The bar was dim. Not empty, just quiet in a way that made conversations feel heavier than they should. Low music hummed in the background, glasses clinked occasionally, and the city outside felt distant.
Shoyo sat at the counter, a drink in hand.
Across from him was Boten.
Alive.
Shoyo took a slow sip: "You took your time."
Boten leaned back slightly: "Hard to kill people as strong as us."
Shoyo set his glass down: "You disappeared right after the Academy attack."
Boten nodded once: "Yeah."
No excuses. No elaboration. Shoyo didn't push. He already knew enough. Patrick. Chloe. Chisato. The defectors from the Slayers. Them and Boten barely escaped Kakuto.
Shoyo: "You got them where they needed to be?"
Boten: "Yeah."
Shoyo: "Good."
A brief silence settled between them. Not awkward. The kind of silence shared between people who didn't need to fill space with unnecessary words.
The bartender refilled their glasses without interrupting.
Boten glanced at Shoyo: "You didn't come out here just to check on me."
Shoyo gave a faint smirk: "Still sharp."
Boten took a sip: "So what is it."
Shoyo looked down at the drink for a second. Then he spoke again: "I've got a favor to ask."
Boten glanced at him: "That serious, huh."
Shoyo gave a small, humorless smile: "Wouldn't ask otherwise."
The music carried on.
The city moved outside.
And whatever Shoyo was about to say…
It wasn't small.
Golden Festival Day 37
Marlon sat still on the toilet. Time had passed. Too much time. He stared forward, unmoving: "…This is bad."
He shifted slightly. Nothing. His leg was completely gone.
Not literally.
But it might as well have been.
Marlon: "…My foot fell asleep."
He tried to stand.
Big mistake.
The moment he lifted himself, his balance disappeared.
Marlon: "—"
He stumbled.
Pants still down.
No recovery.
No dignity.
He hit the ground.
Hard.
Marlon stared at the floor for several seconds. Eventually he got up, wiped his butt, washed his hands, and left the bathroom: "…I'm taking this to the grave."
He walked out composed. Completely normal. No one would ever know.
The living room was already loud.
Not chaotic, but on the edge of it.
A man stood near the center of the room.
Well-dressed. Confident. Presence sharp enough to pull attention without trying.
He was a renowned director.
Nicholas: "That's…"
Diego: "No way."
Kagura practically vibrated in place: "IS THAT HIM?!"
Chifuyu stood nearby, arms relaxed but clearly engaged: "Yeah. It's him."
The director crossed his arms, observing them like they were already part of a casting call: "I'm looking for Odd Jobs."
Chifuyu nodded: "That's us."
The director gave a small nod back. He didn't waste time: "Good. I want one of you to star in one of my new shows. I'd like to hold an audition, right here, right now."
Kagura slammed the table: "ACTING?!"
Esmarie clapped excitedly: "THIS IS SO FUN!"
Diego grinned: "I was born for this."
Ariel tilted her head slightly, intrigued: "Do we get costumes?"
Shinatsu stood with her arms crossed: "I'm not good at acting…"
Nicholas chuckles: "Let's do our best."
Caesar: "Haha. This is either going to be a disaster, isn't it?"
Marlon: "Can anyone here even act?"
Chifuyu: "Everyone's an actor at heart."
Iris: "Isn't that saying, everyone's a child at heart…"
Beatrice: "It's an interesting request."
Yuji: "…I'm not doing anything embarrassing."
Esmarie: "Acting's all about doing something embarrassing."
Kagura: "I'M DOING A MAIN CHARACTER ROLE."
Diego: "I'm doing something cool."
Ariel: "I want something chaotic."
Esmarie: "I want something emotional!"
Yuji: "I want to leave."
The director nodded once, satisfied with the energy: "You can act out any scene you want. Well then, shall we begin."
The room shifted. Tables moved. Space cleared. The director sat, eyes sharp and focused. Everyone else gathered around.
First up, Caesar and Iris.
Caesar stepped forward.
Then—
He dropped.
Collapsed completely to the floor.
His body shook as he acted out a crying scene, raw and intense.
Esmarie covered her mouth.
Esmarie: "Oh wow…"
Diego leaned in.
Diego: "He's committing."
Iris froze for a split second, then hen pointed at him, voice steady despite her nerves.
Iris: "Young Caesar, you too can become a hero."
Nicholas blinked.
Nicholas: "…She actually said it cleanly."
Yuji: "No hesitation."
Caesar bawled his eyes out, then rose slowly rose.
His expression shifted.
Determination.
Resolve.
Caesar: "This is the story of how I became the world's greatest hero."
Silence.
Then—
Kagura wiped her eye dramatically: "THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL."
Esmarie clasped her hands tightly: "I GOT CHILLS."
Diego nodded, impressed: "Okay… that was actually good."
Nicholas: "…That was better than I expected."
Yuji gave a small nod.
Shinatsu: "…Acceptable."
Chifuyu: "We've got actors."
Beatrice: "Their delivery was convincing."
Marlon: "Strong start."
Iris blinked, looking around nervously: "…Did I do okay?"
Caesar turned to her with a calm smile: "You did more than okay."
The director leaned forward slightly.
Interested.
Very interested.
And the auditions were just getting started.
***
Diego stepped forward first, rolling his shoulders like he was about to enter a real fight. He smirked: "You're next, Beatrice!"
Beatrice's expression sharpened: "You bastard. Diego!"
Kagura leaned forward, already excited: "OH THIS ONE'S GONNA BE GOOD."
Diego took a step forward, voice dropping into something theatrical: "Oh. You're approaching me? Instead of running away you're coming right to me? Even though your grandfather told you the secret of The World, like an exam student scrambling to finish the problems on an exam until the last moments before the chime?"
Beatrice didn't break eye contact: "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."
Diego grinned wider: "Oh ho! Then come as close as you like."
They began walking toward each other.
Slow.
Measured.
Ridiculous levels of swagger.
Esmarie whispered loudly: "THE WALK."
Chifuyu covered his mouth: "They're actually doing it."
Yuji watched silently, genuinely shocked at how good this was, he even let out a smile: "They're not half bad."
Diego suddenly threw his arm forward dramatically: "The World!!!"
Everybody started cheering and got incredibly hype.
Shinatsu: "…Overdramatic."
Beatrice: "No, that was actually perfect."
Iris: "I had chills."
Next, Chifuyu and Yuji were already moving.
No warning.
No setup.
They clashed.
A clean, sharp exchange.
Diego blinked: "What're they…"
The director leaned forward: "What are you two acting out?"
Shinatsu: "I think those 2 idiots are just using this as an excuse to fight."
Chifuyu: "Itadori vs Choso!"
Yuji didn't stop.
Yuji: "Focus."
They kept going.
Fast.
Precise.
Real.
Shinatsu stepped forward, annoyed.
Shinatsu: "Stop."
They didn't.
Shinatsu moved in—
And caught a stray hit.
Directly to the face.
The room froze.
Chifuyu and Yuji stopped instantly.
Both slowly turned.
Shinatsu stood there.
Head slightly lowered.
The air shifted.
Dangerously.
Chifuyu: "…That was an accident."
Yuji: "…Yeah."
Shinatsu lifted her head.
Her expression was calm. Too calm. The smile showing was a disguise, masking her rage.
Two loud hits followed.
Both Chifuyu and Yuji hit the floor.
Kagura burst out laughing.
Esmarie covered her mouth.
Nicholas sighed, then shook his head.
Caesar went to go help Chifuyu.
It was time to reset. Chifuyu stood again.
Yuji stood across from him.
Chifuyu whispered to Esmarie what scene they were going to do. Esmarie ran forward with a bottle.
Esmarie: "WAIT—IT HAS TO BE REALISTIC."
She poured ketchup all over Yuji.
Yuji didn't react.
Not even slightly.
Diego: "That's a lot."
Chifuyu went to the hallway to hide himself, then ran back with a worried expression to set the tone: "What happened here?"
Yuji didn't move.
Didn't blink.
His stance was solid, and his eyes were resolute.
Yuji: "…Nothing happened."
There was a long silence.
Even Kagura didn't speak.
Caesar: "That was amazing."
Nicholas: "You didn't overdo it. That's what made it hit."
Beatrice nodded.
Shinatsu glanced at Yuji: "That role suited you."
Chifuyu: "The character he was acting wasn't that different from his own."
***
Nicholas stepped forward without any theatrics or setup, just standing there for a moment before his expression shifted—subtle, controlled, but unmistakably real. His voice came out quieter than usual: "Don't let me leave, Murph… don't make me leave like this… No…. NOO!!" It cracked slightly, not exaggerated, just enough to feel genuine. The room went completely silent as he held that emotion instead of pushing it, letting it sit there before he finally exhaled and stepped back.
Esmarie froze: "…Oh."
Kagura shed a tear.
Nicholas: "How was that?"
Chifuyu smirked slightly: "Didn't know you had that in you."
Yuji gave a small nod: "That was real."
Kagura pointed at him dramatically: "WHERE WERE YOU HIDING THAT?!"
Ariel smiled, genuinely impressed: "That felt… honest."
Shinatsu: "I'm surprised.
Diego leaned back with a grin: "Okay, I'll admit it, that was clean."
Beatrice looked at him thoughtfully: "You conveyed emotion well. That's difficult."
Caesar adjusted his glasses with a faint smile: "I see you have excellent movie taste."
Iris looked at him with wide eyes: "It felt… really sad…"
Esmarie clasped her hands together: "I almost cried!"
Marlon nodded once: "Good job dude."
***
Next.
Esmarie dropped to her knees dramatically.
Esmarie: "Goku…! AHHHHHHH!"
Marlon stood behind her.
Esmarie collapsed.
Dead.
Kagura gasped.
Kagura: "NOOOO—"
Marlon's head lowered.
His body tensed.
The shift was immediate.
Marlon: "…You…"
His voice changed.
Low.
Angry.
The air tightened.
Everyone watched closely.
Marlon looked up, and snapped: "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
He powered up.
Super Saiyan.
Diego: "OKAY—HE'S COOKING."
Esmarie popped back up immediately: "DID I DO GOOD?!"
Marlon broke character instantly: "Oh yeah. We killed that."
***
Shinatsu: "What?"
Kagura: "Every time you used your power… You stepped closer to a path filled with battles… Pain… And death. I wanted to stop that."
Shinatsu: "Then why didn't you just take my power away?!"
Kagura: "Because…I couldn't. No matter how much I tried… Your desire to fight… to protect… Always won."
Shinatsu: "…So all this time… You were holding me back?"
Kagura: "Yes. I suppressed your true power. And the one you feared… Was the part of you closest to your true self."
Shinatsu: "Then why now? Why tell me the truth now?"
Kagura: "Because you've grown."
Chifuyu sheds a tear: "It's so peak."
***
Ariel stepped forward.
Then she changed.
Her posture twisted slightly.
Her expression warped.
Her voice—
Unsettling.
Ariel: "My brain… trembles…"
Everyone froze.
Ariel's movements became erratic.
Unpredictable.
Her voice cracked in all the right ways.
Ariel: "Sloth… sloth… sloth…"
Her performance made everyone uncomfortable to say the least.
When she stopped, the room exhaled.
Ariel skipped back over to Chifuyu who was making a disgusted look.
Ariel: "What's with that face?!"
Chifuyu: "Sorry, your acting was just so accurate it made me feel like you were actually him."
Ariel: "Hehe. I'll take that as a compliment."
***
Next. Everyone joined.
Nicholas shouted: "FIRE!"
Kagura panicked instantly: "WE'RE GONNA DIE—"
Diego knocked over a chair.
Esmarie screamed.
Marlon tried to stay calm.
Chifuyu: "Oh my god it's happening. Everyone stay calm! STAY FUCKING CALM PEOPLE."
Esmarie committed so hard to the bit that she nearly tripped over nothing. Nicholas was trying desperately to establish some kind of organized evacuation that nobody listened to, while Yuji stood there watching everything Ariel was enjoying it a little too much, and Beatrice calmly stepped aside to avoid the disaster she saw coming five seconds in advance. Marlon tried to carry a table out for no reason, Caesar narrated the situation like it was a dramatic film, and Iris panicked quietly in place, unsure if she should run or apologize. By the end of it, everything was out of place and a mess.
Hours later.
Everyone exhausted.
The director stood. He pointed: "You."
Ariel tilted her head: "Me?"
The director nodded: "You have the best expressive range."
Kagura fell to her knees: "Noooo!"
Esmarie hugged Ariel: "THAT WAS AMAZING!"
Nicholas smiled: "You earned it."
Iris softly clapped: "Congrats, Ariel."
Chifuyu grinned.
Yuji: "Should've been me."
Shinatsu: "Not even 100 years of acting school could help you."
Caesar: "As much as I don't want to admit it, it's well deserved."
Beatrice: "Your performance stood out."
Diego: "I was robbed."
Marlon shook his head: "…You weren't."
Ariel: "That was fun."
And just like that, Odd Jobs had their star.