Instant Death [Shouhei/Yuri]

It was about that time... Yes, just after the two had their talk, when Yuri stepped outside of the Playhouse to see a sign plastered on the alleyway. "If you do not eat Vietnamese food within the next five hours you will die instantly." It looked rather old despite not being there when he arrived. Peering both ways, he saw no one. Well? Was it true? Would he really die instantly if he did not eat Vietnamese food within the next five hours? He turned around back to Shouhei. "Do you think it's true?" There was too much at stake here not to fulfill the task.

“...There’s only one way to find out,” an incredulous Shouhei answered.  It was pretty clever marketing when he thought about it- eat or die.  It worked on so many levels.  Not to mention that he had an intense craving for Vietnamese food recently.  Undoubtedly it had something to do with an actual Vietnamese restaurant about a block away from the Platinum Playhouse, and that this was just their advertisement and not some spiritual message of impending doom.

“Besides, I don’t wanna die just yet, and I’ve been jonesin’ for some pho and bahn mi.  Ya ever had it?”

Shouhei was right. It looked like they had to go eat. "I haven't." Yuri had no idea what that was. "I suppose I shall try them. Let us head out and get it." He headed out into the main streets and spotted that Vietnamese place. "Is it their kindness that warns us, or have they set this curse upon us in the first place?" That wasn't a very ethical business tactic. He'd have to commit a war crime if that was the case. Entering the building in a hurry, he asked the receptionist for a table for two epic bros. He didn't specify the epic bro part, cause Shouhei and he were already such epic bros that it would be pointless to even have to say it cause it was so obvious how epic they were bros together.

“...Man, don’t bring up that ‘curse’ shit, I just started believin’ in this spiritual mumbo-jumbo when we got our Persona,” Shouhei winced at the thought.  “Let’s just get some grub an-”

“Hey assholes, you hungry?  You like my sign?” A middle aged woman shouted from across the restaurant, her voice thick with an accent, as she pointed a bloody butcher knife at the two.

"Thanks for warning us so we can avoid dying. I want pho and bahn mi. Two of them!" he ordered, seating himself at an empty table. "Okay! That'll be $200!" the woman shouted back. 'Ho... Vietnamese food sure is expensive. It must be high quality.' "Very well!" He placed the money on the counter. The lady said "Hey, that was a joke, idiot! You can pay after you're done eating." "Very well!" He took the money back and shoved it in his pocket. "Shouhei, did you want the other half of my order, or do you want to look at the menu?"

After Shouhei’s eyes quickly darted back and forth between Yuri and the chef’s brief exchange, a grin of amusement turned his lips as he nodded in approval of both of them.  

“Yeah sure, thanks bud.  No menu necessary,” Shouhei then cupped his mouth between his hands and shouted, “Gimme a beer too please!”

“Manners?  What are you, a thumb-sucking child?  I’ll feed you like my kids though.  Big and full bellies, just keep your asses parked and behave kids,” the woman yelled in kind as she twirled her butcher knife deftly and spun around for the kitchen.

Shouhei eyed the place as he took a seat across from Yuri.  The restaurant was rather small, as it was a string of booths lining one wall, and across from that was the host and cashier stand.  Its decor were simple pictures of customers and of Vietnamese locales, with very little fanfare.  From his experience Shouhei knew that small places like these didn’t need a fancy interior or superior customer service, so long as the food was legit.

“...You’re waaaaay too loose with your money man,” Shouhei shook his head and chuckled at Yuri.  “One of these days someone’s gonna rip you off if ya ain’t careful.”

"I can be as loose as I wish. I've inherited enough for several lives. Regardless, I, Yuri, could never be ripped off. I'm too smart for such a thing to ever happen. You don't need to worry." Just found out sneezing exists. Damn, that shit sucks. He had to hold it in for now, otherwise it would be an absolute disgrace. "Aren't you concerned? You should avoid alcohol before your liver shuts down and you die, tobacco too for that matter. It would be a shame if the life of Shouhei Kagawa ended on such a note."

“...My fault, my fault, I forgot that you’re far above the common man,” laughed Shouhei. Yuri’s full blown confidence in himself was always entertaining to Shouhei.

“...Of course I’m concerned ‘boutcha, you’re my bud. And you in turn don’t gotta worry ‘bout me, flattered as I am. I toldja before, what I do with my body’s my own damn business. Those problems are for when I’m an old piece of shit. I ain’t gonna die now- not when I just got these powers’a mine. I got a lot to live for.”

"Yes, most certainly." It was nice that Shouhei realised that. "I appreciate your concern. Very well, that's right. You'll be fine. You do got a lot to live for. I'm positive you'll achieve everything you wish to do."

Pushing back his sleeve slightly, he gazed at his wristwatch. There was a clock on the wall, so perhaps it was out of habit, he didn't even look up as he spoke. "I've noticed these past months I've been losing a notable amount of weight despite the fact that my diet and activities minus these last few days haven't changed. I'm not hungry, but perhaps I need to begin eating more. If that doesn't fix it, I'll see a doctor. The last time I saw a doctor, it was a man named Flickett who ran a small clinic out a run down building. He went into the backroom and never came out. When I passed by later, his business was gone. I wonder what happened to him." Perhaps he slipped and fell and died back there, and Yuri never knew. Perhaps he got arrested for twelve counts of second degree murder. He did seem real sketchy, to understate.

“...Ya damn right I’ma get shit done,” proudly huffed Shouhei as he appreciated Yuri’s encouragement.  However listening to Yuri talk about his ailing health and past experiences with scam doctors caused Shouhei to scowl.

“...That asshole’s either tryin’ to rip off more people, or got caught for doin’ that shit, and could be either servin’ time, injured, or… dead,” bluntly Shouhei listed the possibilities.  “So fuck that guy, he’ll get his just dues.  Though that just reinforced the fact that you’re a little loose with your money, man.  Anyway, if your diet and shit hasn’t changed, ya think it’s stress or anxiety?  That could be a thing.”

"I didn't pay him. I just came in and he suddenly disappeared, seemingly forever, for no apparent reason. He could have been a scam doctor though. If that was the case, how fortunate I was to have the experience averted." If he truly was a scammer, hopefully he did get caught or die or something. The Yuri hated scammers! As for anxiety, "That's possible. None of this is natural, after all. Though, maybe it is. Anyways, do you still consider that Lupin trouble? If you don't oppose, the three of us could spend more time together in the future." That would be nice, just as nice as the food that was suddenly presented down upon the table. "Your foods here! Now don't forget, you better eat it all or there'll be some damn unpleasant consequences." Her joke sounded as threatening as an example of something threatening. Yuri thanked the woman for the food, but it may also have been thanks for saving their lives.