"Something the matter, old man?" the young punk said.
"Have a seat, young man," Tabi said as he smiled and pointed to the seat at his table.
The young man was visibly confused, but he took a seat. "I thought we were going to fight... what are you doing telling me to have a seat?" the young man asked.
[If it was my old self, I would've put you in your place, kid...]
"I just see my old self in you, a punk who only relies on fists in life."
The owner walked up to their table with yakiniku. She set it down and grabbed Tabi by the arm, pulling him away from the table.
"Hey, what are you—"
"Why are you sitting with that kid? He's nothing but trouble. He recently moved here, and he's the talk of the town."
"You're forgetting I was like that too, and you showed me kindness. You can't judge a book by its cover."
"Yeah, but you had a bad family situation. This kid is just a punk for the sake of being one."
"Just because you don't know someone is going through something doesn't mean life is easy for them." Tabi looked mad as he said that. He didn't bear any ill will toward the owner; he just felt it was unfair for the kid to be judged like this.
Tabi walked back to his table, and just as he sat down, the door burst open. It was a group of about ten punks, some even carrying weapons like pipes.
The kid he was sitting with quickly hid under the table.
"Has anyone here seen that punk Tori?!" they asked.
[So his name is Tori, huh?]
The place was quiet. As they got no response, they left.
"So that's what it means to be the talk of the town. Who were they?" Tabi smiled and asked Tori.
"Didn't the owner tell you I'm alone all the time? Those were just some punks from a school I used to go to. When you have friends like them, you don't need enemies."
[A school he used to go to? He must've dropped out...]
Tabi grabbed Tori and quickly rushed after them. Tori was surprised but also felt sad because he thought Tabi was going to betray him.
"Hey punks, here's your guy!" Tabi shouted and started running toward an empty alley, taking Tori with him.
The punks caught up to them, and a fight broke out. The duo unexpectedly worked well together, fighting the punks and protecting each other's backs.
The punks got a lot of hits in since they heavily outnumbered the duo; however, Tabi and Tori fought off nine of them, and the last one ran with his tail between his legs.
Tabi pulled out his cigarettes and offered Tori one, which he took. They sat on the bodies lying on the ground, all beaten up, and enjoyed a smoke.
"For some reason, the fact that I have no parents makes people pick on me. The fact that I'm trusting just helps them exploit me. I try to give everyone my trust right from the start, and they just betray it," Tori said. Tabi was caught off guard by his story, but he didn't mind it.
"From what I can tell, you're just an idiot, but goodness and idiocy are often equated. There will always be people trying to use you, but don't let them being bad people destroy that goodness inside of you," Tabi reassured Tori.
[Damn, was that too corny?]
"I could follow this person to the ends of the world," Tori thought. It was as if he was looking at a more mature version of himself, and Tabi looked at Tori as a younger version of himself.
[As I was fighting these punks, I felt as if I was fighting with Itou alongside me. This kid really knows how to fire me up.]
Two people who have nothing in life and feel directionless don't just meet like this. One could say that this is fate's doing.
"Hey kid, you're a dropout?" Tabi asked.
"Yeah, not surprised you could tell."
"Are you interested in traveling the country with me? I'm doing it to find my calling in life but also just to learn more about life." When Tori heard this, he was beyond happy; to him, it was as if he had received an invitation from heaven.
"Of course! I even have a driver's license, so we can switch while driving."
"Just give me your contact info, and I'll call you tomorrow. For now, we should call it a day. I just want to take a bath after this fight."
The two exchanged phone numbers and went their own ways.
As Tabi relaxed in the bath, he thought about what happened that day.
[Tori seems to have more problems than just people picking on him. I see he's a good kid, though. I want to help him.]
Tabi got out of the bathroom and got dressed. As soon as he hit the bed, he was sound asleep.
The next day, as Tabi woke up, he immediately looked at the time and rushed to call Tori.
"Get ready and meet me at the train station in an hour," Tabi said and hung up on Tori immediately. Tori wished he could punch Tabi right now.
Tabi packed his books, comics, DVDs, and games and headed to the train station to meet with Tori.
They met up and got on the train for Tokyo.
"Hey, I thought about the betrayal stuff you talked about yesterday. I just want to let you know that it's not your fault. This generation of kids is just too selfish and self-absorbed. Back in my high school days, no one would pick on you for something like that because everyone was just as messed up as you, if not worse." Tori felt relief after he heard this. He was afraid that venting suddenly yesterday was going to make things weird.
"Saying I'm messed up doesn't help... but thank you."
Tabi spent his time on the train reading books, and Tori was just on his phone. Eventually, the two of them arrived in Tokyo and headed to Itou's place.
Tabi entered Itou's place, but no one was there.
He heard a flush in the toilet and quickly got on his knees in front of the bathroom door.
"Please, Itou, let me borrow the campervan!" Tabi shouted as soon as Itou opened the door to leave the bathroom.
Itou got scared and punched Tabi out of pure reflex. Tori watched this and had no idea what was happening.
"What kind of friendship do these guys have?" Tori asked himself.
After enough begging, Itou tossed the campervan keys to Tabi.
"It has a kitchen, a TV with a DVD player, and a console for gaming inside. If I see even one scratch on it when you're back from your journey, you're dead," Itou threatened.
"Sure, sure. Tori, go drive. I'll go relax in the back a little."
"Sure... where should I drive, though?"
"Wherever the road takes us, we'll figure things out."
Tori got the campervan going, and the duo started their journey of self-reflection and seeking purpose.