What am I supposed to say to her? Should I make a joke? Laugh off everything that happened? Offer to play some games with her?
Question after question formed in my mind as I parked my car and hopped out onto the street. Each new question brought with it an urge to slap myself. The only reason I didn't let it happen was because slapping myself might actually be unintentional suicide.
The stars shown brightly as the moon neared its full state. The peace of the night was only interrupted by the occasional hoot of an owl. Fireflies danced amongst the trees with a sense of serenity.
As I drifted throughout the sleepy neighborhood, my mind began to wonder towards the thought of what my future would look like. Am I going to get married and find a real, normal people job? Will I have a family? Or, maybe, I just keep delivering pizzas during the day while saving the world at night?
My heart and mind longed for the chance of doing something other than being The Strongest Man, but, at the same time, I can't just drop the act when I have this incredible power that I somehow ended up with. I made the decision to cross that road and never look back when I was 16.
A realization then dawned on me: it's been two years since I became the hero in the shadows. A lot has happened in two years. But, throughout all that, something's remained consistent.
My best friend since I was a kid has been by my side the whole time. Even though I'm just some weird guy who always slips away during the night, she never went away…
SHIT! Don't think about her like that… I can't get into that kind of relationship. At least, not right now. Even though I want to stop and do something different, I can't just abandon the world.
So tonight, I'll go apologize. I'll fix my screw-up from this morning. Then I'll keep delivering pizzas. Then, after that, I'll once again descend into the shadows.
Because that's who I am, and that's what I'll keep being until the day comes where I'm not needed anymore.
I'm Orokana Strong: The Strongest Man.
*
Yarinaoshi: The Strongest Man
IV: Black Fur and Green Eyes
*
-earlier that day-
"Ichi, I hope you're hungry, because I made a TON of rice balls!"
As her mother presented the family dinner on the table, Ichiban Tomodachi sat with her head in her arms.
"Come on, Ichi, eat up, then tell us what happened with Oro-kun today."
"I don't wanna…"
Ichi's father placed himself at the end of the table after grabbing a glass of water.
"Just so you know, Ichi, I can kick his ass if I need to."
Ichi popped up from the table with a look of explosive concern.
"THAT'S SO COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY… Have you been watching too much TV lately, To-san?"
"Ichi, you know the answer to that already… That's all I do in my free time."
Ichi slammed her head back down onto the cloth-covered table.
"Figures…"
"Can I offer some advice, Onee-san?" asked her younger brother as he introduced himself into the dining room.
"Spit it out, Ni."
Ni approached his older sister's right ear with a grin as wide as Jupiter.
"Just marry the guy already. You're completely in love with him."
With incredible speed, Ichi jumped out of her chair and grabbed her brother's shirt collar.
"BAKA! STOP ASSUMING THINGS! KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF MY PERSONAL LIFE, YOU TWERP!"
Ni pulled away from his sister and leaned to grab a rice ball from the table.
"You'll thank me one day, Onee-san. Well, you will if you ever get over yourself."
Ni bolted towards his room with a rice ball in-hand as his sister clawed and hissed towards him. After the sound of his bedroom door slamming shut echoed throughout the house, Ichi's mother placed her hands on her hips.
"Ichi, can you be a bit nicer towards your brother? He's trying to helpful, even though he's doing it in his own way."
"Ka-san, why couldn't you guys make a little sister instead?"
Ichi's father saw the perfect opportunity to interject.
"Ichi, dear, I thought we went over this already. Do we need to have the talk ag-"
"UGH, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GOING TO BED. GOOD NIGHT."
As Ichi dashed her way out of the room, Ichi's mother turned to the man of the house with a look of frustration in her eyes.
"Dear, why are you the way you are? You drove the entire family out, and now it's just us for dinner."
Question marks overtook the father's mind.
"WAIT, WHAT DID I DO?!"
*
Ichi's father opened the door to find his daughter laying face-down in her pillow.
"Whu du yuh wuh?"
"Hey, I'm sorry if I, uh, according to your mother, 'ran you out'. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything."
"Muh Kuh."
"Anyways, can you sit up for a second? I want to ask you something."
Ichi slowly lifted herself off her pillow and oriented herself towards her dad. Strands of her black hair partially obscured her hazel eyes.
"So what's up, To-san?"
"Oh, wooow! You sure look as cute as your mother in every situation!"
The word 'really' appeared to be plastered over Ichi's face.
"Is that all, To-san? You told me to get up just to tell me that?"
"Oh, no, I just wanted to compliment you, that's all. I guess I'll keep this brief, since you're kinda crabby right now…"
"Wonder why…"
"…So, I know you're also taking tomorrow off from your delivery job. Well, it just so happens that tonight, at my job, we're having 'Take Your Daughter to Work Day'."
"Huh, really? At your job?"
"I know, it's surprising, right? Anyways, do you wanna tag along, kiddo?"
Ichi's eyes drifted into thought before she crashed backwards into her pillow.
"Sure… I'll tag along. Anything but the pizza shop right now…"
"That's great to hear! So you'll be ready in an hour?"
"Oh… Wait, I almost forgot… YOU WORK THE FREAKING OVERNIGHT SHIFT. HOW AM I GONNA GET ANY SLEEP?!"
"Who needs sleep when you have coffee? Anyways, it's too late to back out now! We'll stop by a coffee shop on our way. Just be ready to go to the Base in an hour!"
Before his daughter could respond, the father slammed the bedroom door shut.
"To-san, you jackass…"
*
When I turned the corner, her house came into view.
Oh, crap. What am I gonna say when I get to the house? I haven't thought about that yet.
I wonder what she's gonna be like when she sees me. Is she still gonna be super pissed? Maybe I should just assume that she will. The best plan will probably be to apologize repeatedly until she caves.
Suddenly, I stopped walking. My knees started to feel like jelly.
Wait, am I getting… nervous? DOES THE TITLE OF 'STRONGEST MAN' MEAN NOTHING?!
To be fair, though, women can crack even the strongest of men. Maybe I'm just a normal guy. Hah, I'm a normal guy with some wicked strong punches and kicks.
My knees started to feel worse, so I decided to take a seat on the sidewalk. Even though I just plopped my ass on some pavement that's probably infested with spiders and roaches, my thoughts were still locked on the pending confrontation.
I made the decision to shift my head back. Before I knew it, I was entranced by the stars. Those tiny dots of light in the sky sure seemed beautiful to me.
After a few intimate moments between myself and the allure of the heavens, I felt a sensation of soft furriness brushing against my left hand, which was placed down on the ground.
I glanced down to greet my new acquaintance: a black cat with large green eyes.
"Oh, what's up? Are you out exploring the night too?"
The cat meowed softly as it rubbed its soft head against my hand. I decided pick my hand up in order to pet the friendly creature.
"I hope you're not trying to get me to take you in… You have a tag, so I guess you are owned by someone nearby anyways. I guess, in a way, you're exactly like me. You have a job during the day entertaining your family, and then you set out to conquer the night. Is that right?"
After spending a few moments enjoying my gentle massaging, the cat broke loose and walked in front of me. It turned back to meet me with its ominous green gaze before running into the bushes.
I spent another few minutes gazing at the sky before I brought myself back up to my feet. I carried myself with newfound confidence to the front yard of my best friend's house.
I still don't really know what I'm going to say, but I'm confident about one thing: no matter what, everything will turn out fine, and Icchan will still be there for me.