They left the airport swiftly, without remaining behind much longer than necessary. Cammy and the others were gone now, on their way to fight a decisive battle. There was little Cranky and Kenny could do but pray for their success. It was evening by the time the plane had taken off, and the rental car had to be back at the service station before midnight. Glancing at his watch, Cranky determined they had approximately five hours before it had to be back in the lot – five hours left to kill.
They left Osaka's Kansai airport and drove over the bridge that connected the elaborate building to the mainland. As with the situation when they arrived, the departure was also spent mostly in silence, the brothers left to their own private thoughts. It was a wasted opportunity on Kenny for his mind was blank. So much had happened over the last few days, emotionally and physically, and he no longer had any energy reserves to waste on mere thought. He closed his eyes and felt the vibration of the car rolling along the pavement, and just enjoyed the ride for what it was worth. He hadn't intended to fall asleep, however.
Kenny was abruptly awoken by the vehicle pulling to a complete stop, as Cranky adjusted the emergency brake. Kenny was already beginning to open his eyes when he felt Cranky's hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Hey, wake up," he said, "there's something I'd like to show you."
Groggily, Kenny undid the seatbelt that fastened him to the passenger seat and opened the car door, breathing in the fresh evening air. That helped to wake him up a little more. He glanced around at his surroundings, surprised to find they were in the middle of downtown Osaka. Suddenly, the air didn't seem as fresh.
"Where are we?" he asked, although he could've guessed as much. He just wanted the confirmation.
"We're home," Cranky replied, smiling cleverly to himself.
"Um, no, my apartment is over…" Kenny began pointing down the street until he saw the alleyway. The familiarity of it all was astounding. Down a few blocks from the alleyway was a quaint café with bright red umbrellas, now tinged orange with the rays of the setting sun. The café patio was fenced off from the sidewalk by a steel railing, a fresh coat of black paint reflecting some of the sunlight. Directly beside the alley, on its opposite side was a brick wall that reached Kenny's chin. Beyond that, the grounds of the Osaka dome, the giant structure taking up most of his view.
Looking in as many different directions as he thought possible, Kenny's eyes were always drawn back to the alleyway, bits of garbage littering the cement floor, old, blackened and hardened pieces of gum staining the pavement in random patterns. Cardboard boxes were laid own in a somewhat orderly fashion along the walls as children crawled playfully in and out of them, speaking a roughened street dialect of Osaka Japanese.
Kenny stood rooted to the spot, taking the scene in. He saw the children, their small eyes looking up curiously beneath filth smeared faces at the two 'grown-ups' staring at them strangely. Then, they went about their games as if they had seen nothing. One of the occupied boxes shook, a body rustling the layers of newspapers inside, a sound that brought back memories Kenny had long since forgotten. Cranky rested an elbow on Kenny's shoulder.
"So much has changed," he said so quietly that only Kenny could hear him, "yet this place has stayed the same."
"That wall," Kenny continued, pointing to the brick wall that separated the alley from the Dome's grounds, "that used to be really high."
"You used to be really short."
"Something happened here," Kenny said, ignoring Cranky's comments. "You gave me a boost so over the wall. And … that's all I can remember."
"That was the last time I saw you for almost a decade," Cranky elaborated. "You were going to find some people to pick pocket so we could have dinner that night. It was the first day of the third consecutive Alpha tournaments began."
Kenny turned to look at Cranky questioningly. "I … I didn't come back, did I?"
"Come on," Cranky said, changing the subject, "lets get over to the café and grab a bite to eat. I'm starved."
XXXXX
It was getting dark quickly outside, and the cafe was packed with people. Kenny and Cranky stood in line waiting patiently for his turn. "You want anything?" he asked, Kenny.
"White chocolate chip cookie …" he replied, but Cranky interrupted.
"With macadamia nuts, a children's hot chocolate, no whip and lots of sprinkles," he finished.
"How did you …"
"Lucky guess," Cranky said, smiling smugly.
"Except I think I could go for something a little larger than kid's size, thanks."
And then it was their turn. Cranky came face to face with the smiling staff member, his small eyes squeezed into pencil thin lines. There was no missing the smile, even though it was hidden behind a thick, graying mustache of a short, rotund elderly man. He opened his mouth to give his schpeel he had given countless other customers earlier in the day.
"Ogyakusama irasshaima …" Welcome honored guest …
"O-hisashiburi da na, Ohgi-san" Cranky replied cheerfully. It's been awhile, hasn't it, Mr. Ohgi?
The rotund man's voice caught in his throat for a moment, his thin eyes suddenly widening in surprise with recognition. He pointed a stubby, shaky finger at Cranky. "Kimi wa … Cranky-kun deshou?" You're … Cranky?
He nodded enthusiastically. Mr. Ohgi yelped in surprise, his high pitched voice squeezing out from a tight throat. "Hontou ni ookiku natta yo na!" Oh my gosh, you've grown! Mr. Ohgi then turned his attention to Kenny, another squeal of delight coming from him, nothing anyone would've expected an elderly man to produce. "Sore dewa kono kata wa …" And this must be … "Kimi no otouto?" Your little brother?
"Sugu ni toshiyori ni naru otouto da yo!" Cranky replied proudly, rubbing Kenny's hair. "My little brother, who'll soon become an old fart before I know it!"
"Kenny!" Mr. Ohgi cried. He left his post behind the counter and made his way around to get a good look at the teen.
Kenny looked at Cranky, fearful of the old man's aggressive affection. "Daijoubu da," Cranky said, assuring him. "Kodomo toki, Ohgi-san ga anta ga daisuki nanda." It's alright. Mr. Ohgi was really fond of you when we were kids."
"Demo, ano ojiisan no koto oboetenai zo!" Kenny protested. But I don't remember that grandpa!
"Matte mite." Wait and see …
Mr. Ohgi wrapped his fat arms around Kenny and nearly lifted the youth off his feet. "Hontou ni hisashiburi yo ne!" It really has been a long time! "Kawaii kodomo kara hansamu na otoko ni natta sou!" Seems like you've grown from a cute kid to a handsome young man!"
Kenny tried wrestling himself free from the old man's grasp, but wasn't successful until Mr. Ohgi himself had set the youth down. "Jaa, kimitachi no yomimono wo tsukuri ni iku yo! Kimi no ichiban suki na koohii mada oboeterun da yo!" Alright, I'm gonna go get your drinks now. I still remember what your favorites are!"
"Creepy old man," Kenny said quietly as soon as Mr. Ohgi had disappeared around the counter.
"You'll remember good ole Mr. Ohgi soon enough," Cranky explained. "We used to give us free stuff all the time, back in the day when I used to help him maintain the store."
"I thought you were a thief," Kenny said. "You taught me everything I know about pick pocketing."
"Mr. Ohgi doesn't have to know that," Cranky replied smugly. "But I'd never steal from him. He was always such a genuinely nice guy. I never had to ask for food from him. He'd come by the alley every night and give us the leftovers for the day. He could've gotten in trouble if the authorities ever found out he was contributing to our lives on the street by feeding us, but we never told anyone."
"Hmm, well you'd think if he was such a nice guy, I'd have some recollection of …"
"You like the white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies. He used to come by with the hot chocolate for you," then Cranky looked a little disapprovingly at Kenny, "when you were too young for coffee."
Mr. Ohgi deposited the beverages into their hands, smiling the whole time at the guests he hadn't seen in years. Along with the drinks, he shelled out a few packaged cookies, smiling happily at Cranky.
"I can't eat all that," Kenny said quietly, tugging at Cranky's shirt sleeve.
"What, you think these are all for you?" Cranky asked. "Take what you can, but the rest of them are for the other kids in the alley."
XXXXX
It was starting to get dark now, as the pair of them sat outside on the patio of the café, Kenny puffing away busily at his cigarette, while Cranky gulped his cooling drink. Kenny blew out the smoke and wiped at his face with an arm, brushing off the cookie crumbs in the process.
"Oh, thanks, Cranky!" he said, patting his stomach. "That was…" He half closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. "That was good. "
"You remember Mr. Ohgi now?"
"Meh," Kenny replied, dismissing the old man casually, "not really. But I won't be forgetting him this time! We've gotta come back here more often."
"He took good care of us," Cranky said. "Make sure you come by when you can and pay the old man a visit. I'll be right back." He got up from his chair and headed towards the alley they once called home, packets of cookies cradled in his arms. Kenny watched as Cranky stood by a group of children, intimidated by his size. He could've easily picked up the lot of them with one arm. Instead, he squatted down to their eye level and smiled, distributing the treats into their small, eager hands.
As he headed back to where Kenny sat, the youth looked up curiously at him. "Why'd you do that?"
Cranky looked back, bewildered as such a stupid question. "We were once in their shoes!"
"Yeah, you didn't see one of those little fuckers take the cash from your back pocket, did you?"
"What?" Cranky dug his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and felt for his money. "Those little …" Then he calmed down. "It was only a thousand yen anyway."
"Ten American dollars," Kenny reminded, calculating the value in his head.
"Whatever. They'll put it to use better than I ever could."
"You could've used it to by me a pack of smokes. I'm almost out."
"In which case, I'm glad they took it."
"Shamed by a bunch of little twerps," Kenny smiled, shaking his head. "You're losing your touch, grandpa."
Cranky shrugged off the comment and took another sip of his coffee. "I'm still glad I got a chance to come down here before leaving. I've been meaning to make the trip - with you - more specifically."
"Why the sudden trip down memory lane?" Kenny asked curiously.
"Because you don't remember everything," Cranky replied. "You've recalled a lot, and that's good. But I couldn't leave you not knowing everything about your past."
"But what's the point? It's all in the past. What's important is moving forward."
"Kenny," Cranky began, and then paused, taking a deep breath. God, there was so much to say but where could he even begin? "Things have changed so much since then, and they're about to change once again now that we're even older. You and I are entering different phases of our lives. I'm ready to move on, but you're not."
"Excuse me?"
"All those things you missed out on when you were living by yourself are catching up to you now that you have them. A family – people to look out for you. You've missed out on all of this while your peers took what they had for granted. Now that you have us, you want to catch up on lost times."
"I don't get what you mean …"
"That's why it's killing you that I'm moving to England to be with Cammy. You try your best to hide it. You might be able to fool her into believing everything is okay with you, but she hasn't known you for as long as I have. And that's why it's killing me that you're keeping all of this bullshit to yourself."
"Look, Cranky, it's all good. It's not like I'm incapable of …"
"There you go again."
"It's not my place, to say anything about how you choose to live your life," Kenny said weakly, "especially not after everything you've done for me."
"Kenny," Cranky placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We're family, right?"
The youth avoided eye contact, looking down at his knees, embarrassed that Cranky had been able to see right through him. Kenny thought he was doing a good job of figuring things out on his own, and was completely unaware of how transparent he appeared.
"Answer me," Cranky said sternly, but Kenny only nodded in response. "And that means we hide what from each other?"
"Nothing."
"That's right. And that also means we don't …"
"Leave each other behind."
"And that's my point here." Cranky removed his hand from Kenny's shoulder and clasped it in his other palm, resting his chin on his knuckles. "I am in love with Cammy. We're going to work on our relationship, and one day live with each other, and even have children together. But that doesn't … it does NOT mean we are leaving you behind. She's joining us, Kenny. She's joining this dysfunctional circus of street kids trying to turn their lives around. It's hard to believe anyone would want to, but we're lucky she's as fucked up as we are. And when you fall in love with a girl special enough to want to join us, she can jump onto our crazy bandwagon too. Do you understand me?"
"I never thought about it like that before."
"So swear it now. When I go back to England with Cammy, you're going to be okay." He held out his hand, but Kenny looked at it hesitantly. "Promise me, Kenny, or are you gonna make me spend the rest of my life with guilt?"
A smirk crossed Kenny's lips and he grasped Cranky's hand, shaking it firmly. "God, I swear you can be such an emotional sap at times. You're embarrassing me."
"Good," Cranky said, knuckling his head lightly.
"I'll be fine, Cranky. Just as long as you manage to keep Cammy on the bandwagon."