On The Outside (Tomomi / Shouhei)

Another day in the dark alleys of Little Tokyo, the litter boy known as Tomomi wandering the streets while doing his job. With a litter picker in one hand, and a black sack in the other, the small kid was reminiscent of a classic image of a street sweeper, with mottled black hair dragging over his eyes, and a hygiene mask covering the lower half of his face. The most defining and odd feature, beyond the almost robotic way at which he picked up the odd crisp packet and scrunched can? The single jacket hanging off his shoulder, not worn properly at all.

Breathing heavily to himself under his mask, the small Japanese kid looked around as though expecting to suddenly be jumped out of nowhere, before stopping and leaning against a nearby wall. Around him were shops of all sorts, host clubs, bars, tobacco and vape shops, and food shops.

He had to admit that this wasn't his favourite part of the district, but, a job was a job. And with that mindset, Tomomi prepared to go back to work- or not, slumping down against the wall to just enjoy a quick break in the shade of the alley.

"Phew."

“...Taking a break there, Mr. Street Sweeper?” From the other end of the alleyway stood Shouhei Kagawa, leaning casually against the wall.  He wore a simple black suit, white dress shirt, and a black bow tie.  His shoulder length hair was tied back neatly in a ponytail. The scent of clove filled the alleyway as he puffed on a cigarette.  He offered the stranger a little grin and motioned to the door beside him.  “Because if you are, as soon as I finish this smoke, I can serve you a couple of drinks at this bar if you’d like.”

At the sudden voice, Tomomi nearly jumped to his feet, having been caught off guard. Clambering up to his feet to not look entirely pathetic, Tomomi quickly dusted himself off before turning to face the stranger. "A-ah, sorry sir, I-I didn't mean to loit- e-eh?"

The offer for a drink was surprising to say the least, but, Tomomi rubbed at the back of his neck, caught even further off guard, and completely socially out of tempo with what to do. "A-ah, um, t-thank you very much mister, but I uh, I-I'm actually under aged. A-and technically on the job as a uh, l-litter picker, not street sweep... O-oh, but, um, thank you very much for the offer, and so sorry for being in the way of your smoke break! I can move along o-once I've finished tidying up this area if that's a-alright?" The boy stuttered, already soft voice cracking with every other word. Please don't be a dangerous person, please don't be a dangerous person...

Shouhei blinked his blue eyes slowly and several times at the stranger.  It was as if this meek fellow was the proverbial deer caught in headlights; his stuttering and stumbling over every other sentence displayed weakness.  Like a predator, Shouhei stalked slowly towards his prey.  It was just like the old times.  One thing was different- instead of delivering a vicious pummeling Shouhei instead wanted to make some money.  An almost impossibly stretched smile was planted on Shouhei’s visage, his voice a sing-song of sincerity.

“Ah, no, please forgive me, Mr. Litter Picker!  I’m interrupting your break! I want the opposite- not for you to leave, but to stay! Is my smoking bothering you?”  Shouhei snubbed out the smoke and placed the butt in a tin he carried for that purpose.  Repeatedly bowing humbly, he carried his melodic tone to lure in this stranger.

“Please forgive my presumptuousness as well, but I’d still be delighted to have you as my customer!  I can serve you any non-alcoholic beverage you wish!”

As the stranger offered a smile to Tomomi, the stuttering boy was caught off guard, about to flinch and retreat as they advanced. But, at their offer to stop smoking - and subsequently stopping before Tomomi could even react, the boy found himself blinking multiple times, ever further caught off guard. The sudden offer, the mention of "customer", all of the alarm bells... None of them ringing, the young boy too unnerved and thrown off balance to comprehend.

Tapping his pockets to make sure he had some money - his bus money specifically - the boy nodded lightly, tilting his head and pulling his mask down. "A-ah, um, o-okay? B-b-but, um, is there anywhere I can put my stuff where it won't get t-taken? I-I need it to finish work today..." The boy offered, waiting for a response. And, at any leading, following inside the building.

“You can kindly leave the garbage outside, and bring your… tool of the trade inside at the door, if you’d like,” Shouhei chirped pleasantly in response.  With a gracious bow he led his newfound customer to the insides of his establishment.

The bar known as “All Night Long” was relatively simple and could seat no more than thirty people at a time, but was empty at the moment.  There were several points of entertainment on display.  Up front were a billiards table and a dartboard, and behind that a table for gambling- cards, mahjong tiles, and dominoes were stacked neatly in its center.  One of its corners housed a karaoke machine.  The middle of the bar was a modest dancing floor.  A soft blue lighting illuminated the barfront on one wall, its countless bottles of liquor glowing like a beacon.  Meanwhile a very relaxing tune played on its jukebox.



“...I overheard your shitty sales pitch.  You need to work on it,” a low husky voice barked in Japanese at Shouhei.  It came from an extremely stunning woman sitting nearby the back.  Long ebony hair covered one side of her face, and a beauty mark could be seen under one of her deep brown eyes.  A peculiar but alluring scent wafted from the ornate pipe she held.  “And you really ought to quit smoking, Shou-chan.  It’ll ruin your pretty singing voice.”

“Y… Yes ma’am!” Shouhei answered back in their native tongue, with a snapping bow of obedience.  

“I’ll be in the back of the house… in case our customer gets hungry,” the woman said as she exited the room, trailing that smell behind her.


“Please have a seat wherever you’d like, sir.  And may I take your coat?”  Shouhei kept his charming smile and sweet voice towards his guest.

As Tomomi was dragged in and set down, the boy looked around like an animal in a corner, completely cornered. As the stranger took him in, and who Tomomi could only assume was the man's boss showed up, the boy felt a sensory overload from the smell, not quite sure how to describe it other than overwhelming. Overall, Tomomi regretted having stopped for that brief break, at least right now, as his heart made palpitations, his every thought screaming at him to run away and go find something with less sensory overwhelming risk.

Still, Tomomi sat down when indicated to, nodding his head slightly, before quickly shaking his head - almost defiantly - at the question in regards to his jacket, slung over his shoulder. "A-ah, um, n-n-no thank you. I um... W-would quite like to uh... Keep it there th-thanks... And um... W-well, uh, w-what drinks do you, well, have?"

“My apologies for asking that question, please forget about it.  And you in turn have delivered a fantastic question, my esteemed guest!  May you peruse our menu and find something suitable for your tastes~” In full service mode, Shouhei, equipped with his largest smile and kindest tones, had slipped a drink menu onto the table, it gliding to a stop neatly in front of Tomomi.  Another menu slid right beside the other.  “We also have a delectable selection of foods to choose from, please have a look!”

While Tomomi would search for something to drink on the menus, Shouhei prepared a glass of water for his guest at the bar.

At the sliding of menu's, Tomomi just sat there bewildered, staring dumbfounded and not understanding any of the names on the drinks menu. That was until he saw the one name that was a light in the darkness that was cluelessness and terror.

Waiting for Shouhei to do whatever he was doing and not wanting to draw attention to himself any further, Tomomi awaited the strange man's return before speaking up. "Um.. I-I don't want anything to eat, but, um, could I please have a, uh, l-lemonade, sir?"

Shouhei set down the water on a paper coaster and simply nodded, casting his sincere smile.

“Absolutely, my dear customer.  Lemonade is a wise choice as well.  I’ll be right back,” he humbly bowed as he whisked himself back off to make Tomomi his drink.  Since there were no customers in the bar, Shouhei figured he could make a fresh lemonade instead of the already made stuff to mix with cocktails.  After a couple of minutes of squeezing lemons, adding sugar and water together, it was served on the rocks with a wedge on the rim.

“...Is there anything else you’d like?  I’m grateful to serve,” Shouhei beamed as brightly as he could.

Shouhei's overly friendly attitude was perhaps more intimidating to the young boy than the people that used to beat him up. It felt... Over the top. Frightening. Fake. At least with bullies, they were fairly up front, but this felt almost predatory.

As the lemonade was delivered and slid in front of Tomomi, the small boy shook his head. "A-ah, um, n-no thanks. A-after I drink this, I should, um, probably get back to work... B-but thank you very much." He declared, bowing his head slightly and trying to be as respectful as possible as he carefully sipped the lemonade, hoping and praying that nothing bad was done to it.

“You’re very welcome, my esteemed guest. Please, do not let me interfere with your work- I simply wished to make your break more enjoyable.” As he watched Tomomi take a sip, there was an eager look on Shouhei’s face.

“Well? Is the drink to your liking? I made it myself, after all.”

As he finally was certain that the drink wasn't drugged, the tense and anxious boy relaxed a little and began properly drinking at the lemonade, before letting out a light sigh of satisfaction, offering a smile to his somewhat forceful host. "O-oh! U-um, y-yep, it was, thank you! It's got a nice b-blend of s-sweet and sour. I might need to bring him back h-h-here if the lemonade is like this..." the boy muttered, thoughts shifting to a certain someone. Tilting his head, Tomomi decided to take a risk he wasn't really comfortable taking: asking a question. "S-so um... D-do you always hand make the lemonade? B-because, if so, it-it's really impressive and you've got the kn-knock down for it..."

“Ah!  I’m so humbled and pleased to hear that, many thanks,” Shouhei bowed once again, mirroring his words.  As he rose back up, a tinge of red was on his cheeks as he carried that same wide smile.  “And please, I’d be grateful for you to return, kindly bring any and all friends back to this establishment.

“...But normally, no, we usually serve pre-made drinks, but since you were the only customer here I believed you deserved a fresh made lemonade.”  Also ‘cause it’d get a bigger tip.  “I’m tremendously flattered that it fits your palate, thank you again.”

At the insistence to come back with friends, Tomomi suddenly had a bit less faith in the idea of bringing Cecil here; would it be safe to do so? That doubt was furthered by the revelation that normally the lemonade is not hand made. Still, he blushed slightly at the suggestion that Tomomi actually deserved something - hearing that the boy deserved anything was always a shock to the system that he could never understand. Finishing off his lemonade, Tomomi nodded, scrounging in his pockets for change, before setting a total of 5$ on the table. "I um... I-I hope that covers the drink, and, um, e-everything else is a t-t-tip... Um... I-I should probably get back to work so my boss doesn't kill me... Um... H-have a nice day, and, um, t-thank you very much..." He declared, before shuffling off the chair, to his feet, grabbing his gear, and unless stopped, leaving to get back to his delightful work.

[Exit]