On the Brink of the Newfound

There's always that thing, that question, the one that burns in the mind of every human: what if? I wonder how much Rin's dad really knows, or maybe he's bluffing. Dude just up and left like the Yakuza with bodyguards and shit. And here she comes, perfectly timing the man's exit as if she was waiting for it.

"Ready?" she asks me.

"Sure, let's go. That was creepy, no? Well, actually, to you probably not. You believe in that mumbo jumbo he was talking."

"But so do you." she smiled, the same one. It's irresistible, I can't lie. 

"Maybe, probably not. There's no real conclusion or proof or any substantial leads. It's like saying Atlantis is still out there or the Roanoke Colony was abducted by aliens."

"The who? Don't know what that is but as for Atlantis, that's fake."

"Ha, so what makes Atlantis fake and the myth of the Seven Trees any more real." I ask jokingly, but seriously? Can't have it both ways.

"Because..." she trailed off, looking towards the front of the restaurant, standing up at the same time. "...I believe in it. And, I think, just me speaking here no real leads or anything behind it, that the Yuzu tree is one of the seven trees and we're going to find it."

Oh? I almost forgot about that at this point, I mean that is the name of the story and the reason I even agreed, well, once again, I'm a leaf. I followed the wind of a woman I barely know for resea-oh shit.

"But we'll have to put that on hold. I have to stay in Tokyo for a little while."

"A little while? But we just started to make our way towards Hokkaido."

"Yeah, but I have some business to take care of with my father. I still work for him, that much is true."

"Why do you still call him that?"

Walking around the table, she pressed her lips atop my forehead and starts to walk off. "Force of habit, see you. Love is a strong feeling, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't know." Smiling, internally of course. Only getting the privilege of watching her hair flow as she walked out the door and me, still in the same seat that she left me in.

"Good evening, sir. What can I get for you this evening?"

How bout that? Didn't even order a single thing and her dad left 100,000 yen on the table. Luck favors the beautiful, the smart, the witt-

"Excuse me, sir?"

Hahhh, I always get interrupted. I can't even finish my cool internal monologue about the feelings and responsibilities I avoid. "Let me ask you a question. How much can I get with 100,000 yen?"

"Probably everything on the menu, sir. In fact, everything is on the house tonight. Services of the owner. I was told there was supposed to be four tonight."

"Uh, yeah. I think my g-or uh, the woman I was with and her father left and her mom was supposed to come but she couldn't make it. If it's all free...let me get-"

"Pardon my impoliteness, sir, but I was told it was a guest of yours."

What? "Uh, what? A guest of mine? I don't have a gu-"

"Oh excuse me sir, sorry for my tardiness. I got caught in traffic. But I did hear the food was free. You'll have to excuse my friend; he doesn't always know what he's talking about." 

Ah, so this is the guest. How does he always find me? I shouldn't even ask at this point, hahh.

"Can you give us a minute?"

"No problem, sir. I'll be back in a few moments. Take as long as you'd like, sir. Today's special is Sushi with sliced seaweed in-"

"Okay thank you!" the server walked off.

"Dude, that was rude as fuck."

"What? I have a menu in front of me."

"But did you know the special?"

Good point, but everything's free! Who cares? "It's on the house tonight, who cares? But that was a little, no it was rude. I'll apologize when he comes back. He looks like a Daniel, doesn't he?"

"We're in Japan. I doubt his name is Daniel."

"Ah you bastard, don't be racist."

"Oh, come on, it's so unlikely."

The irony of this guy. "What are you doing here?"

"Rin."

"Should've guessed."

"Yep. She gave me some information about where you'd be and said she had to do some important stuff. I'm here to keep you company, cheer up buddy. And besides, we have to talk about the research."

"What'd they say?"

"..."

"Scratching your head isn't an answer."

"I know, I know. Uh, well. You're fired."

"What?"

"I'm kidding, but it's not good news."

"Okay, what is it?"

He sends me an email that apparently came a few weeks ago. We've been here for almost a month now. I think I had said earlier it was only days at a time, but it'd really been weeks. Retcon? Or am I just losing it?

Mishandling of University Information

To: shinsuigoyku@UofOttawa.edu

From: universitylinedrive@UofOttawa.edu

Good Evening Prof. Suigokyu,

It has been brought to our attention that there was an article(s) of your work that has surfaced the Internet under a different website using university resources. It is not against policy, of course, to publish work under other publishers, sites, etc., if you gain the consent of the faculty members stating that you authorize the university to receive a profit of sales being that the resources used to make and eventually market said work is a direct result of the university. 

In the case of these articles, however, there were not credible authorizations given to the university and it is regrettable that we are left without a choice of releasing you from your position as a Professor at the University of Ottawa. 

Any further questions or concerns, you may contact the Deans Office for any other information.

Sincerely, 

Administrations Office of University of Ottawa

Bastard! "Dude, I did just get fired! What? And why do you have the email and not me? This makes no sense. Let me c-"

"No," he held a hand up, "I saw the article and it's 100% disputable. It's a really old article you wrote and you published it under a website named Dark Theory but I bet you don't know what that is, do you?"

"No, I don't"

"They're covering their ass because this site is notorious for putting out conspiracy such as Flat Earth, celebrity deaths, assassinations. Basically, they didn't want to be tied in with all that stuff and I guess they found out about that."

"I don't beli-dude, you know me! I do-"

"I know. Which is why I thought it wasn't you. How's your girlfriend doing?"

"Girlfriend? I don't have one. But if you mean Rin, then she just left. She's the one who told you to come here remember? What does she have to do with this?" It's funny because I actually did almost call her my g********.

"I think she has something to do with this."

"What?"

"Yeah, she's not trustworthy at all. I think she set you up."

"I don't really know why she'd do that." Oh man.

"Really? She claims she didn't know you, oop! That's a lie because she's actually a huge fan. Not only that, she planned to find you! To meet her grandma? That's it, really? She needs you for the information you collected in the Bahamas and the fact that I guess her dad has interest in you too. Failed to tell you that she's basically a billionaire and parades us around the country in the guise of research without even caring about the stuff we had to do or not. Believe what you want, but I think you know it's true."

"What am I going to do?"

"Let me ask you a question."

"You just did." 

"Be serious for once."

"What?"

"Do you even care?"

Hm. Where's the waiter? C'mon we don't bite!

"What?"

“Do you even care that you got fired?”

“No.”

“Then why'd you act as if you were mad? You always do this thing where you conceal how it is you really feel. You're not as mysterious as you think."

I'm not trying to be a puzzle or some Rubix Cube. It truly just doesn't matter. People just take advantage of how you feel. Where is the waiter?!?! IM SO HUNG-

"Have you all thought more about what you would like to order?"

Perfect. I was looking at this sushi roll wi-"Actually, we were just leaving. Thank you for your service anyways." Rich started to get up.

"Wh-wh-what?! No, excuse me I don't know what he's talking about. I'm going to order-"

"Let's go. I have to show you something."

"B-"

"And I can't show you right here." All of a sudden he became really serious and usually he's always a hard-ass serious guy, but I guess, I wasn't going to eat anything.

We walked a few paces outside, where a cab was already waiting for us. Courtesy of the Osaka's I imagine. I wonder, no. She's untrustworthy, but I feel the way I do for her. It'd be hard to believe she'd set it up so I would get fired like that. I did care. I loved my job. Or maybe it was that I loved my job so much so in the fact that it allowed me to do what it is that I loved. There's a difference. The paperwork, strict rules, reports, grants, sucking up to the bosses. It got tired. The ride back to the hotel of Rich, who was still employed by the school (go figure), was pretty quiet. The silence bounced off the windows and I was trying to soak in as much as Tokyo as I could. But I couldn't. 

We arrived back, or for the first time for me, and of course, it was 5 star. A glamourous chandelier hung over the main area, with a large stair set that actually led to the main office. Room 824, 8th floor of 100. Why did he get all these expensive ass hotels. We both plopped on the floor and sat there for a while. He took something out of his bag, it kind of resembled a map, or I don't know. "What was so serious that I couldn't have even eaten a single bite of sushi?" Serious question. I still hadn't eaten anything. 

"Look." He pointed.

I couldn't believe it. How far were they going to take this conspiracy? "What is this?"

"You know what it is. Don't even pretend like you're not interested. You mean to tell me that you didn't factor this into your research before coming here? All your trips around the globe we've went, excavations, caves, indigenous tribes. It's a map, stupid. Of all the 7 trees and there's one right here in Japan."

What did I get myself into?

***