Disclaimer: You all know the rules by now. I don't own them, but hot damn I wish I did.
Activate PROLOGUE!!!
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
-Action-
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10:47 PM; 10 hours earlier...
"Aww, come on Masayuki! One more for the road." A more than 'red-in-the-face' Kimiaki Shirai called out to his best friend, Masayuki Haitani. "I'll even buy it."
"Fine...if it'll get you to calm down, then go ahead." An 'also-red-in-the-face' Haitani replied. 'Damn...and we were just about to leave too.' Wait, if he wasn't paying?... "Make it a tei-seihaku-shu." Better to stick it to his friend for this one, only God knew how many times he'd had it done to him before. (1)
"Dude!" Shirai responded, that sakÚ was one of the more expensive ones that barman had in.
"You said you were buying," Haitani countered. "So buy it."
"Ahhhh...alright..." Shirai said, his mood suddenly deflated. "But you're buyin' next time." He motioned for the barman to pour two cups; both for him if he'd have had his way.
'Damn. I thought for sure that he'd drop it and get up.' Haitani thought, sitting back down. 'Ah, screw it. It's HIS cash...'
One more drink couldn't hurt, right?
-------------------------
Wrong.
Before he knew it, he and his buddy were staggering back to their apartment. Said apartment happened to be a mile away, and they 'oh-so-conveniently' happened to be out of cab fare.
"I'm sober!" Shirai called out to the night sky, "I had a lot to drink, but I'm still sober!"
Oh yeah, and Shirai had downed most of the sakÚ bottle in one go after 'oh so suddenly' deciding that it tasted 'good', as he put it.
"Keep it down, man!" Haitani said, "You'll wake everyone up."
It was no use. Shirai had moved in to now claiming has drink had been spiked. At this rate, it wasn't long before-
-CRASH!- -BIG CRASH!- -BARF!-
-something bad happened.
'I'm going to regret this.' Haitani sighed, and turned around to look at his downed friend.
Yup. True to form, Shirai had walked into a print booth, and brought it down with him. There was also the matter of the chunks of...'yellow'...on his shirt, but as a shop light came on, that was the least of their worries right now.
"Don't worry Hai-kun!" Shirai ranted, "Who uses those crappy things anyway?"
Yup, definitely the least of their worries.
-------------------------
8:52 AM, the next morning...
"Falsified school records and grossly inappropriate behavior are serious crimes," a stern voice said, "with zero room for tolerance or lenience."
"So you ain't at Tokyo-U then, Tokio-Ewe?" another voice asked.
A downcast Keitaro Urashima could only look up and nod at his inquisitors. 'How did it get this far?' He thought.
Well, he knew exactly how it had got this far; he'd lied to them, and had had to keep lying to keep up his appearance as a Toudai student and up until last night, it had gone pretty well. Pretty well, that is, until that dark-skinned girl had found his prep-school I.D.
'They must all hate me right now.' True, but probably not as much as he hated himself right now.
"Then as agreed, you will leave these premises." The stern voice continued, "Do you have any last words?"
What could he say to appease them? That it was all a big misunderstanding, that it was Haruka's fault for prompting him?
"You guys...I'm sorry I lied." He responded. No, he couldn't even do that to her. "I'm not that smart, and I've hardly ever talked to girls before."
As if these were real excuses. "I was really happy to be here, I thought I couldn't tell you the truth yet.
"It's only been a few days, but I had a lot of fun. Thank you..." He turned to leave. "And...goodbye, everyone."
Not looking back as he walked down the stairs was probably a good idea. He didn't think he could face any of them right now.
-------------------------
'Where do I go from here?' Keitaro thought as he walked past a photo booth with an 'Out of order' sign hanging from it.
He'd more than likely have to go back home, much as he resented the idea; to ask his father for help would only demean him further in his father's eyes, his mother probably wouldn't act too kindly either.
-RING-RING-
Seeing an oncoming tram up ahead, Keitaro sat on the waiting bench, and looked up to find someone he thought he'd unlikely ever see again.
"Why are you here?" He asked her as the tram pulled up, "Here to make sure I never come back?"
The resentment creeping up in his voice was unmistakable, but now wasn't the time to be getting angry.
"That's not it...I-" she stuttered. Why had she come here?
"Don't worry about it." He cut in as he boarded the tram, "I'm leaving, and you'll never see me again.
"That's a promise you can keep for life." he said as the doors closed, "Goodbye."
Keitaro slumped into one of the free chairs, and felt his eyes closing. The day hadn't even started and he was already exhausted.
-------------------------
'That's a promise you can keep for life.' The words danced around her head as she looked at the departing tram.
Why were those words so familiar?
"Hey...where's Keitaro?" She looked up to see Haruka standing next to her, papers in her hand.
She could only make out the top line of the first page. ''Real Estate Deed of Ownership - Land and Buildings'?'
"H-Haruka?" She asked, "Why do I feel as if I just made a huge mistake?"
For the first time in a long while, Naru Narusegawa felt tears start to well up.
-------------------------
6:44 PM; 15 minutes earlier.
"Well I'm very sorry Urashima-san," The man had said. "But given your current status, there are no properties available to you to rent out."
"You're sure?" Keitaro responded, his voice sounding desperate. "Positive?"
"Very much so." He replied. "A two-time ronin, with no surety and a paltry budget? No offense intended, but if I did find you a place, you'd have been kicked out of it before you'd have even seen where it was. And that's not even mentioning how badly my manager would kick MY ass."
Keitaro could see the sympathy in the man's eyes; he'd tried, but there just wasn't anywhere within Keitaro's 'paltry budget'.
"Alright," Keitaro said as he got up. "Thanks for trying anyway." Keitaro shook the man's hand, picked up his bag, and left the building.
'That makes it twenty out of twenty places I tried.' He thought as he walked. 'Guess I really am going to have to go home. Mom, Dad...I'm sorry.'
He looked up at a signpost, the nearest major train station was a mile away, and he didn't have enough money left for cab fare.
"Better start walking." He said to himself.
-------------------------
7:02 PM
Here he was, looking at the stairs in front of him that led up to the station. He'd been standing and staring for a few minutes now, just waiting.
Waiting for something, anything to come along and give him a hand.
But no...there were to hand-outs to be had. It was his fault he'd got into this mess, so it was up to him to get himself out of it.
He'd only taken one step forward before he felt a loud rumbling come around.
"An earthquake?!" He asked, looking around to see everyone flee the area.
"HEY, WATCH OUT!" A voice called out.
Keitaro had just enough time to look up before-
-VERY BIG CRASH!-
-Heaven gave him a concussion as a parting gift.
How thoughtful.
End of prologue.
-------------------------
-------------------------
(1) A type of sakÚ.
I have a habit of starting ideas and leaving them very unfinished/unpolished. I don't expect I'll be continuing this story anytime soon, but I decided to put this prologue up anyway because I figured 'hey, what's the worst that could happen?'.
I'm not going to apologies for my writing style; chalk it down to newbie-ness.
As usual, please R&R. Tell me where I'm going wrong and suggest whatever you feel would make this a better story.
-------------------------
One last thing - this piece is dedicated to all those TFFer's out there who tirelessly continue to make the world a funnier place to live in.
I'm looking at you LordRaa and TenguPhule - keep up the great work! (in your own time, of course! :sweat: )
Later!
Activate PROLOGUE!!!
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
-Action-
-------------------------
-------------------------
10:47 PM; 10 hours earlier...
"Aww, come on Masayuki! One more for the road." A more than 'red-in-the-face' Kimiaki Shirai called out to his best friend, Masayuki Haitani. "I'll even buy it."
"Fine...if it'll get you to calm down, then go ahead." An 'also-red-in-the-face' Haitani replied. 'Damn...and we were just about to leave too.' Wait, if he wasn't paying?... "Make it a tei-seihaku-shu." Better to stick it to his friend for this one, only God knew how many times he'd had it done to him before. (1)
"Dude!" Shirai responded, that sakÚ was one of the more expensive ones that barman had in.
"You said you were buying," Haitani countered. "So buy it."
"Ahhhh...alright..." Shirai said, his mood suddenly deflated. "But you're buyin' next time." He motioned for the barman to pour two cups; both for him if he'd have had his way.
'Damn. I thought for sure that he'd drop it and get up.' Haitani thought, sitting back down. 'Ah, screw it. It's HIS cash...'
One more drink couldn't hurt, right?
-------------------------
Wrong.
Before he knew it, he and his buddy were staggering back to their apartment. Said apartment happened to be a mile away, and they 'oh-so-conveniently' happened to be out of cab fare.
"I'm sober!" Shirai called out to the night sky, "I had a lot to drink, but I'm still sober!"
Oh yeah, and Shirai had downed most of the sakÚ bottle in one go after 'oh so suddenly' deciding that it tasted 'good', as he put it.
"Keep it down, man!" Haitani said, "You'll wake everyone up."
It was no use. Shirai had moved in to now claiming has drink had been spiked. At this rate, it wasn't long before-
-CRASH!- -BIG CRASH!- -BARF!-
-something bad happened.
'I'm going to regret this.' Haitani sighed, and turned around to look at his downed friend.
Yup. True to form, Shirai had walked into a print booth, and brought it down with him. There was also the matter of the chunks of...'yellow'...on his shirt, but as a shop light came on, that was the least of their worries right now.
"Don't worry Hai-kun!" Shirai ranted, "Who uses those crappy things anyway?"
Yup, definitely the least of their worries.
-------------------------
8:52 AM, the next morning...
"Falsified school records and grossly inappropriate behavior are serious crimes," a stern voice said, "with zero room for tolerance or lenience."
"So you ain't at Tokyo-U then, Tokio-Ewe?" another voice asked.
A downcast Keitaro Urashima could only look up and nod at his inquisitors. 'How did it get this far?' He thought.
Well, he knew exactly how it had got this far; he'd lied to them, and had had to keep lying to keep up his appearance as a Toudai student and up until last night, it had gone pretty well. Pretty well, that is, until that dark-skinned girl had found his prep-school I.D.
'They must all hate me right now.' True, but probably not as much as he hated himself right now.
"Then as agreed, you will leave these premises." The stern voice continued, "Do you have any last words?"
What could he say to appease them? That it was all a big misunderstanding, that it was Haruka's fault for prompting him?
"You guys...I'm sorry I lied." He responded. No, he couldn't even do that to her. "I'm not that smart, and I've hardly ever talked to girls before."
As if these were real excuses. "I was really happy to be here, I thought I couldn't tell you the truth yet.
"It's only been a few days, but I had a lot of fun. Thank you..." He turned to leave. "And...goodbye, everyone."
Not looking back as he walked down the stairs was probably a good idea. He didn't think he could face any of them right now.
-------------------------
'Where do I go from here?' Keitaro thought as he walked past a photo booth with an 'Out of order' sign hanging from it.
He'd more than likely have to go back home, much as he resented the idea; to ask his father for help would only demean him further in his father's eyes, his mother probably wouldn't act too kindly either.
-RING-RING-
Seeing an oncoming tram up ahead, Keitaro sat on the waiting bench, and looked up to find someone he thought he'd unlikely ever see again.
"Why are you here?" He asked her as the tram pulled up, "Here to make sure I never come back?"
The resentment creeping up in his voice was unmistakable, but now wasn't the time to be getting angry.
"That's not it...I-" she stuttered. Why had she come here?
"Don't worry about it." He cut in as he boarded the tram, "I'm leaving, and you'll never see me again.
"That's a promise you can keep for life." he said as the doors closed, "Goodbye."
Keitaro slumped into one of the free chairs, and felt his eyes closing. The day hadn't even started and he was already exhausted.
-------------------------
'That's a promise you can keep for life.' The words danced around her head as she looked at the departing tram.
Why were those words so familiar?
"Hey...where's Keitaro?" She looked up to see Haruka standing next to her, papers in her hand.
She could only make out the top line of the first page. ''Real Estate Deed of Ownership - Land and Buildings'?'
"H-Haruka?" She asked, "Why do I feel as if I just made a huge mistake?"
For the first time in a long while, Naru Narusegawa felt tears start to well up.
-------------------------
6:44 PM; 15 minutes earlier.
"Well I'm very sorry Urashima-san," The man had said. "But given your current status, there are no properties available to you to rent out."
"You're sure?" Keitaro responded, his voice sounding desperate. "Positive?"
"Very much so." He replied. "A two-time ronin, with no surety and a paltry budget? No offense intended, but if I did find you a place, you'd have been kicked out of it before you'd have even seen where it was. And that's not even mentioning how badly my manager would kick MY ass."
Keitaro could see the sympathy in the man's eyes; he'd tried, but there just wasn't anywhere within Keitaro's 'paltry budget'.
"Alright," Keitaro said as he got up. "Thanks for trying anyway." Keitaro shook the man's hand, picked up his bag, and left the building.
'That makes it twenty out of twenty places I tried.' He thought as he walked. 'Guess I really am going to have to go home. Mom, Dad...I'm sorry.'
He looked up at a signpost, the nearest major train station was a mile away, and he didn't have enough money left for cab fare.
"Better start walking." He said to himself.
-------------------------
7:02 PM
Here he was, looking at the stairs in front of him that led up to the station. He'd been standing and staring for a few minutes now, just waiting.
Waiting for something, anything to come along and give him a hand.
But no...there were to hand-outs to be had. It was his fault he'd got into this mess, so it was up to him to get himself out of it.
He'd only taken one step forward before he felt a loud rumbling come around.
"An earthquake?!" He asked, looking around to see everyone flee the area.
"HEY, WATCH OUT!" A voice called out.
Keitaro had just enough time to look up before-
-VERY BIG CRASH!-
-Heaven gave him a concussion as a parting gift.
How thoughtful.
End of prologue.
-------------------------
-------------------------
(1) A type of sakÚ.
I have a habit of starting ideas and leaving them very unfinished/unpolished. I don't expect I'll be continuing this story anytime soon, but I decided to put this prologue up anyway because I figured 'hey, what's the worst that could happen?'.
I'm not going to apologies for my writing style; chalk it down to newbie-ness.
As usual, please R&R. Tell me where I'm going wrong and suggest whatever you feel would make this a better story.
-------------------------
One last thing - this piece is dedicated to all those TFFer's out there who tirelessly continue to make the world a funnier place to live in.
I'm looking at you LordRaa and TenguPhule - keep up the great work! (in your own time, of course! :sweat: )
Later!