The shirt on my back

Kato materialised, kneeling on cold, cobbled floor. ‘Can’t believe this happened…again.’ He sighed. ‘Guess this is my life now.’

“Move it” A rough, guttural voice broke out ahead of him.

Kato looked up, his eyes barely making out the figure of a man, pushing a cart straight towards him. Kato looked at the rapidly approaching object for a moment longer, ‘Where am I?’

The cart was apparently not much one for introspection. A sharp wooden, corner bashed him aside and he went sprawling, narrowly missing his hands being run over by a wide wooden wheel securely attached by an axle to the cart’s side.

“Hey!” Kato yelled after the man.

“I told you to move it,” the man replied. “Bloody youngsters always playing in the road.” The man muttered under his breath, before heavily coughing, a wad of grey spit hit the ground. The man looked at Kato for a moment, his hands were heavily stained yellow, and what little teeth he had left were tarred brown. “Some free advice here, don’t be an idiot, this is a road.”

Kato sharply turned his head to him, “Free advice?” He spluttered, “Here’s some free advice for you “Kato paused desperately wracking his brain, ‘come on, come on, think of something witty.’

But it was too late, the man, and his wagon had disappeared in a haze of smoke, leaving nothing but the stench of tobacco hanging thick in the air.

“Maybe don’t be a prick” Kato muttered, as he stared at the man’s retreating back, ‘right, yeah, that showed him. Got him good there.’

Kato shook his head, ‘I’m going to really enjoy this place, aren’t I?’ He thought sarcastically. ‘First place in a while, where I could understand people and they’re like this? Great.’

Brushing himself down, Kato stood straight. He looked to his left and right, cobblestone paved streets, separated tightly packed houses, smeared by grey. Thatched rooves stained dark adorned the buildings and a thick, ever-present smog, hung in the air.

Kato looked up, the sky in fitting with the general surroundings, was covered in grey.

‘At least it’s not hell this time.’ He shivered, maybe this place would be okay.

Without much thought, Kato began to trek down the paved road, following in the footsteps of his new friend.

Splash! The stone suddenly dipped, and Kato’s left leg was soddened. He looked down into the grey puddle and waited for the ripples to clear. A wretched grimy, visage greeted him, he raised a hand rubbing away at his cheek and examined it, he was coated in sawdust, blood and dirt, even specks of grass still clung to what was left of his clothes.

Kato stared at the puddle some more, ‘no wonder that man didn’t care.’ Kato looked all too much like a vagrant and he knew with far too much familiarity how vagrants were treated, he shuddered. ‘Got to fit in.’

“Excuse me “he greeted a passerby. She was a willowy woman, with large sunken eyes, trundling a makeshift pram ahead of her.

“I have no change” she muttered absently, and without even looking at him, continued on.

Kato tried talking to a few more people, but the best he got were sympathetic looks, no one bothered to talk to him, to listen or realise he wasn’t looking for change.

After several minutes of Kato’s depressing confirmation of humanity, a finely dressed man in a suit strode passed him, head held high, he chucked some coins that roughly impacted against Kato.

Kato’s eyes burned, he strode forward.

“Don’t,” a voice whispered, it was the woman with the pram, returned, from whatever errand she had been running.

“And why not?” Kato retorted.

“Just don’t” she spoke softly to him, a defeated expression clung to her features. “It’s not worth it.”

“You think I will just stay here after some, stranger” he spat the word out, “assaults me in broad daylight.”

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The woman looked to the sky “daylight? … You’re funny, we haven’t had that in years.” She paused just staring upwards, “has it been that long, it can’t have been? Can it?” The woman softly muttered to herself.

Kato turned, ‘I can still confront the man. No one should treat others like this!’

A firm vice-like grip clutched his arm, his body jolted backwards.

“Please,” the gaunt woman looked at him, desperately, it was the first flicker of emotion Kato had seen from the stranger.

“Fine,” he muttered, defeated, “I won’t.”

“Hey, why are there-” Kato tried to talk to the woman, but she had already turned away, pram trundling, down the street, as if they had never interacted to begin with.

‘Why did I miss this? People suck.’ Idly, he kicked the ground, then tensed, looking around, on edge. ‘No stranger wants to assault me for kicking their floor. Great. I am overjoyed,’ he thought dryly.

Kato continued on, weaving past more of the same, bleary drab houses, coated in soot and dirt, and a singular road that never seemed to end.

“Hey mister” A voice gruffened by age, broke out to the side of him.

Kato turned to see a small tailor’s stall. A short man stood behind the counter, his face beaten by time, carried the burden of missed opportunities and a lifetime of regrets. Memories of a better time were carved into each crease of his weathered face.

The man had a wide smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, and a thick white bushy beard that stretched down over his neck.

“Spare a stranger some coin,” the tailor asked with a little laugh.

“I’m afraid I have none to spare,” Kato looked at him apologetically.

“I could tell,” The man responded with a harsh laugh.

Kato’s eyes hardened. “What do you want?”

“You don’t need that rag that you’re calling a shirt. Hand it over if you want something better, I’m in a charitable mood, saves you freezing in the street.”

Kato’s eyes lit up, “you would do this for me? Why?”

A rough, calloused hand gently clipped his ears, “Don’t you listen kid, I said I’m feeling charitable.”

“Oh, right, yeah. Um. Thanks, mister. Really.” Kato removed what was left of the tattered, mess he had been calling it a shirt and handed it to the tailor. He circled his chest gently, “may Cogul witness your kindness.”

The tailor looked at him, as if unsure then laughed slowly, “don’t need no blessings from no hippy, dippy god, son” he looked at Kato then, put the tattered garbs on his counter, next to a sign reading spare parts.

“So that new shirt?” Kato asked him expectantly; the man ignored him as if wasn’t even there.

“Hey mister,” the tailor called out at a random passerby, they strode on, ignoring the man peddling his wares.

“Hey!” Kato’s fist came down on the counter.

A slight sneer spread across the tailor’s weathered face, “No refunds.”

“No refunds?” Kato stuttered, mouth agape, “you promised me a new shirt. Do you think I’m just going to hand over my only shirt for nothing and then just leave, happy as can be?”

“I promised you nothing,” the tailor’s hand dipped low and a moment later rose back firmly, clasping a vicious looking steel baton. He hit it against it his palm with a brutal thwack. “Now scram, ‘fore I call the guard.”

Kato stepped back instinctively, ‘can’t be caught by the guards’ a voice from his past whispered to him. ‘But I've done nothing wrong,’ he thought, ‘I know you, you’re not that naïve, you can’t be,’ the voice responded. With a last dirty look at the tailor Kato slipped back in the crowd, becoming just another face among many.

‘Did not expect to quite literally have the shirt taken off my back.’ He sighed wearily as his feet carried him, begrudgingly forward.

“Hey newbie,” a melodic voice broke out to his side.

A young woman around his age, was staring at him. She had dark black, locks of hair that fell just short of her shoulders, it was a stunning contrast against her pale skin. A leather jacket clung to her slim figure, diverging sharply with the monotone and dreary grey attire of everyone else in vicinity.

Kato looked at her for a moment, then strode on, brushing past her. ‘Knowing my luck, she’ll steal my trousers and shoes… Not. Worth. It.’

“Hey that’s kind of rude, you know?” She popped up in front of him, barring his way, dark hazel eyes stared into his, accentuated by thin, styled eyebrows. Absentmindedly, his eyes traced the freckles that bridged her nose

“Um, hey?” Kato responded, all it took to beat his resolve, was apparently a pretty face.

“Styx, she held out a hand, palm up towards him.

“Sorry I don’t have any sticks, there’s probably some trees around here somewhere, but I haven’t seen them.” He responded, ‘What is with people in this place, first the shirt, now twigs?’

With a quizzical look she regarded him, “Where’s your shirt?”

“Where’s your shirt?” Kato countered sharply.

She looked down “Um, I'm wearing it.”

“Yeah well… that’s good for you” Kato replied, his voice trailing off.

She bopped his nose, “you’re cute” a smirk played on her lips. “But trust me I’m not after your wood, we just met after all. It’s my name, Styx, with an x,” she blew a kiss.

Kato reddened, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck, “oh, right… nice to meet you.”

“And you are” she nudged his shoulder playfully, the smirk still dancing across her lips.

“It’s, uhh… Kato?”

“You sure? That doesn’t sound sure.”

“Yeah, what else would I be called.” Kato nervously laughed, “Floor guy?”

“Floor guy?” She looked at him strangely. “That’s a terrible name.”

Kato laughed a little too hard.

She looked at him again, “you’re kinda weird.”

“Oh yeah, well you’re kind of…” Kato paused

“Kind of what?” she asked.

“Give me a second alright” Kato said.

“Okay” she paused. “One… I’m kind of what?”

“Insufferable,” Kato muttered.

“What was that?” She asked. “You kind of murmured just then.”

“Weird sneeze?” Kato tried hopefully.

“Right,” she replied, studying him with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

Kato blushed, involuntarily.

With a small roll of her eyes, she started to walk away “If you’re done sneezing let’s, go”

“And why would I go anywhere with you?” Kato shot back, crossing his arms.

Without even turning around, she replied “What else are you going to do?”

With a resigned sigh, Kato followed.