Alex sips her tea, and looks at Sonny. "What'd you keep looking at the door for?" She asks.
Sonny glances back at the two girls. "Huh? What'd you mean?"
"Alex's right," Sasha says, mouth half-filled with udon. "You've been staring at that door for, like, ten minutes now. You expectin' someone else?"
"N-no. Well…"
"He's up to something."
Alex's eyes narrow. "What's going on?" It's not terribly late, but the dinner crowds have gone home. The diner is empty save for a few scattered couples and groups of friends. There's enough music playing so that no conversations are heard, but Alex can't help feeling that something is a little off.
Sonny glances back towards the door, and her eyes widen. "Yes!" She says, then raises her hand in the air.
Sasha and Alex turn to look, and their eyes bulge. Jackson Stewart stands in the diner's doorway, spots them, and begins to walk over.
"Isnt that the guy we fought in the Metaverse?" Sasha asks, then turns to Sonny. "What the hell is going on?"
Alex's hands clench. "What did you do?"
Sonny pales. "I didn't do anything, I figured-" but then Jackson stands next to their table, and regards the three girls.
"May I, um, sit?" He asks.
"Sure," Sonny says, and slides over.
"No," both Sasha and Alex says. Sasha's eyes narrow. "We don't know who you are, man. So, like, get your own table."
Jackson!/ eyes widen. "Oh. I'm sorry. I was told-"
"No, it's fine," Sonny says, and looks at the other two girl. "You guys are gonna want to hear him out."
Jackson sits down. He wears clothes similar to the one the girls had seem him wearing in Metaverse. He sets a briefcase down on the ground alongside him. He dips his head. "Thank you," he says.
"For what?" Alex asks, already guessing where this conversation is going.
Nakanohara smiles. "For what you did. To me. For me. I feel a lot better than I have in a while."
"We don't-" Sasha starts.
"You were hoping id forgot what you did, yes?" Jackson asks. Sonny beams at the two of them. Sasha and Alex glance at one another. They say nothing. "Right, of course. You assume i did." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I honestly don't know what you did to me, but the night after, I just… felt different. I realized what I'd done to my ex-girlfriend, and I knew how horrible I'd been. I called her to tell her I was sorry. She didn't forgive me, but I wasn't expecting her to, and that's fine."
"So," Sasha says. "The only reason you're here is to thank us?"
Alex shuts her eyes. "Goddammit."
Jackson smiles. "Well, no. I mean, I do want to thank you for changing my heart. But, there's something else I want to talk about."
"And what's that?" Alex asks.
Jackson meets Alex's eyes. "I'd like to request that you save someone."
Sasha scoffs, crosses her arms and leans back in her seat. "What're you tellin' us for?"
jackson blinks. "Well, I know Sonny-"
Sonny cuts him off. "Its an important matter."
"So, then," Sasha asks, with a shrug. "Who's this big shot?"
Jackson pales a bit, swallows, and says, "My father Billy Ray Stewart."