James walked up the dirty grey steps leading out of the depressing, grimy subway station that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the futuristically lush environments of New San Francisco, blinded by the light of the bright, slowly setting sun, a sudden cold wind washed over him as he walked outside of the air conditioned subway station.

Seeing the sun at this time of year was a pleasant surprise to all Americans, though the cold winter air still remained. It made January feel like more like it belonged where it is in the calendar, a bridge between winter and spring, a transition. The days get longer, the temperature goes up and the sun shines brighter.

James felt a little uncomfortable being in such a massive city, miles and miles away from his hometown in Florida by himself. Though the feeling was vastly overshadowed by the sense of dread he felt towards the upcoming date.

Komni was nervously waiting at the top of the stairs, turning away once she saw James.

She was obviously quite nervous around his company.

Even James, who had never been on a date with anyone before, knew this one would be a dud. A socially awkward girl who wouldn’t talk if the right things didn’t happen, mixed with the little sympathy James felt towards this stranger was a recipe for disaster.

She was wearing a white, slightly oversized jumper, a black skirt and similarly black see-through tights.

James and Komni both stood there, Komni wildly flustered, her back turned to James as he stood there, his hands in the pockets of the navy hoodie he wore, his eyes a dull expression.

For a solid 3 minutes James dully stood there as Komni near silently sobbed into the sleeves of her jumper. James could hear her mumbling something to herself to calm herself down, constantly stuttering as she did. James had no intent on trying to calm her down, as he didn’t have the most positive opinion on her.

James was one to judge people based on how they immediately came across and how others described them. James was deeply under the impression that she was just some pretty brat with an overprotective dad who gave her whatever she wanted.

Time continued to pass, James slowly becoming more and more bored and Komni becoming more and more anxious.

After around 17 minutes of this lifted her face from her sleeves, her back still turned to James.

“I’m sorry!” She cried as she turned around, her face once again submerged in her sleeves, she had now given up on trying to hide the fact she was crying, though the sound was still muffled as she had her face in her sleeves.

She sprinted down into the subway station, crying as she went. James didn’t even turn around. He remained in the exact same position he had been in for the duration of the date, the dull, uninterested expression still present on his face.

James suddenly sprung back to life as he realised she had run off and the date had ended. He turned back towards the stairs leading down into the subway station. Waiting for his train he paid no attention to the crying Komni in the corner, as he was so excited to go back to his friends that, despite Matthew being a bit of an ass, he actually cared about.

As the train doors opened, James proceeded to board the vehicle, again paying no attention to Komni, who had now gotten up and was boarding the train as well.

James sat down on a seat towards the right end of the vehicle. There were a lot more people on the train than usual, causing James to take a little longer in finding a seat than usual. Though James didn’t mind as he would have much rather had a slightly harder time finding a seat on the train back than still be on that date.

Relieved, James laid his head back, and began to close his eyes, though ceased when he spotted a large white blob in the corner of his eyes. James turned to his left, only to see none other than Komni sitting next to him, her head staring at the floor of the train. She was no longer crying though was clearly sad, nervous and disappointed.

James silently groaned as he disgruntledly laid the back of his head on the top of the uncomfortable metal seat. The train rattled and shook, quiet sounds of the train moving along the tracks constantly present. The two sat in silence.

James was swiftly alerted when he heard Komni begin to open her mouth, a sense of dread and despair began to wash over him as he realised that he would now have to actually talk to her. Just as she was about to mutter her first word, she timidly closed her mouth, as if she was hesitant about what she was going to say.

“I…I-I…U-um, sorry…” Komni nervously apologised, her head to the floor.

“It’s fine, all you need to do to apologise is just not ever talk to me again! Problem solved! I don’t have to talk to you, and you don’t have to talk to me and relive that embarrassing moment back there!” James mocked.

“Yeah…” The girl quietly agreed.

James smiled as he thought he had resolved the issue, he began to close his eyes, though once again was stopped when he heard Komni open her mouth to speak again.

“I know that I just said that I wouldn’t talk to you but, um… I…I’m sorry for wasting your time. You probably think I’m some kind of loser or something…” Komni muttered.

“Mind reader,” James sarcastically replied.

“I…I’m sorry I just wanted someone to talk to and…well…I…I’ve never really had someone who loved me. Someone I could just talk to. Someone I’d like to be around. And then I saw you and thought you were perfect for me. I just…never thought that you might not want that…” Komni explained.

“Well now you have thought about how I don’t want that! Thanks for not bothering me for the rest of time!” James hurtfully replied.

“Wait, what are you even going on about? You have those two girls don’t you?” He continued.

“Yeah well…never mind…”

“Epic, I didn’t really care in the first place,”

“They’re not…really my friends…” Komni told James.

“So what, are they imaginary?”

“Never mind…I don’t want you to worry about me…”

They both sat in silence for the duration of the journey, which James was rather happy about. As the train came to a stop, James got off his seat and began to exit, only to realise that Komni wasn’t. James was sent into a state of overwhelming confusion as to why she was even on the train, as he was pretty sure she was situated in New San Francisco.

James stood there for a second at the open doors of the train, a cold breeze from the non-air conditioned, somehow even more grimey than the one in New San Francisco, subway station gently touching him, as he watched Komni.

She began to pull out a book of some kind, though swiftly put it back away into her jumper’s pocket halfway through taking it out. James, while puzzled, didn’t think much of it and began to turn away to exit the train. Just as he put his left foot onto the floor of the station, Komni opened her mouth to speak.

“Hey um…James?...” Komni quietly muttered.

James turned around to see Komni holding a copy of the 979th volume of “Keen can Talk” up to him, as if she were giving it to him.

“Um...this is as a thank you…I saw you buy one of these books at the convention…sorry for wasting your time…” Komni timidly apologised, handing the book to James. James looked down at the cover of the book he had just been given and looked at Komni. James had a very sudden change of heart.

A sudden mixture of feelings washed over James. Guilt, happiness, excitement among other things he just couldn’t put his finger on. James realised that this girl obviously liked anime and manga too, and she even bought him a copy of his favourite manga! James felt as if he had to return the favour. Impulsively he opened his mouth and said:

“Hey um…would tomorrow 6 PM be okay?”

Komni looked up at him.

“U-um…y-yeah…that w-would be cool…”

***

Once again, James climbed the dirty steps out of the grimy subway station, blinded by the light as he emerged into the enchanting streets of New San Francisco. Komni was nervously waiting at the top of the stairs, and once again, turned away when she saw James.

James, though, now felt bad for the girl, after her act of kindness yesterday. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for James. James felt bad that She was obviously quite anxious around James’s company.

This time she sported a beige hoodie with some sort of anime girl drawn entirely in purple on it. On her legs a short black skirt was once again present, though this time she wasn’t wearing tights.

James knew that this date would go nowhere if he didn’t do something himself. He took a deep breath in preparation and opened his mouth.

“Hey uh, what do you…want to…like, do?” James awkwardly asked her.

James was convinced he had said the wrong thing, though was surprised when Komni turned around and looked at him.

“Um I…” Komni quietly muttered.

“Do you want to go get something to eat? I uh, heh, don’t have a lot of money so it’ll have to be cheap,” James softly explained.

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“Oh uh, really? I can pay if you want,” Komni proposed.

“Nah it’s fine,” James answered.

“Oh uh…” Komni began to look around for a place. She noticed a burger king just across the way.

“Wanna eat there?” James asked as he pointed to burger king.

Komni began to blush to the point where she looked not unlike a tomato, as the thought of actually eating with a boy she liked was coming out of her head into the real world.

“Uh, sure…” She answered.

“Uh, yeah cool,” James timidly answered. He was starting to get flustered too, as the thought of actually eating with a girl he (kind of) liked was coming out of his head into the real world.

Komni and James both awkwardly speed walked over the restaurant, hands in pockets. James ordered a whopper, some fries and Komni ordered a small cheeseburger, not wanting James to spend too much of his.

James and Komni walked outside, only to see all the previously empty benches had been taken up in the short period of time they were inside the restaurant.

All but 1.

James and Komni walked over to the bench and sat down, forced closer together by the short width of the seat.

They sat in silence as they ate, eyes drawn to them due to Komni’s beauty, though Komni was entirely unaware of this.

James thought that the silence might make Komni more nervous than she already was. James thought he might as well say something to break it.

“What uh…manga do you read? Or do you like…not like that kind of stuff,” James awkwardly questioned, instantly feeling like an idiot for asking. Of course she liked manga. Her dad was a mangaka, she was cosplaying at an anime convention and asking about something like that in public would probably embarrass her.

“Oh yeah no, I like manga and…anime…” Komni nervously answered, blushing and staring down into the floor.

Their brief moment of silence that followed Komni’s sentence filled the cold air with an awkward ambiance.

“I uh…like Keen Can Talk…” Komni exclaimed.

James lit up like a candle, all nervousness disappeared from his voice as he heard Komni make her previous statement. He had a suspicion that she might have liked them when she gave him the 979th book the other day.

“Oh I love those books!” James excitedly exclaimed.

“Yeah, heh, I assumed,” Komni said, turning her head to face James. She instantly felt less nervous after hearing the excitement in James’s voice.

They talked for hours about their favourite anime, manga and video games. James warmed up to Komni more than he had to anyone, and Komni felt a lot more comfortable around him.

“Yeah volume 37 was good and all but, I felt as if the character development fell a little short y’know?” James said to Komni.

“Yeah, that’s always been a bit of a problem with the series, though I still think the goods outweigh the bads,” Komni responded.

“Yeah exactly. Like, I really love the series but, when I sit down to think about why nothing really comes up,” James explained.

“I know right! That happens with me too!” Komni excitedly told James.

“You too? Yeah it’s weird isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Komni softly responded.

“Oh sorry about my dad. He’s a little too overprotective. I heard he destroyed that plane, and broke into your room and well, y’know, he kind of forced you to go on that date,” Komni apologised.

“Heh no, it’s not your fault. Aren’t like, all Asian parents like that?” James joked.

“Ha, apparently,” Komni laughed.

The two got up from the bench and began to walk down the street. They weren't really going anywhere, they were just kind of walking.

James felt a sudden warm, soft feeling in his right hand as they walked. He didn’t think much of it initially, though after a while looked down and noticed what it was.

Komni’s hand.

James was about to impulsively remove his hand from her’s, though stopped himself before he could. Realising that he actually did like Komni’s company. It was only their second date though, he did really like her. She was pretty, kind and had similar interests to him. She was kind of like Joseph, though a lot more socially anxious.

Though James couldn’t exactly figure out why he was treating her differently. Why he was feeling feelings towards her that he didn’t feel towards any of his friends.

James choked it up to just him wanting to return her kindness and just enjoy being with Komni.

James turned his head towards her and gave a soft smile. Komni turned to look back at James, returning the smile. The two could both feel their heartbeats, something they had never felt before.

James and Komni continued to gaze into each other's eyes, until Komni looked down and realised that she was holding James' right hand.

Now the left hand would’ve been okay. But the right hand, that’s a little too fast.

Komni swiftly removed her hand from James’s.

“Sorry!” She nervously apologised.

“No it’s okay…” James softly said, looking down onto the ground.

“I liked it,” James told Komni, a soft smile present on his face, which was now facing her’s.

Komni and James both gave each other a magical glare after that sentence.

“Really?” Komni muttered, now gazing unto the pavement, holding her hands just below her chin. James had now realised what he just said and instantly felt embarrassed.

“Um but, like, if you didn’t then then that’s fine! Sorry did I creep you out? I creeped you out didn’t I? God I’m so sorry. Is your scary dad going to decapitate me? I’m dead aren't I? Well it was a fun time wasn’t it?” James awkwardly waffled.

“I…I liked it too…” Komni nervously muttered.

They both came to a swift stop.

“Oh…y-you did?” James asked.

“Yeah…” Komni softly, though still nervously muttered.

“Well if you um…want to…” James stopped as he prepared to finish his sentence.

“If you want to…do it again, that’s um…fine with me…”

“It is?...” Komni questioned.

“Yeah…” James muttered, staring into the orange sun that set amongst the futuristic buildings of New San Francisco.

“Okay…” Komni murmured as she softly clutched his hand once again.

The two continued to walk. Just thinking to themselves. The sun slowly setting on them. Their shadows growing.

“Hey um…James? That’s your name right?” Komni asked.

“Yeah no it is,” James timidly responded.

“God, I can’t believe I haven't asked for your name yet,”

“No no, it’s fine,” James assured her.

“Really?” Komni asked.

“Yeah,” James softly responded.

“Um well…um, James, do you um…want to come over to my uh…h-house? We could um…play video games…” Komni nervously proposed.

“Oh yeah…that would be cool…” James answered.

“Um…okay then…it’s around here…”

The couple walked and turned the next left, continuing not to say much. James and Komni both wanted to break the silence though didn’t have the courage to attempt it.

Komni briefly looked up and saw the house in the distance, straight ahead.

“Oh, there it is,” Komni said, pointing at it. It was the largest, most insane modern looking house James had ever seen. The colour palette was very similar to the rest of the cites, black, white and grey.

James gave Komni a soft glare.

“Hey! Last one there is a rotten egg!” James exclaimed as he ran off.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Komni laughed.

***

The house was massive.

Everything had a clean white surface, made out of the finest marble James had ever seen. From the outside it looked as if everything was made out of cubes, though on the inside it looked completely different. James was shocked.

“Oh my god!” James exclaimed.

“Heh, yeah it’s a bit fancy, but real estate is just so cheap here compared to Japan that we decided that we might as well get a nice holiday home over here. if we can’t have a nice house in Japan.” Komni explained

“This is a holiday home?! How much money does your scary dad make from drawing cat girls?!”

James and Komni stood there at the front door talking for a while, until Komni asked James if he wanted to go up to her room and play video games.

James and Komni walked up to her room, James in awe at the building’s architecture as they walked around the house.

Eventually they made it to Komni’s room, it was fairly standard, a rigid rectangle with a PC and desk in the bottom left corner, a door at the bottom right corner, a pretty standard bed at the top right, and a window in the middle of the left wall.

“So, uh, what do you want to play?” Komni asked as she leaned down to a black bag on the floor next to her desk, opening it to reveal a myriad of DVD PC rom games.

“Uh well, what do you have?” James inquired.

Komni began to name off the video games situated in the bag. A well known life simulation game that James personally enjoyed playing under the name “The Kims 3” caught James’s ear.

“Oh you play The Kims 3? I love that game!” James exclaimed.

“Oh yeah no it’s one of my favourites! Do you want to play it?” Komni asked.

“Hell yeah dude!”

James and Komni played for hours. Making wacky, somewhat deranged kims and living their lives. Most of them ended up dying because they swam in the public pool sleep deprived, to which they would pass out while swimming and drown.

Their longest living kim was a morbidly obese man named “Gimmie Monnie” who was assigned the traits: angry, un-flirtatious, never nude, couch potato and vegan.

They set out to make him the greatest person to grace the kim earth. They spent hours making him work out at the gym, getting him a good job, and they bought upgrades that cancelled out all his bad traits.

After hours of play, they had made him the fittest, richest guy ever, who was dating every woman, man and custom-gendered person in town. At one point, they decided to make him throw a party and invite every kim in town, though all the tables with food on them only had 3 chairs, meaning only a few kims were able to eat, causing the rest to starve to death.

Unbeknownst to them, halfway through the play-session, Haruki walked in, only to witness James and Komni laughing away with each other as they played. It was the happiest anybody had ever made Komni. He knew this couldn’t be a once-off thing.

After a while, Haruki once again walked in, though this time made sure to make himself noticeable.

Silence flooded the room when Komni and James realised who was in the room with them. Everyone remained still, the atmosphere tense, Haruki opened his mouth.

“Come with me,” He dauntingly commanded.

“Yes sir!” James complied.

Haruki led them downstairs into the dinning room, exerting an aura of dominance as he walked. Once they had arrived at their destination, James was met with a massive dining table, coated in a deluxe white cloth, plates perfectly situated atop with the most devine steak James had ever seen on them.

“Sit down,” Haruki ordered, attempting to be polite, though once again coming across as rather scary.

Worried thoughts ran through James’s head. “This is too good to be true! I’m sure they’re poisoned!” James concerningly thought to himself. Though not wanting to disrespect Haruki, James complied and sat down in one of the 3 chairs with food in front of them.

They all sat down in silence as they ate, the only sound being the clanking of the cutlery against their plates.

“So James, have you done anything notable?” Haruki asked, breaking the silence.

“I-I uh…married the Spice Girls?” James blurted out.

“Really?” Haruki responded.

“W-well uh, yeah. Most of them. One of them had a seizure and died…” James continued.

“So you are in multiple marriages?” Haruki asked, sending James into a state of shock, leaving him unable to answer.

“And you’re with another woman right now. Aren’t you?” Haruki proceeded.

“Dad!” Komni quietly shouted to him in an attempt to get him to stop, though was quite confused herself on what James was talking about.

“That’s rather disrespectful isn’t it?” Haruki dragged on. James was completely in the belief that he was about to be killed.

Haruki gave a large, daunting grunt as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Although, I’ve never seen anyone make Komni so happy…”

A sudden wave of relief washed over James as Haruki muttered those words. James gave a large, silent sigh of relief.

“This cannot be a one time thing,” Haruki stated. The feeling of relief that was once present not so long ago was replaced with immense concern. James kept listening.

“You attend Greentown South National High School, yes?” Haruki asked.

“Yep,” James timidly replied, questioning how Haruki knew that, though didn’t even think about actually asking him.

“Me and Komni’s flight back to Japan leaves in 2 days at 5 AM. We will pick you up at your school and you shall come back with us to Japan,” Haruki mandated.

“Um dad, that’s really not a good idea. His mom and friends will be-”

“Yep! Sounds g-good!” James timidly complied, not wanting to upset Haruki.

“Right then,”

James and Komni both worryingly looked at each other.