"I thought you didn't like okonomiyaki, Torabe?"
"Well," he laughed, "live in Osaka long enough and you begin to love it. Sadly it isn't too much of a choice this close to the touristy places. You know?"
"I see…Osaka has gotten quite a lot of popularity lately."
I slowly ate away at the fried pancake on the hotplate in front of me. The place itself was a simple bar with a drape overhead to keep any rain out of the establishment. The food gave off a sweet and salty aroma that collected in the tarp over us.
"Do you think Osaka will ever be as popular as Tokyo?" I questioned.
"God no!" Torabe didn't waste any time with an answer, followed by a small chuckle. "Tokyo at this rate will become its own nation entirely, there's no stopping the overpopulation in that city. Other than the declining birth rate of course, haha."
While somewhat vulgar, this was the Torabe I was most accustomed to. While cold and mostly standoffish, he opens up really easily in social situations as long as you feed him questions.
"So, Karusu. Why did you come all the way back to Osaka?"
I was confused by the question.
"Well, to see you of course…"
"You really think I'm going to believe that? What reason do you have to see me?"
He somewhat continued to laugh to himself but turned back to eating the remainder of his meal. Followed by bitter tea, the okonomiyaki sat endearingly in my taste.
"It's not about whether you believe me or not, it is why I'm here. Take it or leave it, or tell me to screw off back to Kanazawa. It makes no difference to me."
Torabe didn't seem to give much of a response, and instead just waved it off and paid the bill before I could offer any pay into it. That was the sort of stubbornness I experienced the most from Torabe.
We made our way out from the restaurant and down the adjoining road. The lanterns overhead glistened like burning stars, their light chased to the ground against the monotone walls and sparse decorations.
Such small roads always seemed so intimate in my college days with Torabe and Nao. Something about being out until midnight doing nothing but getting drunk and sad together made for a long night filled with various conversations that never really meant anything to any one of us.
Sometimes the very thought of those days filled me with such bitter longing that I was sure I would end up crying if I thought too hard on it all. I'm positive Nao feels the same way—not sure about Torabe.
What am I to Torabe?