other, we are going to be team members after all.”

“Huh? What good would that do?”

“I don’t know, it could be a team bonding thing.”

“What?”

“Look, I’ll go first. My two favorite things in this entire world are video games and superheroes. What are yours?”

“How immature.” She crudely remarked.

“Don’t just make fun of me, damn it! I’m really trying here.”

“Fine!” She rolled her eyes, “I guess I like…” Her voice trailed, “Uh. I like…” Her voice trailed again, and she was so lost in thought that Junepai swore he could see smoke rise from her head.

“Are you ok?” He asked.

“Hold on, I’m thinking.” She hummed silently to herself, “I guess I like to kill monsters, and I like Sylvie.” She settled.

“Those two things hardly count!”
“Well, that’s all that came to mind! Be grateful I even answered your dumbass question.” She barked back, garnering the attention of others sitting around them.

“I guess I should have expected that, the life of a freelancer and a full-time crawler are entirely different.” He let out a huff of air, pressing the tips of all his fingers together, “When I was in the youth program, I didn’t have much time to myself either. I was always training or learning about stuff, or killing rogue monsters. I guess not much changes when you become a full-timer.” He looked back toward Himeno, whose eyes were stuck on something only she could see.

“That isn’t necessarily true. The Takeba group puts most of its effort into researching and hunting the shadow beast; most of the work I do is because I choose to do it.”

“Really? But why work more than you have to?”

“There’s something I’m after, and only by rising to the top can I achieve my goal.”

“How vague.”

“It’s… Personal.” She settled, eyes wandering toward the window beside them.

“Well then, what do you plan to do after you achieve this goal?” He asked.

“Leave Japan, start a new life with Sylvie, just me and her. That’s the only thing we’ll be able to do.”

“You must care about her a lot.” He remarked, his voice suddenly softening, “I never had anyone in my life like that up until recently-” He caught himself, his mind flashing with images of his mother.

“Well, I guess that isn’t totally true.” He fixated on Himeno, “Being mind-controlled, hearing about the Takeba group's true nature, being around Sylvie, all that’s been making me think and feel a lot of weird stuff I’ve never really felt before. I don’t know how to explain it, I’ve just been feeling weird these last two weeks, like nothing's been real.” He rested his head on the table and began playing with a strand of his hair.

“I think I get what you mean. I’ve been experiencing something similar my whole life.” Himeno's tone softened, and for a brief moment, the two fell into a comfortable silence.

“Here are your burgers!” The woman from before set two plates onto the table, looking between the two of them with a confused expression.

“You two let me know if you need anything else.” She quickly scurried off.

The two ate their meals in complete silence, though there was no discomfort. The two left side by side, Himeno handing the bag to Junepai.

“Thanks.” She was almost reluctant to speak.

“Uh, you're welcome? What are you thanking me for?” He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously.

“For taking care of Sylvie, and sorry for being snappy with you. I care about her a lot, and I’ve just been on edge.”

‘It’s cool.” Juneapai's eyes lit up, an idea popping up in his head, “Why don’t you swing by my place? You can see Sylvie before you head home.”

“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of everything we’ve been doing?”

“Not really, I mean, people who go on dates go to each other's houses all the time, right?”
“I appreciate the offer, but it’s ok. Both of us being in the same place at the same time probably isn’t the best Idea. Stay safe, Junepai, and keep Sylvie safe.” She was off without another word, leaving Junepai under the orange sky.

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Night had fallen, and droplets of rain started to fall from the sky. Himeno sat alone in her apartment, blanket pulled over herself, eyes glued to the TV before her. A sudden knock at her door startled her.

Slowly, she got up, dropping the blanket on the floor and heading toward the door, swinging it open. On the other side stood Shindo, shrouded in darkness, suit covered with droplets of rain.

“We need to talk.”