Inside a huge mansion, we walk towards the stairs from under the chandelier that hasn't been lit in the past seven days. Flowers are dead and dry, 15 foot curtains are drawn with no sign of day or night, after a fainting smell of blood up the stairs we open the doors to the master bedroom in front of us. In the satin sheets lies a 6 foot figure, moderately built, light brown eyes dark hair and all of that. " breakfast today?" the thick silence in the room is sliced by Himawari's soft voice. From under the sheets, Akira grunts. She leaves the room to set up breakfast in the dining hall while Akira pulls himself out of bed. He checks his phone to get a grip on the time and date and realises he is 7 days late to his job. " I guess I have no job now" about a hundred missed calls from the same number, and more text messages, He closes his eyes in annoyance and throws his phone over his shoulder "I need a new number."
He takes a long cold shower while the shower maid waits for his call. " I told you to go home." He speaks out of annoyance after being stared at the whole time. "You know it's creepy to stare at people showering right?" he adds. " Master Kira has always asked for assistance in showering." says Asuka in a made-up timid voice, batting her eye lashes to look cute. His annoyance grows and he tries to keep calm. He walks out of the shower moving his body like a mad man so that his body doesn't touch Asuka's in her attempts to make contact. He comes back into the room and removes his robe to get dressed, finally approaching some sort of peace in his mind when he hears a whimper of a soft whisper from the bed behind him "gaman deki naii"
"... eh?" he says as he turns around in confusion and finds Lilly on her knees behind him, she looks at him with surprised eyes "..ookii" and Akira screams and scrambles for his clothes. He runs out of the room trying to wear his pants and grabbing his bag all at the same time, stumbling in wonder and fright over whatever the hell is going on in this mansion. While he runs to escape, he wonders if he is in a dream, is he still asleep and what happened in the last seven days.
Now, sitting outside at a bus stop in the winter wind shirtless, he has no job, no money and no idea what's happening. Did he isekai into this world? Is he a harem lord now? Is he rich now? He has no answers. There is only one person who can answer him now. His phone rings again, this time he picks up.
" Hello?" said Akira, with an undertone of annoyance.
" Hey, how are you... umm... it's been a long time" said the voice on the other end, in a soft whisper of worry and care.
Akira, slumped over in the snow covered bus stop, as if a dark shadow is weighing on him.
" Are you there? Sorry if I called you at a bad time." The gentle voice from the other end sent shivers down Akira's spine this time.
Akira opens his mouth, now visibly frowning and screwing up his face, arching his back like a devious gremlin, he replies in a grunting voice, rather loudly, " Toru!??"
" aah, yeah Akira what is it? Are you alright?" replied Toru.
" WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING FORMALLY WITH ME YOU'VE KNOWN ME FOR 24 YEARS" Akira began screaming hysterically, walking in circles still bent broken like a madman. He took a deep breath, checked himself and said " Okay. I forgot I was gone a week. I didn't know you still do that though, anyway, could you come and get me?"
" You little shit! where have you been all week? I've been to the police I was so worried, even your Aunt has been.." Toru suddenly returned to his low baritone voice.
" My Aunt! You went to my aunt!" Akira reached a new pitch of screaming which seemed to be boosted by his shivering in the cold.
"Of course I went to your aunt you bastard I was worried sick" Said Toru
" You muscle brained idiot she abandoned me 20 years ago that's the last place I would ever be!" Akira was losing breath, some women passing by were startled and picked up their paces to get out of there.
"Oh, yeah that makes sense. Ah! This is confusing just send me your location I am on my way to opening the shop anyway!" and Toru cut the call.
"Hello? Hello!" Akira, exasperating, tried to throw his phone into the ground three times but couldn't let go. He was too poor to do it.
a few moments later...
" Things have gone out of hand Akira. Last time you woke up in the Super Mall, and this time you sleepwalked into a poor old man's mansion? I'm just relieved he didn't call the police on you. Odd though he let you stay the whole week." Said Toru, sitting in the drivers seat. Akira sat rolled up in Toru's ginormous jacket. Toru was a 7 foot heavily built guy, but his personality was timid. " Poor old man my ass. That guy has a harem in there. Those poor innocent girls. And that old man.... Wait.. What old man are you talking about I didn't see any old man there?" Akira replied. Toru looked at Akira, " Eh? Mr. Sakamoto! Have you been hit in the head? He's been living in that mansion for 50 years!"
Akira took a moment to himself. He couldn't remember anything. He couldn't remember anything but waking up this morning. He doesn't know how he got there and why he had no memory of the past seven days. " Hey, what about my job?" Akira asked.
Toru's face changed, a heaviness came into the air. " Akira you were gone for a week. They had to fill in"
"Oh then that's great! I can just go back!" Akira said, looking relieved. Toru remained quiet.
" What is it?" Akira asked, sensing there's more.
"Umm I don't think they'll take you back" Said Toru.
There war silence again. Akira looked at him for a moment. And then he let little giggle out, Toru let a giggle out too and in a minute they started laughing.
" aah, I knew you were joking, funny Toru haha" Akira said punching Toru slightly on the shoulder while they were both laughing.
" Haha I'm not joking, they also threw your stuff out of the basement. haha, I kept it for you!" Toru said now laughing even louder with Akira
Akira roared louder in laughter "Ahaha you got me, Toru you bastard."
" Hahaha I am not joking Akira you are homeless and unemployed now!" replied Toru, trying to catch his breath from laughing too hard.
Akira and Toru laughed even harder as they went on their way. Akira, unaware that he'll be on the streets today and behind on his ancestral debt payments ( a special gift from his grandmother with crippling gambling addiction) and Toru lacks any skill to read the room.
" Yeah just leave me here I'll walk from here" said Akira as the were on the street he works at.
" Akira, it's no use" Toru tried to warn him now, not laughing.
Akira got out of the car, looked at Toru for a moment and laughed in his face "aah, you got me again! Toru you should close that cafe and open a comedy nights!" Akira left laughing and paid no heed to Toru.
Akira entered an old rundown building from the back and picked up a uniform shirt. This was one of those run-down, forgotten old ramen shops that turned into failed cafe's to stay afloat and relevant in changing times. Akira entered the Ramen shop and greeted his colleagues and began taking orders from customers. In a while the new employee walks up to him and says, "oye. You're at the wrong shop, I got this job already." Akira looked visibly shook. He realised
Toru was telling him the truth. "that idiot", Akira thought to himself. The manager came before Akira could reply, " Akira, you have done enough. We didn't know where you went so we had to make do. You know how busy the shop is." said an old bent man with thick glasses, wearing a pressed white shirt holding a cane. "You wicked old man, you hardly ever have any customers. I came here every day for the past 10 years, even on the weekends, through rain, snow and summer heat. " said Akira, opposing his dismissal. "You came everyday that's why we could never fire you. And you even lived in the basement, we couldn't lock you out of the shop either." said the old man, now walking away "you're done here. Go on."
Akira was dumbfounded. He was unemployed and homeless now. He checked his phone and Toru had left him a message, "you can stay with me till you figure out something." Akira was numb. He walked in the freezing cold, hungry, thirsty, broken. 25, handsome and uneducated. No family and no inheritance, Akira was hitting his all time low. He walked by an old dispenser in the snow and thought about how when he didn't have money to buy water he would collect snow and boil it in the basement. He never stole or begged. He was too proud. He looked at a pack of noodles in the dispenser and wished he could eat it right now. But it was too expensive for him. He went to a local grocery store, the ones that have centralised heating, and looked for anything that he could buy to eat. He found a new brand of protein bars that were selling out buy one get one packs. " I could eat one for dinner and one for breakfast" He thought. He took the bars to the counter as people stared at him for wearing an oddly large jacket (Toru's jacket). He took out his phone to pay the cashier. The cashier handed him the bill and the items and greeted him for the night. Akira greeted him back and took the things and began to leave. Standing outside of the Akira looked at his phone to check his remaining balance, ready to see he has no money left. He read the statement "REMAINING BALANCE : ¥451455000.00"
"eh?" Akira grunted to himself. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
"REMAINING BALANCE : ¥451455000.00"
Akira bent over his phone like a madman and screeched like a gargoyle taking his last breath, " Why, I could have bought that pack of noodles!" He screamed as he fell to the snowy pavement on his knees with his head thrown backwards and his hands holding onto his hair. What Akira was unaware of is that, this is a dead man's money.