On a calm and peaceful morning, a boy of medium height, with black hair, white skin and dark blue eyes slept in his cozy bed, which gave him an incredible feeling of tranquility.
His cotton sheets made his rest so pleasant that, when he woke up, he could work and start the day on a positive note.
The living room had always been an inspiring haven for his work. It wasn't as organized, but there was a clean feel to his workbench.
Then, a few seconds later... Kentaro Ozu, aged 18, begins to stir in bed and slowly removes the sheet from his body.
The alarm on his phone suddenly starts ringing and he slides his finger across the screen to turn it off.
"Yawn..." A slight yawn comes out of Kentaro's mouth as he calmly tries to open his eyes
His routine had always been to wake up, make himself a nice piece of toast with mayonnaise and drink a grape-flavored latte so he could think without discomfort.
"Right, let's go for another day of editing for those damn clients." Said Kentaro with questionable enthusiasm about his work, and turned on his computer to start working.
His job was to edit audiovisual projects for some companies that asked for his work, and for every ten cuts he made to a video... he ate a piece of toast.
"Nhac-" A piece of toast being successfully devoured.
The volume of the keyboard clicks reverberated through the room and, in the low tones of his home, could be heard even from the kitchen.
"Wow..." muttered Kentaro as he moved his legs and rested them on the bed next to him. "I'm going to take a look at my Deskord for a while, there must be some new messages."
Procrastination consumed Kentaro's mind for a moment, and when that happens... He quickly realizes this problem and pinches himself on the arm to light up and concentrate on the project.
He exclaims that his boredom has consumed him, and his voice is so loud that even the neighbors next door complain about his noise.
"HOLY SHIT, CONCENTRATE ON YOUR PROJECT, YOU IDIOT! DON'T PROCRASTINATE." Kentaro, speaking to himself in an angry tone of voice, slammed his own hand on the table and concentrated on the game without distractions.
Minutes passed, and he concentrated and edited what he had to, even if his mind went into a brief Burnout. He did his best to finish the initial part of his project and keep calm.
"Right, I think I'd better make all the cuts anyway." Kentaro made his final decision regarding his project, stayed focused and cut his video to make it more optimized.
While cutting his project, he savored a slice of toasted bread, whose crunchy texture and delicious taste gave his palate enormous pleasure. At the same time, he drank his milk mixed with grape juice, a combination that brought him calm and patience, warding off stress and anxiety.
However, after thirty minutes, the video about the project was already well cut and optimized for analysis. With this in mind, he concluded that the editing time was up.
"What a relief..." he said, still a little out of breath, as he put the mouse away in its holder. "Now the project is really colorful and organized." He quickly climbs into his Deskord and calls his best friend and work partner Ling Touka, who was doing his part of the project.
"TURURUM TURURUM... TURURUM TURURUM... TURURUM TURURUM..." The sound of Deskord's call echoed in Kentaro's mind as he waited to be answered by his friend.
After five seconds of waiting, Ling took his call to find out the latest news about the video project.
"I've finished cutting the Lingling video. What do you think?" he asked, opening the screen of his project so that his friend could see it in detail.
"Um... let's see, pilgrim." He delicately analyzed the video and considered his verdict on whether the cuts were coherent enough to start the next stage of the project.
"You've hit the nail on the head!" Enthusiastic about the result, he opened the camera on his computer and showed his standard face of an attractive nerd sitting in his organized living room.
"Just the finishing touches now." He finishes Kentaro is relieved to have done a good job and then asks his best friend one last question.
"After the finishing touches, can I get my commission-" As he says this, he is interrupted and receives a strong shock to the lips.
He agonized because the accidental shock he received came from touching his lips to the black metal of the condenser microphone's vocal contact mesh.
It was an unusual sensation, as if the shock had not only affected his lips, but had also penetrated his mouth, hit his vocal cords and reached his brain.
Meanwhile, Lingling fiddles a bit with his own glasses to adjust them without scratching his nose too much and answers Kentaro's question.
"Relax, my brother. This project will be completed today and we will receive our hard-earned wages. Are you closed? Meet me at the bar." He says, finishing his little morning business, reassuring him on the spot.
The call is quickly disconnected and Kentaro closes his eyes for a moment to catch his breath.
He handled the microphone and the desk to make sure they had no technical problems, but on examining every corner of the equipment, he saw nothing unusual that could have caused this little accident.
However, he decided to shut down the project for a moment and got up from his chair so that he could stretch his whole body.
"Huumm... Nhah." He mutters softly as he raises his arms for a few seconds and then lowers them so that he is very loose.
Kentaro goes to his closet and picks out some basic clothes, including a black shirt with a Japanese symbol in the middle, short black jeans and a silver necklace around his neck.
"What an insane desire to drink; it's been a long time since I last tasted alcohol." He says with a clear craving as he heads for the countertop to grab his cell phone and house key.
He quickly goes downstairs, holding the cell phone in his pocket so that it doesn't fall hard on the floor, opens the door, and leaves the house.
The town where he lived was quite ordinary. The air was fresh, and there were buildings all around with their respective stores and public services. Few people were walking along the sidewalks, as it was still almost late morning. Above all, there were lots of pretty girls scattered around.
It sometimes reminded him of the anime he had often watched during his life, as the atmosphere and magnitude of the city overflowed with ideas and imaginations for his projects.
During his walk to a nearby bar, he ends up finding his friend Ling waiting at the establishment's chic front door.
Kentaro has never been one to waste time, and he quickly let slip what he wanted to do, even more so in front of his best friend.
"I still want that salary, huh?" He smiled as he played with the words, but kept his tone sincere.
"You make things very complicated and keep hanging up on me." Ling put his hand over his face and was speechless. He felt he needed to apologize for every time he ended the call before letting his friend say anything.
"It's just that I was very anxious to get here soon, I was going to have a better chat with you here in the bar." He explains with direct words and a plausible reason for his choice.
Kentaro sighs quickly, grabs his best friend's hand and pulls him into the establishment to buy a drink quickly.
"So, let's talk here, you four-eyed project." He grumbles as he pulls out a chair for Ling to sit next to him at the counter.
The two of them end up sitting down and waiting for the barman to finish the other orders they were taking on the other side of the counter.
"Tell me, what drink are you having?" Ling asked, placing her cell phone and notepad on the wooden counter.
Kentaro reflected for a moment and thought of a drink that could really mark this day for him, since every day he drank from the same glass and the same flavor... which would be the lemon-based one called (Kamikase)
However, he needed something different. That's when he had a brilliant idea: as he had no choice in the matter, he decided to let the barman choose a unique drink for him.
"Bring me the best from home." he said with a determined tone, wishing for the best the bar could offer so that he could drink with joy.
The bartender gives a big smile and quickly goes to prepare the best drink the bar can deliver to a customer, leaving the other customers surprised by what they've heard.
"Kentaro... I think you've caught everyone's attention." Ling whispers in his best friend's ear in a very low tone as he watches the people.
"Life is one, buddy. I'm just doing this to make our old boss jealous. Have you forgotten?" Kentaro replies, putting his arms behind his head as he watches his friend in surprise.
When Ling heard this answer, a needle of pride hit his brain, making him realize that this choice was the most incredible possible.
It was then that they both took out their cell phones and opened their social networks to take a picture of the fancy drink that was about to be served on the table.
The barman ended up handing over their drinks, and it was titled (Sex on the beach), which was one of the most expensive drinks in the establishment.
The two took a photo of the drink they had just bought and posted it on their social media accounts, tagging their former boss in the photo and teasing him for what he had done to them in the past.
"When he comes in at lunchtime, he'll see this." Said Kentaro with an evil grin, happy that his former boss felt humiliated by the post.
Ling laughed to see Kentaro so angry at this sudden idea that it actually pleased him in a pleasurable way. He needed to have this moment with him.
As the bar returned to its normal atmosphere and everyone continued to enjoy their drinks, the bar door opened and a woman came in to order something.
As he sipped his drink, Kentaro noticed the woman who had just entered the establishment and was surprised to realize that she didn't look like just any maiden.
She gave him a strong sense of déjà vu. Her appearance was striking: red hair, tall stature, voluminous breasts, and simple clothes: short denim shorts that highlighted her beautiful thighs, complemented by a light black jacket.
She wore white sneakers, typical of an American student, and held an empty milkshake glass, which she promptly discarded in the trash can next to her.
"That... reminds me of something I loved seeing a few years ago." Kentaro muttered as he watched the girl walk to a table away from the other customers.
Kentaro remembered when he was younger and met one of the first anime characters he loved at first sight. That girl, in fact, reminded him of one of the wives he most liked to see in action, even if the protagonist was a complete weirdo, one with no control over his impulses.
"Ken? Why are you looking at that girl?" Ling asked, leaning his elbow on the arm of his friend, who was staring at the beautiful redhead.
He was a little startled by his best friend's touch and continued sipping his drink so that he could give a straight answer.
"Um... nothing, no. Come on, I want to finish the rest of our work," he said firmly, as he placed the empty glass on the table and left the money on the barman's counter.
The two walked to the exit door and left the establishment in silence. The redhead, who had noticed them saying goodbye at the bar, smiled a little, for no apparent reason, when she noticed something about one of them.
"Yes, apparently another one did," muttered the red-haired girl as she crossed her legs and fiddled with her cell phone with a satisfied smile.