Eiko's Day in the City

The alarm clock woke me up early just like it always did. I should probably change the alarm on it by now. Whenever it starts getting annoying, I know it’s time to change it. And this one reminds me of… Ugh I don’t want to think about him.

I had plans to secretly go to a neighborhood that day, so I picked some very average, college student attire, and prepped a dark wig to hide my hair under. I cleansed any residual makeup off my face and I then completed the look with some cosmetic glasses and a backpack.

“Eiko? Doing the celebrity among us thing again?” My dad greeted me with some breakfast when I left my room.

“Yeah… all those days in Kyoto with so many fans, I need a little break you know.”

“How did it go?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I answered, somewhat disappointed. My dad was no fool, and he spotted something wrong with me.

“Is it that young man?”

“Yes.”

“Don't worry Eiko, there’s a lot of great people in this city for you!” He then quickly switched topics, realizing I didn’t really want to talk about that.

“Let me know what you want for your edits for the trip. By the way, I set up your new PC while you were gone, so you don’t have to worry about all that either.”

“Thanks Dad.” I smiled at him, grateful.

He had been my editor since I first started uploading videos, and did so on top of his regular job. He’s a computer technician, and he helped me set up all the tech I needed to help my channel grow. He told me to just worry about myself and what I wanted to say, and he would do whatever I asked him. And it worked.

I’m not sure I would be where I am without him. In fact, I’m not sure how others manage without a family that supports them. I guess Aoi is an example of what happens when there’s no one around, and that makes him behave like he… No. I won’t make excuses for his poor behavior. That’s all on him.

That being said, I was a bit curious about what made him change his mind after so long. I managed to force Aoi’s driver to tell me where he took him, and one location seemed curious. He had been going there every Wednesday for several weeks. Might as well do some work while I’m in that neighborhood, too.

I left our house and started looking up transit directions on my phone. How am I supposed to get there? I started making my way there on trains, spending time among the commuters.

Sometimes it bothered me how easily I could hide in the crowds. My videos would get hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of views, but simple disguises would turn me invisible, like a magic trick. Maybe I’m just not as big as I thought. Perhaps some people recognize me, but hesitate because they see how different I look and don’t want to mistake me for someone. Or they might recognize me, but realize I don’t want to be disturbed that day, judging by my disguise. Either way, after three trains, I managed to get to where I wanted to go undetected.

I did some sightseeing, but sadly, nothing really stood out. It was just an ordinary neighborhood with the same old shopping streets and restaurants. I took a walk next to the Shakujii river, and while it was probably beautiful in the spring, lined with cherry blossoms on both sides, it just looked like an ordinary urban river in the fall.

Next to the river I found a curious park, with exactly one sakura tree and a tiny slide for maybe a one year old kid. The park was tiny, and surrounded by well maintained shrubs. I stood there confused, wondering how a park like that had come to be, but I figured I’d seen stranger things in the city, and walked away.

With the neighborhood being what it was, I couldn’t imagine someone like Aoi being impressed by the location. Instead, I realized Aoi was there for someone. I would’ve preferred it to be the place and not a person, but in the end, it wasn’t. He lied to me. There’s definitely someone. But I respect his decision, even if it hurts my pride a little bit.

With my investigation concluded, I decided to check out the local shops and eateries. I lined up at the local ramen shop during lunch time, staring at the yellowed out menus that hung outside the store, as I patiently waited for the slow service to let me inside the ramen shop.

Behind the counter was an old man preparing the ramen, who I assumed was the owner. He managed the shop as quickly as he could, but it was somehow only him in that small, busy place. I took some videos of the food and restaurant on my phone so I could edit them later, before enjoying my bowl of ramen. To be honest, it was an average ramen bowl that was just a little salty, but the place was cozy and the ramen shop owner was kind to me.

“It seems hard, managing a shop by yourself,” I said, when business had wound down and I had a chance to talk with him.

“I have part time helpers, but they can’t come here every day.”

“Make sure they come tomorrow, alright? It’s going to be a busy day around here, I heard.”

The ramen shop owner looked at me confused, but that was all the warning I was going to give him.

“Thanks for the meal!” I smiled as I handed him my empty bowl and quickly gave my seat to the next person in line.

Tired from all the walking, I sat on the side of the street for a little bit, thinking back on the events in Kyoto with Aoi. He definitely seemed different, and I’m sure he lied to me now. But why couldn’t he share with me, after all these years? He’s really stuck in a hole that I’m not meant to pull him out of… Nor do I want to, not anymore.

That day had been a refreshing reminder of the days before my fame. I bet Aoi doesn’t know that I know this life well, the life of blending in a crowd, waiting patiently in line, walking, taking trains, and eating where all the average people are. To be honest, sometimes I had to remind myself that this simpler life existed, too.

I took more footage of locations and places to round up my plans for content for the day, and as nighttime began to peek through the horizon, I decided to visit a bakery to take some pastries back home to my family.

“Welcome.” A girl greeted me with a smile at a small bakery cafe next to the station. I didn’t reply, but not wanting to be rude, I offered a subtle smile in return. I browsed around the bakery and picked up what I wanted before taking it to the register to pay. The girl had a reddish tone of brown hair hiding under her cap, which stood out to me.

“You seem familiar,” I said, trying not to analyze her too much as she worked. She then looked at me, and smiled.

“You seem familiar too!” She was kind enough to not dismiss me outright. “Maybe we know each other from another life?” she said with a smile as she bagged my pastries. She gave me an easy way out of my question, but I was sure she looked familiar.

“Hey, this might sound strange, but would you be willing to do a promo for your bakery? I’ll record you, and maybe you’ll get some more customers, what do you think?” I asked, once she was done.

“Well, I’d have to ask my boss, and she’s not here currently. But to be honest, I think she’d be very angry if I didn’t do it.”

So then I recorded a clip of her for a few seconds, where she rushed explaining their products and location in a friendly way.

“But don’t come all at once, we only have a few seats!” She managed to joke a little near the end. I was pretty satisfied with her recording. I had nothing to change.

“You know, you’re pretty good at this,” I said encouragingly.

“Really?” She seemed to be in disbelief.

“Yeah, ever thought of recording stuff online?”

“I have, it’s… not been great,” she said, somewhat sad.

“It’s always tough to start. But if you-”

At that moment, the bakery’s boss walked through the door, and we asked if it would be fine to post the promo of her shop online. She simply agreed, not really understanding what it was. If it brought more people to the bakery, she was fine with it. I then said goodbye and headed back home.

I shared pastries with my family and some stories of my day trip too, before heading to my computer’s room to edit some videos with my dad.

“Did you get the break you needed?” he asked.