32.ii Beef Pan-fried, Side of Lemon Lime

~ Sun Ritsu ~

The uneven slab of ground beef sizzled atop the flat top griddle. It sizzled and sizzled and sizzled.

Sun Ritsu watched the meat grill in the same way he watched hundreds upon hundreds of burger patties in the past. He knew the signs. His wrist no longer twitched with the urge to flip the burger before it was ready. It had taken him some time, but his reflexes were incredibly reliable these days.

It was easy to occupy his thoughts while he waited for the meat to cook.

He simply thought about Anari.

Her lips. Her scent.

Being close enough to feel what was underneath her glamour. A spider spirit was she. Equipped with clicking mandibles, eight shiny black, reflective eyes, as well as eight fuzzy, spindly yet limber arms.

Whenever Ritsu’s heart started to beat too hard for him to bear, he would refocus on the sizzling meat, and that would steady his spirit and calm him down.

Well, now it was time to flip.

Another satisfying image – the bubbling, slightly charred side of the patty greeting Ritsu as he pressed its face down with his metal spatula and listened to the intensified hiss of the uncooked side getting its turn.

Once Ritsu was comfortable with the patty’s position on the grill, he lifted the spatula and gave it some room to breathe.

If Ritsu’s head was a plastic cup, memories of Anari were the fizzy amber soft drink that refilled all the spaces between the ice.

{{You are going to drive yourself crazy if you keep doing this. She’s gone.}}

Ritsu ignored the voice coming from the little jade quarterstaff dangling from his ear. The only indication that he was irritated was the death grip he had on the handle of the spatula.

{{Why daydream about a spirit who doesn’t want you? It’s what you deserve, you know. For being ashamed of me.}}

The Golden-Hooped Rod of Compliance always had a way of making Ritsu’s insecurities about him somehow.

{{You won’t even change me into a better spatula. I could be helping you make the best burgers this side of the Rabbit Province. You could be a total sensation right now, Ri-kun. Just think! Your fry cooking abilities could be legendary!}}

“I don’t want to be legendary,” Ritsu muttered under his breath.

Aggravated, he jammed the metal spatula under the patty and, with a sharp flick of the wrist, sent it waffling up above his head.

The fry cook closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

“I just want to be…” Still gripping the spatula, he pounded the chopping block with enough force to make all the toppings and condiments to go airborne. “Good enough for my friends.”

Ritsu tilted his head back and opened his eyes. Suspended in zero gravity overhead, the individual pieces of everything needed to make a Number 6: Ordinary Lunch Hero was right where Ritsu wanted them.

He channeled everything — all the regret, the guilt, the frustration, both with himself and the semi-sentient staff clinging to his ear — all of it went directly into assembling this order before it descended, greasy and stacked, on the chopping block.

Warm, completely assembled, and dressed in orange wax paper, Order Number 6: Ordinary Lunch Hero landed with a satisfying thwump in front of Ritsu.

Sun Ritsu exhaled, paying no mind to the beads of sweat coasting down his temple.

The voice of the Golden-Hooped Rod had gone dormant and this burger marked the end of Ritsu’s shift.

The monkey spirit shuffled the food and the necessary utensils into a paper bag before going to the window to deliver the order.

As Ritsu handed the food to the customer and wished them a good day, he thought he heard the whisper of dissatisfaction once again.

{{So much potential… wasted.}}

~

Sun Ritsu walked through the slums of the Dog-Rabbit Province border, gripping the greasy brown paper bag filled with leftovers. Had Ritsu not brought them along, they would have been thrown out with the rest of the excess burgers and fries.

It was a long walk to the Kawaii Village Correctional Facility, but Ritsu didn’t have enough money for a trolley ride. Besides, he didn’t mind the walk. The route he took along the edge of the neighboring province allowed him to pass by spirits in the streets who hadn’t seen a meal in a while.

Many spirits without homes or even paper spaces walked these pastel streets. They passed by vending machines bursting with every soft drink and salty snack imaginable. But they could only be accessed with the right combination of coin and cuteness. If a buyer couldn’t clear the cute currency reader on the machine, it refused to charge them. No matter how much money they had.

Dear Traveler, despite what Sun Duza might have said, you seem pretty smart to me. You’ve probably guessed by now that poverty was not a “cute look” in the eyes of the metro Kawaii Village government. Not to mention, there was something considered even less cute than poverty, but not quite uncute enough to get arrested for. That was charity.

So, as you can imagine, our not-so-intelligent monkey king was walking a thin line every time he handed out a burger to a hungry spirit. On his way to the local prison, no less.

Well, yes. I did say earlier that Sun Ritsu’s destination was the Kawaii Village Correctional Facility. That’s what a prison is.

Why would someone as humble and true as Sun Ritsu be going in that direction, you ask?

To bring his incarcerated friend, Bodhi the monk, some dinner and company. That’s why.

It shouldn’t surprise you that Bodhi got themself arrested. You know how flippant they are when it comes to rules. Eventually their hunt for an illegal drink caught up with them. And now nobody left in our spiritual cadre can leave this stupid village simply because Ritsu would never leave a friend behind.

So the monkey picked up a job at a fast food depot in order to save up for Bodhi’s bail. Meanwhile, he and the pig have no money for a paper space. So they’ve been sleeping where they can in the Dog Province, where the cute laws are much more relaxed.

None of this really bothers our benevolent hero, as you can imagine. But I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that when it comes to Ham Song – right. He’s absolutely furious.

Usually a few burgers shuts him up until the next day, which is why Ritsu makes sure to bring home as many as he can when he’s done visiting Bodhi.

Sun Ritsu was in the middle of wondering how many burgers it would take this time to calm Ham Song’s inexhaustible anger when he was stopped by another spirit. A sun clone in fact.

Though his glamour was up, the sideburns were a dead giveaway. They were a typical dark brown and about twice as thick as Ritsu’s. He was about a foot shorter than Ritsu with blood red irises and one gold incisor.

“Say, big brother Sun. Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got the look?”

Ritsu’s handsome features shifted towards bewilderment. “Um, no. But are you hungry?”

The other sun clone laughed good naturedly and pulled out a plastic green bottle from his hoodie pouch.

“How about we trade? You might have heard of my soda products. Lemon Lime?”

Sun Ritsu tentatively took the bottle. “Don’t think I have.”

“It’s up and coming. And I know what you’re thinking. With all these eye-catching names for soda these days, how do I expect to stand out with something so basic? It’s branding suicide is what you’re probably going to say.”

Sun Ritsu stared rather blankly at the grinning, shorter spirit.

Absently licking his gold tooth, the stranger said, “They call me Seven. You?”

Ritsu worked his jaw in uncertainty before saying, “Ritsu.”

Ritsu’s hands were already full, but Sun Seven was once again thrusting something at him. A waxy, bright sheet of paper this time.

“Tell me you’re not going to miss this, Sun Ritsu? The Sevenfold Peach Championship. Every Sun worth his salt in staff-manipulation will be there. And so should you.”

Ritsu shook his head and started to back away. He didn’t care for competition. Nor did he want to have anything to do with his staff right now.

Still, Sun Seven kept talking, inching forward for every step back Ritsu took.

“I want you to represent my soda products at the tourney. Once a large audience sees the beauty in the product with such a simple design enjoyed by a customer so dear and handsome as yourself, the vendors in this damned village will finally respect me!”

Ritsu mumbled an apology before sidestepping the overexcited sponsor.

Seven shouted at Ritsu’s back, “Don’t run away from me! You are the face of Lemon Lime Soda, Sun Ritsu! I know this to be true!”

By now Ritsu was running from Sun Seven as fast as his tired legs would allow. He was still holding the bottle of green Lemon Lime in his left hand. His jewel staff whistled in the wind as he tried to run from the promise of its legacy.