[WEDNESDAY | AFTER SCHOOL: August 20th]

[jikanettanaka]

Ugh, I can't believe that punk would just cut out a time like this...! Does he know who he's dealing with!? I'll make it so he can never show that sorry face of his in this industry again!

What does he mean he deserves more money. Hmph! He shouldn't be trying to put together a family if he doesn't have the means for it! That's just... idiocy. And

Comments

[pokeitwithatwig]

[BEHOLD THE ADORABLE FAKE!SHOTA]

Mister, is everything alright?

[jikanettanaka]

I wonder if I could just replace them each year. It'd be better that way because I wouldn't have to worry about raises and things like that. It'd maximize profits and I wouldn't be stuck with these sorry contracts that always get me in t--

... Kid, you really need to learn the definition of "space cushion".

[He places a hand on Ray and pushes him back just a bit.]

Didn't your parents ever tell you not to speak to strangers? Now go on, get lost. Scram, and all that jazz.

[pokeitwithatwig]

My mom taught me to be nice to every person.

[jikanettanaka]

Well, here's a lesson from the real world, kid. Pro-tip, free of charge.

Don't trust anyone farther than you can throw 'em, all right? And besides that, you look like you couldn't even knock anyone over.

This world isn't cut out for idealists like your mom, okay? If you want something out of life, you've got to reach out and grab it, or else someone else will, and they'll step on you along the way, too.

[pokeitwithatwig]

Mhmm, right.

And here's a lesson for you, too: Smile.

[jikanettanaka]

Oh, don't tell me you're an offspring of the Flower Children. Listen, the generation you came from doesn't contribute a thing to society-- Never did, never will. If that's the kind of environment you're growing up in, I recommend running. Start doing things for yourself or this world ain't gonna let you in, kid.

That's free advice right there. You should already feel a whole lot richer, but I'm not going to sit here and fix your life for you. So beat it.

[pokeitwithatwig]

For one, I'm not leaving until I get flowers for my mom from that stand over there. Secondly, I don't know what happened to you, but it must be pretty bad if you're so...so...crud, what's the word in Japanese? er, jaded?

[jikanettanaka]

Jaded? Kid, I didn't realize you were such a riot.

Let me tell you a little story, kid. You may not guess it from looking at me, but things weren't easy when I was growing up. I even had to wear a garbage bag over myself when it was raining because we couldn't afford an umbrella.

Kindness and smiling gonna get you any sympathy? Not a chance. People are going to point, and they're gonna laugh, and they're gonna smile for themselves because they're so glad to not be in your shoes. And I didn't want to be in them either. My shoes had holes in them so big that rocks cut my feet.

But it's in the past. I dug myself out of that rut kid, and built up everything I had today.

[Tanaka seems to reflect upon it for a moment and nods. He seems to be smiling just a little.]

I'm proud of what I've done. I'm proud to be on top of the world now; I'm proud to be the one laughing.

So, kid. You can take your ideals and jump off a cliff with them for all I care.

[pokeitwithatwig]

[listens to that all, and is quiet for a moment because there's some difficult words in there and it takes him a moment to understand, but then he finally talks]

Well I guess you can do that, but isn't it lonely there?

[jikanettanaka]

"Lonely?" At the top? Of course it's lonely. That's the idea. After coming this far, I'll be damned if I'm going to let anyone share my thunder.

I bet you're going to spout off some sappy stuff about love to me, aren't you? Well, kid. Do me a favor. Take that love of yours and eat it right now. In fact, eat it every day, two or three meals, I don't even care. See if that fills you up enough to live on, huh?

[pokeitwithatwig]

...

I'm sorry.

[goes over and buys flowers! But instead of buying his usual 12, he buys 13, and leaves a yellow one near the fountain where Tanaka is as he leaves]

[jikanettanaka]

[Tanaka just barely caught sight of the boy and his peculiar act, though he couldn't comprehend it in the slightest. He decided to pick up the flower, only because he hated to see money wasted, and by god, discarding a newly bought flower was an absolute waste of money if he'd ever seen one. However, he didn't care to be seen in public with such a sappy item, so he tucked it into his suit jacket and quickly went on his way.]