It was late in the night…or was it early in the morning? Not like it mattered, especially for Zak Hina, who was too troubled by his predicament that sleeping was no longer high on his priority list. It's not like he was stressed out or anything though, but rather he was concerned about his lack of stress.

"College, jobs, relationships…ugh, are they really that big of a deal?" Zak sighed lazily and turned over on his mattress. He had failed to get into his college of choice because he slacked too much in school, he had just been dumped by his recent girlfriend for "slacking" in their relationship, and he had just been fired for… well, it's obvious by now right?

But he didn't really care that much. Sure it was annoying, but that's all it was to him, just a slight annoyance. People were constantly troubled by this trait of his; when things should have gotten a reaction out of him he just yawned it off as mundane. His friends, family members, employers, etc. all knew him for his lenient style with no promises towards a future. That much was true, however, since he never really had a future planned out to start. It's not as though he expected to make it by just relaxing his entire life, but he never actually expected anything. He just didn't think that far ahead.

"This is pointless," Zak let out another yawn and reached for whatever was closest to him: a comic book about aliens, time travelers, and espers. This kind of thing interested him, the limits between reality and fantasy, life and death situations, nonsensical humor that wouldn't be funny unless you were reading about it or watching it on TV, and it all ended when he stopped reading or when a chapter finished. If only his life could be more like that….

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"Ugh, son, you look horrible!" Zak's dad commented as he saw his son walk into the kitchen. A week had passed since Zak had lost his job, and with no way of paying off his already past due rent, he had no choice but to move back in with his parents for a while. Fortunately the Hina family was quite well off, something that may or may not have had to do with Zak's attitude, but his parents were hoping that would have changed once he moved out. It hadn't of course.

"Gee, thanks dad, and you're looking as spiffy as ever, too," Zak let out another yawn, and tried wiping away the bags from under his eyes. He poured himself some coffee and sat down with his father for a while, before trying to figure out what he was going to do for the day. Nothing came to mind.

"Well, Zak, have you considered looking for another job?" Zak's mother walked from a nearby room, and proceeded to feed the poodle she had just let in.

"Down Toye," Zak pet the small dog and quickly shooed it away before taking a sip from his drink once more. It was too hot. "Nah, not yet…maybe another week of loafing around would do me some good."

"Heh, I don't know son, I think it'd be a good idea for you to get out of the house a bit more. You've been cooped up for ages and it looks like you've been getting less and less sleep. Maybe you should…uh…I don't know, go on a trip or something," Zak's dad pulled out the daily newspaper and began reading some article on sports.

"A trip? Like to where? Besides, I don't know if that'd really be all that exciting."

"Of course it'd be!" Zak's mom piped in, "See new sights, meet new people, maybe get entangled in some crazy adventures! You should do it, go and find yourself out in the world!"

"Uh, find myself?"

"Yeah, that's it! Hang on a 'sec…" Zak's dad quickly rose out of his chair and dashed back towards his bedroom. It may have just been the 20-year-old's imagination but it seemed like his parents may not have wanted him living with them….

"Um, dad?" Zak questioned, but was only treated with a few curses, several crashing sounds, and some sparks coming from his father's room.

"Ugh, it was buried deeper in there than I thought!" Zak's dad grinned as he reentered the kitchen with smudge marks on his face.

"What…uh, where were you looking?" Zak gave his father an awkward kind of glare but decided not to put much into the matter and took another sip of his coffee.

"Ah, don't worry about it! But check this out, a free lodging at one of the greatest inn's I've ever been to!" He held up a large coupon, obviously worn in age, but still in prime condition.

"Hinata Inn? Japan?!" Zak read aloud in surprise.

"Yup, the owner took a liking to me, probably because of my last name…hmm, come to think of it, that's where I met your mother!"

"Oh, you're not going to tell him the story about that annex thing, are you?" Zak's mother smiled at his father, and the two of the chuckled softly to each other, obviously reminiscing about their younger years.

"Uh…well, Japan's kind of out of the way, you know? And I don't know, do these coupon things still work?"

"Of course they do! It's a month's free lodging anytime! There's no expiration!"

"Um… alright then…"