The night was stagnant for some reason. A couple street lights lit the park dimly as the bench made squeaking sounds each time I leaned back.
What a life! My work bag now on the ground with the contents inside spilled and wet. But who cares! That life is over now and my life as well! What a drag!
Strange... My family always said that losing your job would be a devastating and life shattering thing, yet here I am...
Broke and lonely!
I laughed at myself like a madman which made the passerbys look at me. A sour expression painted itself on me. Damn it. I looked at the my forcefully bought crocodile watch that looked with its uncomfortably seductive eyes.
"1 am... Hahaha, well, happy birthday to me I guess"
The people around me seemed to have been scared off by my laugh, or looks, with a bath or not I still looked homeless. Well this is for the better.
I'd rather be seen as a madman than someone's dog!
As I thought of that I spat on the ground which made me glance at the nearby pond. Wouldn't hurt to try.
The coins in my pockets stubbornly hid in my pockets as I tried to take one. Even my money can smell my bad financial decisions!
But hell, with prices these days, even eating 3 meals a day is a bad financial decision.
The coin I managed to grab instantly flew from me to the pond. I shot it like a basketball player in his prime. Then when it splashed and made ripples in the water, I celebrated with a high-five to my own face. My eyes could see between my fingers which gave me a view at my shoes that looked hungry, jaw open and everything.
It's stupid but.
I made a silent wish.
I am going insane...
So insane that I heard a grunt in the water.
Yeah, I think a little meal wouldn't hurt.
"Ugly looking brat throwing coins! Sloppy waste of oxygen!"
I looked around from corner to corner but saw no one. Heh, I can still hear my boss, what a drag... Even when I'm unemployed, his nagging still haunts me.
"Idiotic baboon, wasting money won't make your dreams come true!"
Same tone and everything.
I hope he dies a gruesome death someday!
"Yes, boss, dreams do not come true. Haha, just because you worked hard, doesn't mean you'll succeed, right?!"
"...You can hear me?"
My face stiffened, that reply, it really felt like it came from somewhere. Hesitantly, I walked towards the pond then looked down.
There were 3 things I saw, 2 were in the blue, 1 was out of the blue.
First was a random stick, then—a fucking talking fish!
"What the fuck?! I am losing my mind!"
"You can see me?!"
The fish did not only talk but he wore a black tailored suit and had a well groomed mustache!
Was that office party just an excuse to get fucking high at work?!
"Don't you dare swear, ugly brat! First you throw a coin at me and next you curse me?!"
"So-sorry- no, wait! Why the fucking hell am I apologizing to a fish?!"
And aren't you the one swearing a shit lot?!
"Better bite your tounge now!"
I placed my hand on my face as I laughed at my current circumstances... Guess they were right!
The breeze suddenly blew.
"Shikoku... So this is where you were hiding"
"Damn it, I've been found"
"Huh...?"
My entire body froze. The voice was the type of voice that you'd hear generic bad guys have, those evil serpent like bad guys, and if I correct, he probably had sharp eyes!
Snapping sounds from my spine sounded because of my bad posture as I turned to face where that voice came from.
The strange thing about him was that he had a katana that was engulfed in green flames. But the stranger thing is that who wielded the katana, wore a fully tailored suit and had a cool serpent like tattoo on his face—and was a fucking cat!
I should probably start selling the drugs I'm using right now! It's so lucid!
Swoosh!
A line of straight light flashed passed besides me which halved the pond and soaked my already piss stained pants.
"Ehh-"
Too shook to understand anything or move, the cat thing took advantage of the moment and slanted it's posture and held the blade in a stance that would assure my head to drop!
Smelly fish smell struck my nostrils which made look besides me. And there I saw the mustache fish that was now doing a flip mid-air with it's fin shining the color red. The water droplets seemed to have stopped in time, which allowed the fish to fly!?
"If you want to live," it said as it sent the red slash of energy towards the cat, not hitting it, but below it, creating an eruption of smoke.
"Put me in your damn pockets—Now!"
Excuse me what?!
You know what, drugs in my system, fuck it!
We ball!
The slimy substance that coated the fish stuck to my hand as I grabbed the fish mid-air.
The cat shook its head as it waved it's paws to clear the smoke. Unfortunate for him, we were already out of there.
I ran like there was no damn tomorrow, that's what this damn fish told me to do!
"What-what the hell are you?!" I shouted from the deepest part of my lungs, not of panic, but of ecstatic thrill!
I have lived a fully mundane life which was fully controlled by my father, and now I'm here running with a magical fish in my pockets!
"Doesn't matter right now, brat... Just get me out of here"
"And to where?!"
The fish seemed to have paused before he replied, "Raijo Shrine, there you'll understand"
Raijo Shrine... Wait, that place!
I stopped running. Feeling the burn on my feet as each breath I took made me taste the blood in my throat from the marathon I just ran.
"Hey, hey! Why'd you stop running?!"
"Where..." Gasp. Gasp. Gasp. "Where the fuck is that??"
The fish scale's turned white as it looked like it's soul left it's body. "What the hell do you mean where is that?! Aren't you from here?! You should know because it's a famous tour spot as well!"
"Nope! Not in my whole 23 years of living!"
Boom!
Both of our attention was casted backwards when debree flew pass
my head. It was the tailored suit cat—on a fucking motorcycle!
"SHIKUKO!!! HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH MY SISTER!!!"