Gentle nudges were made to wake Jun up, but the deep sleep made him care less about the waking world. A few more little nudges barely roused him awake. "Leave me alone... we aren't there yet anyway..." He said groggily.
"I agree. In fact, we missed Momoboshi because of you." Dan told in a cold voice, which jolted Jun awake.
"Please tell me you're joking!" Jun's voice trembled as Dan coldly stared at him. "Come on, man! Say something!"
Jun shook him in panic when he noticed Dan's orange peel chin. It was obvious that he's struggling not to grin. In an instant, caution consumed his face, putting him in a calm mood.
"Dan, please... tell me you're joking." He repeated with a grey-colored aura of intimidation.
Nevertheless, Dan stared into him, still as a prowling tiger. This made Jun realize that he's actually serious. "Shit... what do we do now?" Jun's intimidation simmered down and cupped his head in panic. He swore that he would not sleep while traveling in his head.
Seeing him in that state, Dan burst out laughing, so much that he's wheezing and clutching his sides. "Got you good, didn't I?! Man, I can't believe that smolder worked! Whew, I never felt so much thrill in my lif-AAAHHH!"
No sooner did Dan said than he yelled in pain when Jun pinched his nipple. "You're roadkill now, trash pandog. Besides, that look is called the Guilt-Tripper." he uttered in a calm tone, but his action screams for blood.
Dan tried to free from Jun's grip by yanking his little ponytail, but this only helped in getting his second, bigger serving of pain.
"Mercy, mercy! Let me go! Owwahhh!!" Dan was writhing in pain and grabbed Jun's hand to break his crab-like pincer hold, but Jun let him go after he felt satisfied and breathed out a sigh of fulfillment.
"Sadistic piece of... It's just a prank, man! Why do you have to go so far?!" He barked in anger, tearfully licking his wounds in the meantime.
"A prank that just cost me my sleep and peace of mind. You should know better than to wake me up." Jun retorted at him nonchalantly, feeling no guilt for what he had done. "Anyway, when will we reach there?"
"I'm telling you nothing." Dan pouted, crossing his arms and threw his back into the seat, looking at Jun with defiance. "Do your worst."
Jun simply snapped his left hand and gestured a pincer hold: "Next time it's your right." He flaunted it menacingly.
This pushed Dan into surrendering, fearing for the untold pain meted out on him, which is best left unsaid. "Hold on, hold on! We'll reach Momoboshi in 10 minutes. So, please put your hand down." Dan covered Jun's hand with his own and put it down as if he's disarming a weapon from him gently for a moment of truce.
"I see..." He pondered about something in his mind and immediately pulled out his Holo-Slab. He opened the map, zooming and scrolling along the lines, studying the routes with a keen sight.
"What are you doing, bro?" Dan asked.
"Searching for vacant houses. Our best bet in the suburb blocks. Those that have been finished halfway are even better. On top of that, we should look for places---"
"I checked it all out. Here." Dan handed out his Slab, which shows the bookmarks of the locations and the details about them. That's when Jun realised that he was bored after organizing the itinerary. Being an early riser, Dan used to read or edit the manuscripts back in home but since the hiatus, he has nothing to work with. Now he just listens to songs to kill time.
Glancing at Dan, he stretched out his fist, saying: "Good." Dan turned towards him and just bumped his fist. "I guess we just have to talk with the landlord and---"
"I spoke to the landlord's daughter. She's fine with all I have discussed with her. She said the house would be ready in six months. Meanwhile, for our temporary stay, she recommended one of her friend's apartment which she's renting out too. It's cheap too."
While Dan was explaining away, Jun just blurted out whole-heartedly: "Sorry for the pain and thank you for the help. I love you, bro and I don't know what I'd do without you. I swear fealty and my life unto you!"
"Hey, hey, it's okay! I just wanna help, that's it! It's all water under the bridge!" Dan covered his face with his hand out of second-hand embarrassment for Jun's cheesy apology. But he felt happy about it.
"You're a grade-S husbando material, you know?"
"Pfft... as if. I'm just looking out for my pal, my cousin, that's all. Besides, I'm not that attractive or anything like that. "
"Your future wife would be so lucky to meet you and love you for you, I can see it." Jun continued to tease him.
"Hey, cut it out!" Dan started to feel sheepish about the remark but felt glad that he was able to help his cousin.
----------------------------------------
4 minutes later, the train slowed down and stopped in a station. Jun glanced the platform signs through the window and signaled Dan to pick up the luggage. "We're here now, let's go." They exited out of the train with the other passengers and looked around the platform to find a way out of the station.
On the way out, they were stopped by a teenaged boy, asking for something. "Excuse me, is this you?" he showed his Holo-Slab to them, featuring a recorded video that titled 'Offline Karaoke Fest'. This two-day old video became so viral that it made headlines, both locally and nationally.
Although the highlight is the singing air hostess who managed to steal many hearts overnight, the people were just determined to know this mysterious white-haired man, who initiated the happy hysteria. Dan simply pointed to Jun to him, which bit him in the neck.
Soon, a mob gathered surrounding Jun while pushing Dan away from him. At the centre of attention, Jun was shell-shocked as he was bombarded with questions like where he's from. Whether he is an idol trainee. Whether he is a secret heir of a conglomerate. Some are just downright proposals for marriage. Although it may seem that the crowd is overreacting over a commoner, but Jun's appearance support their assumptions.
His pure-white hair obscuring over his eyes, ponytail depicting him as a free-spirited vagabond, face rounded with effeminate highlights, slim figure on par with athletes and dancers, tanned skin that simply stands out more than needed. Overall, Jun looks like an exotic beast and he feels disgusted by the ticking second.
Without giving a single syllable, he simply put on his hoodie and pushed through the crowd, while gasping for his breath. For him, it's like walking through a muddy swamp and the unbudging crowd, hellbent on getting answers and selfies, makes it even harder. Thankfully, a hand grabbed him and he was pulled out from the unruly mob.
"Boy am I glad to see you!" Jun felt very elated on seeing his savior's face, who is actually Dan. "Less admiring, more running!" Dan shouted at him, dragging him away while the mob started to chase them.
> "Where did you go?"
> "I picked a ride while you were stuck there."
> "Is it a cab?"
> "Nah, even better!"
Finally, they went out of the station after paying the toll and stood to check whether the mob is still after them, until they got caught under someone's eyes.
"Hey, over here!" A bold and beautiful voice fell on Jun's ears, who turned towards the source. It was from a woman in a biker suit, face covered with a cat-eared helmet. He immediately pulled Dan away and dashed towards her.
"Wow! Now that I look up-close, you really do like an idol trainee!"
"I'll thank you later for the remark, but are you the one Dan talked about? The ride?"
"Oh, yeah! The chubby one said to wait here."
"Hey, I'm still not bringing down the price." The biker told to Dan, whose eyes glow red.
"Come on, that's atrocious! Even the cab fare doesn't cost that much! You deal with her, bro!" Dan scratched his head in frustration.
"What's your side of the story, sis?" Jun asked the biker in a deadpan tone.
"I told the price to get to the hotel he asked for. He said that it's costly and doesn't want to pay. In my defense, I took everything into account and gave my price accordingly." She explained.
"Like what, exactly?"
"It's festive season, so the rush hour doesn't end till it's noon. Plus, I can take you there sooner than any cab here." She explained further, but with pride.
"Guys, we should haul ass, now!" Dan panicked, pressuring both of them to seal the deal soon.
"In a minute..." Jun pondered about the deal to benefit both parties as much as possible, but Dan triggered him with one word: Paparazzi. Instantly, Jun shifted his tone to a more aggressive, no-care attitude.
"Listen here, woman! I bet you twice the money you can't get us there before the map's ETA!"
This shot up a nerve in the biker that she crossed her arms in defiance. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
"A brazen woman with skills to back it up, I assume. Aren't you one?" Jun copied her stance and gaze. On seeing this, the biker stretched her hand out for a shake: "You have a bet. I look forward to see you eat your words." Jun could sense the biker smirking behind the visor.
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"The feeling's mutual." Jun smiled.
"Hop on!" The biker invited them and the cousins sat on the bike. "Hold on tight, 'cause it's gonna get windy!" She revved the bike and sped on across the street, leaving the area in a matter of seconds.
The biker zoomed past the cars and trucks, swerved left and right, drifted at sharp curves while not losing speed at all. In fact, she goes faster at every turn and intersection. Achieving top speed while abiding traffic rules, that's not something anybody can pull. Finally, the trio reached the hotel with 2 minutes to spare.
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Standing in a victorious pose, the biker gestured a victory sign in one hand and a palm in another. Normally, anybody would be grumbling to part their money on losing a bet. But Jun merely reciprocated her win with a thumbs-up and gave her the double fare. Looking at the bike's mirror, he fixed his hair and remarked that the ride was awesome. When he asked Dan for his opinion, he found him barfing into a garbage bin. Jun's smile turned upside-down and the biker cupped her helmet head in regret.
"Shit..." Jun ran to him and caressed his back and held his forehead tightly to limit Dan's retching. Dan's face was pale and sweating, blinking his eyes to reduce the dizzying feeling. The retching reduced, leaving him filled with fatigue. Jun massaged his wrist to ease his nausea, while the biker offered him a bottle of water. Dan thanked her and emptied the bottle. Vigor returned and his face shone.
"Here's the fare." The biker returned the money to Jun, which she adamantly refused to take it back and apologized for the discomfort. Looking at the time in her watch, she beckoned them to the hotel and ran inside. After Dan felt better, both of them walked in.
Inside, there's an empty reception desk, which Jun and Dan stood behind, waiting for the receptionist as sounds were coming from a room behind the desk, covered by a curtain. Out emerged two women wearing black cat masks bickering at each other. The tall woman on Jun's right side, craned over the small woman and scolded her. To Jun's sight, it looked like two black cats, a mother and a kitten, were meowing and hissing back and forth, which made him chuckle.
Mildly offended, the tall woman's anger was now directed at Jun. "What are you snickering for?! Is this funny to you?"
Jun simply nodded with a smile: "I'm sorry but all I can see is two cats fighting and I find it pretty cute."
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew cold. There was silence within earshot. The cat masks' paint grew darker while the whiskers were highlighted with red paint. Although he couldn't understand the change, he could somewhat realise that he might have overstepped and made them uncomfortable.
"Is something wrong?" Jun asked with concern.
"That's creepy..." the kitten said bluntly.
Jun internally clenched his teeth with embarassment and apologized but the kitten interrupted. "No, no, creepy is the wrong word. What was it...?"
"You mean, 'eerie'?" The mother cat helped.
> "Exactly, Ma! Eerie!"
> "Uhh..."
> "Excuse me, are you acquainted with my husband, by any chance?"
> "No, ma'am. This is the first time I'm here, actually."
> "I see..."
> "May I ask why you felt eerie?"
> "Oh, that's because my father says that a lot. In fact, he shows this big grin everytime Mom and I have a fight."
> "Your words are exact, word to word. That's why we're shocked to hear a stranger say it."
Jun found this a bit absurd at the fact that the women were lenient with him and Dan. In fact, he was prepared for the worst-case scenario and ready to make the Dogeza. He felt relieved in the end. Still, he couldn't help but be prickly.
"So you do acknowledge that you're fighting like stray cats, ma'am. I say your husband is a great soul. I want to show my immense respect to him"
The kitten turned away to hide her giggles from her mother, while the mother cleared her throat, trying to hide her embarassment for acting like that in front of customers.
"Mako-chan, what's taking so long?" A loud voice came from the back and a man with grey-cat mask stood in between the women. The mother whispered with the man about the issue here, which got him laughing.
"Is that so, huh? Hey, man, aren't these two adorable?" The man started to brag about his wife and daughter in a jovial tone.
"Yeah... they're adorable." Dan and Jun spoke in unison, nervously.
"Stop that! We're in front of the customers!" The mother whispered angrily at her husband, blushing due to his lovey-dovey behavior.
"But honey, did you know that I love you so much?" The man continued to profess his love for his wife, making her whiskers bright pink. Unable to handle it, she whisked her husband and instructed Mako, the kitten to allot them a room.
Mako sighed heavily, like a weight has been lifted off her chest. "Never expected you to be such a smooth talker, trainee!"
> "Trainee?"
> "Yeah, you're that guy in the news, right? The idol trainee returning from hiatus, blah, blah, blah..."
At that moment, Jun realised that the kitten, Mako is the biker who gave them the lift.
"Ohh... so you're the biker, huh. I thought you sounded familiar." Jun felt happy on solving the tiny mystery.
But Mako was confused that she couldn't help but ask to Dan: "Is your cousin weird or something? It's not like he's seeing me for the first time, right? Right?"
"What the... I'm seeing you for the first time too! You know, the..." Dan gestured the helmet, still showing his face of disbelief.
"Oh, hahahaha! I'm such a klutz..."
"But a gorgeous klutz!" Dan emphasized his pronunciation on Gorgeous.
> "Haha, nice try, but you don't get discounts here. Thanks, though."
> "Last time I checked, flattery is not some magical discount coupon. You gotta give credit where the credit is due."
Dan's display of chivalry momentarily swept Mako off her feet, internally. Jun glances at her mask, showing that the whiskers are flashing pink and peach. Then, Mako pulled herself together and handed over the key, directing them to the fifth floor. Jun took the key and the cousins thanked Mako and went on when she called for Dan. Jun continued on, while Dan returned.
"Yes, Mako-san. Need help?" Dan offered.
But Mako simply ran her hand through her short fringes. "I have something to say. Come closer, please?" Mako leaned forward and Dan followed suit.
"I noticed something. If your cousin is a smooth marble slab, then you're a smooth brick of butter. What I'm trying to say is that if all three of us are single, maybe we could be a throuple... what do you say? Shall. we. do. it?" Her purple eyes shine through her glasses seductively. Her hands cover gently over his hands. Their faces are only a few inches apart for a little liplock. But Dan has other plans.
"And risk getting choked by your crush? I say no to that." Dan just slid off from Mako's holding.
Mako just giggled at her failure to make Dan flustered but also curious about his deduction. "How do you know that I like someone?"
"Just felt a hunch... like you're practicing moves on me before you pull this off. Whatever happens, I'll root for you, Mako-chan. Bye-bye!"
Mako waved him back and sighed softly. She envied his future girlfriend but little did she know that the most sensational bomb would blow in everyone's face, including hers. But this is in the distant future.
----------------------------------------
Later, the evening sky grew darker contrasted with the bright full moon. The glass structures erected around the archipelago shimmers in the moonlight. Its glorious beauty can be seen if one is in a space station.
After Dan and Jun took a good long hot spring bath and dined heavily on the hotel's festive cuisine, they are in their hotel room resting. But unfortunately for Dan, he is resting in the toilet, chanting scary threats as his bowels are flushing brimstones and hellfire.
"Junki... when I catch you Junki...
Junki... when I catch you Junki...
Junki... when I catch you Junki..."
This drivel was going on for the past fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, Jun receives a call in his Holo-Slab. As he took it, the Slab is black, signalling that it's from an unknown number. Caution preceded curiosity, so he did not answer the call. Seconds later, the same call was ringing. Now, Jun confirms that someone knows him. He took the Slab and answered the call.
> "Hello, who's this?"
> "Hey, kid! Missed me?"
Jun was elated to hear the voice and grinned widely.
> "Long time no see, Baa-san (Auntie)! How are you?"
> "You know the drill... meetings, blah, blah, security, scan, search, something, something, something, profits!"
> "That sounds irresponsible, considering your position as the Head of the most prominent Security Solutions corporate."
> "The details are too boring for you to comprehend, so I gave you the compact version. You're welcome. So, did you enjoy the festival?"
> "What festival?"
> "You know, the Founding Festival!"
> "I had no interest in celebrating the festival, so we left."
> "Hold on... where are you both right now?"
> "Currently, we're in a hotel in Momoboshi. I'm sitting on the bed and Dan is in the toilet, trying to summon the Toilet Ghost or something."
> "You ungrateful brat! I spent a bit of my fortune, booking a pair of seats in a Skyslither express line, so that you could have fun in the Festival! How could you trample my love without hesitation?!"
> "How can we enjoy it when you've sent us to the biggest sauna plate of an island?! You forgot we're from Shinjukawa, didn't you?!"
> "Oh... my bad... Teehee!"
"Teehee my---" Jun almost lost it but he regained his composure and continued. "Anyways, I'm not a fan of festivals but that doesn't mean I didn't have fun. Dan and I ate a lot of delicacies for dinner. They were fantastic!"
> "Huh, guess I'll chalk it up to you living your best. Hasn't Dan come out of the toilet yet?"
> "Nah, it'll take a while. Especially when he ate some wasabi-coated kimchi rolls."
> "Kid, that's some diabolical shit you've cooked up. What were you thinking making that combo?! And why did you let Dan eat them?!"
> "Well, he dug in before I said a word. It's his fault. Hehe."
> "God, I hope he's okay... now what's this news I've been hearing about? Did you join some J-Pop agency behind my back?"
> "No! It's just a huge misunderstanding. They simply assumed because of my looks."
> "Obviously, you look dashing! I bet many people asked for your autograph or selfie. Maybe even both!"
> "Oh, it's much more than that. It's so scary that a bunch of commoners can turn into paparazzi and grow pointy noses. Makes me shiver thinking about that."
> "Story of a celeb's life! You gotta ride it or fly above it! I prefer the second!"
> "Wise words, but seldom followed by yours truly... hahaha."
> "Ha ha. Very funny... Hey, speaking of funny, did you say 'Fuck you' to Ringara?"
Jun choked on his water on hearing the question. The hesitation on his side of the call helped Hibana realise it, which got her laughing.
> "The fun part is that he thought that I'm the one who taught you to cuss and he searched for me and blasted my ear-drums! Haha, the naivete..."
> "Well... he didn't let me go nor did he want to divulge anything related to my parents until the last moment. So, I got tired and cussed him out. I was over it but Dan cried that night after leaving with me. Poor guy..."
> "I agree. Anyway, about you and Ringara---"
> "Yeah, yeah, I know it's my fault, I shouldn't be arrogant to an elder and---"
> "Hold on! You did a good job, kid."
> "Good job?!"
> "Yeah! Good job slapping him back to reality, verbally. I say he deserves every single syllable of your line. It's high time he manned up and help me search your father."
> "I pray that you both make up and make out already. Haha!"
> "Dammit! Not that punchline! Come on, Jun!"
> "Hey, it's catchy. Plus, it's Dan who came up with it!"
> "I swear, if I get that line one more time, I---"
"Here's Danny!" Dan grabbed behind Jun's back menacingly and shook his head, trying to bore a hole into Jun, which he finds ticklish. Jun grabbed him and brought him to the front.
"Alright, you caught me. Now what?" Jun asked in the coldest tone possible.
> "Why would you eat that stuff? That much spice... your stomach would definitely die. And if it didn't, your intestines would! God, my rectum's burning..."
> "Uh... I have no need to know that but there's someone who wants to meet you very badly."
> "Is that you, sonny?"
"Mama Hibana!" Dan immediately snatched the Slab and went on to chat with her. Jun lied on the bed, looking at Dan, smiling away.
Ever since Dan's mother passed away in childbirth, he and his father had never been the same. Although Ringara took great pains in taking care of both Dan and Jun, he had this somber and embittered look on his face, signifying his simple, hard stance in life. He did not do anything to cheer himself up or find comfort for himself. He simply took care of them like a monk, but harboring a grudge against Hibana.
Despite his father's hostility, Dan's love and warmth pulled Hibana into the light. Over the years, they developed a close bond that one could mistake them as mother and son. Hibana was a mother that Dan always needed and he was a son she always wanted. On seeing such a bond over long distances, Jun felt both happiness and envy.
And with those feelings in his heart, he simply turned aside and closed his eyes.
Later, Dan wanted to give the Slab back to Jun but found he was fast asleep. He wished Hibana good night and went to sleep, looking forward to a new day tomorrow.
[To be continued]