Classic rock thumped from the battery-powered radio on the kitchen counter, filling the condo with amazing riffs and pulse-pounding drum solo’s. The lead singer wasn’t performing alone, though; another voice joined the fray. Jo was singing the lyrics bobbing his head to the music as he scrubbed the kitchen floor on his hands and knees. He had been cleaning since sun-up, and now the last burning rays of light were beginning to dip behind the nearest building. As he finished scrubbing the last tile, he plopped the brush into the sudsy bucket water with a splash and sat down on his rump, giving his sore knees a well-deserved break. The condo had been left locked and undisturbed since he’d been cryogenically frozen, resulting in a thick layer of dust on everything and the contents of his refrigerator transforming into black sludge. The repulsive odor was impossible to remove from the appliance (and believe me, Jo tried everything!). In the end, he’d just thrown the thing out the window into the dumpster below and ordered a new one. The rest of his day had been spent dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing the mold out of the bathroom and disposing of the expired food in his pantry. The last thing on his list was the kitchen floor, and it was now lemony-fresh and squeaky-clean!
Jo took a deep breath, held it, and sighed; satisfied with a job well-done. Grunting as he stood, he carried the bucket to the bathroom and dumped the filthy water into the toilet before rinsing it in the shower and storing it and the scrub brush in the hall closet. Stretching his back with a satisfying popping sound, Jo wandered into the living room, turning off the radio en route, and plopped down on the couch. The sunlight finally faded, the twilight between late afternoon and the true darkness of night casting the room in a grey shadow. Hunger tugged at the chuunin’s belly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten yet today; and with every edible scrap of food in his home having gone expired, he was left with little option but to order-in, or go out and get something to eat. Jo was tempted to just order in some pizza, but then he remembered that he hadn’t yet renewed his phone line since it had been shut off in his absence.
”Guess I should get dressed, then…” he grumbled as he looked down at his attire. There wasn’t a restaurant in the vicinity that would give him patronage while he was wearing black athletic shorts and a stained white tank-top. Grunting in resignation, he got up and headed into the bedroom to change. Fumbling through his drawers blindly in the dark, he grabbed out a pair of jeans, black t-shirt, and a pair of socks and returned to the living room. The electric company hadn’t reactivated his service yet, but he was able to get dressed fairly well with the little light he had left. Lacing his boots was a little tricky in the dark, but muscle-memory kicked in and he soon found himself donning his brown leather jacket and exiting the front door, locking it behind him.
The streets of the Seki District were bustling with activity. Saturday night in Kumogakure hadn’t changed a bit, and the weather had finally broken just as spring officially arrived. The night was pleasantly cool, enough so that the jacket was a good idea. The first stars dotted the sky, half of the heavenly dome a dark purple, while the western half was still grey with the light of the recently set sun. Jo silently made his way to the portion of the district that had the better restaurants. He didn’t feel like fast-food, he wanted something substantial. For that, he went to his favorite restaurant; Kaijo. The food was a blend of traditional Lightning Country fare and western dishes, and the martini’s had won several awards both in the village and throughout the rest of Lightning Country. Their symbol, an orange spiral spinning counter-clockwise, hung over the door, swinging gently in the breeze as Jo entered.
The scent of food hit him with full force as he entered, the multitude of spices and ingredients creating a pleasing aroma that wafted through the air and caused Jo’s mouth to water. A pretty blonde girl around his own age was standing at the hostess stand. Her uniform of black slacks, tennis shoes, t-shirt and apron didn’t do her body any justice, but Jo honestly wasn’t interested in anything carnal at the moment. All he wanted was a good meal and a cold drink.
“Welcome to Kaijo! Do you have a reservation?” She said, her voice obviously taking on a fake cheeriness that went along with working in food service.
”No, ma’am. Is there room at the bar?”
“There sure is! Go ahead and grab a seat, Yoko will be right with you, mmkay?”
Jo inwardly cringed as she added an upward inflection to the end of a statement, but thanked her with his own fake cheery-voice and headed over to the bar. Climbing into one of the high bar-stools, Jo took a glance around. It appeared they had done a little remodeling; the pattern on the carpet wasn’t the same as he remembered, but the walls were still had the same textured burgundy wallpaper. The shades over the lights that hung over each table were blue now, and the candleholders were small blue cups instead of green margarita glasses (Thank Raiden! The old ones were so tacky!). The four-person booths that lined the walls were still the same dark-brown pleather, and the tables were still covered in white tablecloths; but they were using black napkins now, and the silverware was a different style than he remembered.
The place was relatively busy, only a few tables remained empty, and the sound of the patrons conversations blended into a pleasant murmur with the smooth jazz that played quietly in the background through speakers embedded in the ceiling. The lights behind the bar and over the booths dimmed slightly as the hostess changed the setting to give the room a softer lighting for the evening. Out of the corner of his eye, Jo saw Yoko approaching from the liquor closet behind the bar, carrying a few replacement bottles with her.
“Hey, I’ll be right with you!” She said, setting the bottles in their respective places on the mirror-backed shelves behind the bar. Yoko was a curvaceous middle-aged woman with wavy, chestnut-brown shoulder-length brown hair and huge, amazing… blue eyes (of course!). When she turned, she finally recognized him. “Oh, shit! Jo! How’s it going? I haven’t seen you around in a while.”
”Yeah, I’ve been out of town for a while.” Jo played off his absence. The bartender (as most bartenders are), was overly chatty with her clients; so Jo built a background to protect his identity. It was actually pretty good practice, and fun to boot! As far as anyone here knew, he was a semi well-to-do businessman at a large international corporation.
“So, what can I get you? The usual? A Manhattan straight-up, right?”
”Good memory, but no. I’m trying to cut back a little on the drinking.” Truth be told, he’d stopped drinking all together. He didn’t want to give By-Tor (his Jinchuuriki) the opportunity to take over again, even though he had agreed to remain subordinate to his host. He didn’t trust that shadow-wolf any farther than he could throw him; and last time he checked, the beast was composed of some sort of ether, so he wouldn’t be able to throw him anyway. ”Could I get a ginger beer instead? Oh, and a menu? I’m freaking starving!”
“Sure thing hon’.” She procured the beverage for him. The non-alcoholic brew was served in a chilled pint glass, and was so cold it stung the back of his throat as he drank his first sip. Jo sighed in contentment as the carbonation refreshed his parched throat. The two exchanged small talk for a bit until a couple sat at the other end of the bar and drew her attention away. Jo continued sipping his non-alcoholic beverage as he glanced over the menu. After a few minutes, someone pulled out the barstool beside him…
Jo took a deep breath, held it, and sighed; satisfied with a job well-done. Grunting as he stood, he carried the bucket to the bathroom and dumped the filthy water into the toilet before rinsing it in the shower and storing it and the scrub brush in the hall closet. Stretching his back with a satisfying popping sound, Jo wandered into the living room, turning off the radio en route, and plopped down on the couch. The sunlight finally faded, the twilight between late afternoon and the true darkness of night casting the room in a grey shadow. Hunger tugged at the chuunin’s belly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten yet today; and with every edible scrap of food in his home having gone expired, he was left with little option but to order-in, or go out and get something to eat. Jo was tempted to just order in some pizza, but then he remembered that he hadn’t yet renewed his phone line since it had been shut off in his absence.
”Guess I should get dressed, then…” he grumbled as he looked down at his attire. There wasn’t a restaurant in the vicinity that would give him patronage while he was wearing black athletic shorts and a stained white tank-top. Grunting in resignation, he got up and headed into the bedroom to change. Fumbling through his drawers blindly in the dark, he grabbed out a pair of jeans, black t-shirt, and a pair of socks and returned to the living room. The electric company hadn’t reactivated his service yet, but he was able to get dressed fairly well with the little light he had left. Lacing his boots was a little tricky in the dark, but muscle-memory kicked in and he soon found himself donning his brown leather jacket and exiting the front door, locking it behind him.
The streets of the Seki District were bustling with activity. Saturday night in Kumogakure hadn’t changed a bit, and the weather had finally broken just as spring officially arrived. The night was pleasantly cool, enough so that the jacket was a good idea. The first stars dotted the sky, half of the heavenly dome a dark purple, while the western half was still grey with the light of the recently set sun. Jo silently made his way to the portion of the district that had the better restaurants. He didn’t feel like fast-food, he wanted something substantial. For that, he went to his favorite restaurant; Kaijo. The food was a blend of traditional Lightning Country fare and western dishes, and the martini’s had won several awards both in the village and throughout the rest of Lightning Country. Their symbol, an orange spiral spinning counter-clockwise, hung over the door, swinging gently in the breeze as Jo entered.
The scent of food hit him with full force as he entered, the multitude of spices and ingredients creating a pleasing aroma that wafted through the air and caused Jo’s mouth to water. A pretty blonde girl around his own age was standing at the hostess stand. Her uniform of black slacks, tennis shoes, t-shirt and apron didn’t do her body any justice, but Jo honestly wasn’t interested in anything carnal at the moment. All he wanted was a good meal and a cold drink.
“Welcome to Kaijo! Do you have a reservation?” She said, her voice obviously taking on a fake cheeriness that went along with working in food service.
”No, ma’am. Is there room at the bar?”
“There sure is! Go ahead and grab a seat, Yoko will be right with you, mmkay?”
Jo inwardly cringed as she added an upward inflection to the end of a statement, but thanked her with his own fake cheery-voice and headed over to the bar. Climbing into one of the high bar-stools, Jo took a glance around. It appeared they had done a little remodeling; the pattern on the carpet wasn’t the same as he remembered, but the walls were still had the same textured burgundy wallpaper. The shades over the lights that hung over each table were blue now, and the candleholders were small blue cups instead of green margarita glasses (Thank Raiden! The old ones were so tacky!). The four-person booths that lined the walls were still the same dark-brown pleather, and the tables were still covered in white tablecloths; but they were using black napkins now, and the silverware was a different style than he remembered.
The place was relatively busy, only a few tables remained empty, and the sound of the patrons conversations blended into a pleasant murmur with the smooth jazz that played quietly in the background through speakers embedded in the ceiling. The lights behind the bar and over the booths dimmed slightly as the hostess changed the setting to give the room a softer lighting for the evening. Out of the corner of his eye, Jo saw Yoko approaching from the liquor closet behind the bar, carrying a few replacement bottles with her.
“Hey, I’ll be right with you!” She said, setting the bottles in their respective places on the mirror-backed shelves behind the bar. Yoko was a curvaceous middle-aged woman with wavy, chestnut-brown shoulder-length brown hair and huge, amazing… blue eyes (of course!). When she turned, she finally recognized him. “Oh, shit! Jo! How’s it going? I haven’t seen you around in a while.”
”Yeah, I’ve been out of town for a while.” Jo played off his absence. The bartender (as most bartenders are), was overly chatty with her clients; so Jo built a background to protect his identity. It was actually pretty good practice, and fun to boot! As far as anyone here knew, he was a semi well-to-do businessman at a large international corporation.
“So, what can I get you? The usual? A Manhattan straight-up, right?”
”Good memory, but no. I’m trying to cut back a little on the drinking.” Truth be told, he’d stopped drinking all together. He didn’t want to give By-Tor (his Jinchuuriki) the opportunity to take over again, even though he had agreed to remain subordinate to his host. He didn’t trust that shadow-wolf any farther than he could throw him; and last time he checked, the beast was composed of some sort of ether, so he wouldn’t be able to throw him anyway. ”Could I get a ginger beer instead? Oh, and a menu? I’m freaking starving!”
“Sure thing hon’.” She procured the beverage for him. The non-alcoholic brew was served in a chilled pint glass, and was so cold it stung the back of his throat as he drank his first sip. Jo sighed in contentment as the carbonation refreshed his parched throat. The two exchanged small talk for a bit until a couple sat at the other end of the bar and drew her attention away. Jo continued sipping his non-alcoholic beverage as he glanced over the menu. After a few minutes, someone pulled out the barstool beside him…
]
- MFT 250+]