Chapter 37: A Change of Lifestyle
Dave's POV
They left, leaving behind me, Ringo, and Risukuma to sit around. "I hope that she didn't hurt you too badly..." I approached the bear. "I'll be fine... I lived through that ant bite, so this shouldn't kill me. There, all better. Bandages can be a lifesaver for people. It's good that I keep a couple of rolls here." He told me. "It's getting late, Dave. We should be heading back… Take care, Ris." Ringo waved to him. I followed her outside, where it was chilly. "Brrgh… I guess the later part of Fall is finally starting to show itself." I commented. "Speaking of which… isn't Fall Break coming up, Dave?" "Is it? I dunno, I haven't seen a calendar since meeting you, Ringo." We shrugged and arrived home. "We're back, Mom." She chimed. "Welcome back, my lovebirds." Ms. Ando smiled. "*sigh* I still find it to be embarrassing… Huh...? Ms. Ando, what's all this?" I wondered. My eyes saw a bunch of plane tickets laying on the counter. "Oh-! I'm glad you noticed, Dave. These are travel tickets for Japan. I figured that since you know Japanese things, but not the language… it would be a great experience for you. Fall Break is next week, so we'll have plenty of time, since there's no school for you kids. And, you can see that there are more than three. I know that you'll want to bring your friends. That being said… this is a total of nine tickets." She flashed at us. "Woooooah! You must have spent a lot on those, Mom! How much did one cost by itself?" Ringo's eyes bulged. "Is the price really worth discussing when I was able to purchase NINE of them, my girl?" Ms. Ando chuckled. "I-I guess not…" Ringo stopped questioning. As I listened to that, my mind thought about Japan. Huh… I guess it COULD be a beneficial experience. Besides, I'll be with my friends as well! That's IF they want to join though… I'm sure everything will be fine and dandy. I've never been to Japan before… it'll be interesting to basically live a different style of life for a week or so. If this Japan is like my world's... Akihabara will be an awesome place to stop by at. I haven't had any exposure to anime for the longest time! And, there'll be anime that differ than the ones from my world. I think my romantic/comedy backlog has increased significantly. There might be some good action shows for me to see too. But… who do I want to invite for this trip to Japan? I mean, of course… I want Feli and Draco to come but… who else? Lemres is cool, however… he might cause some issues with his mannerisms. On places like moving trains, it's not a good thing to speak. Ex could very well be busy with work in the Tetra. Maybe Sig…? Amitie? I guess. Raffina? I suppose? Lidelle? No, Lidelle would become quite afraid of all the things that fall under her definition of "unfamiliar". Then, who would fill the last slot? Klug is usually somewhat busy too. And, Ris is injured, so there's no point in taking him along… I'll have to think about this later.
I brought myself back to reality, seeing that Ringo had her eyes fixed on me. "What?" I asked, starting up an exchange of word. "You were staring off into space, like that one time." "Oh… yeah, I was. I just thought of who we could invite. My mind isn't totally set on who though." "I've been thinking that a little too. I've been with Amitie quite a bit, ever since I joined you guys in Ms. Accord's class… but, I haven't done much with her, or Arle for that matter." "Oh yeah, there's Arle too… We could come across quite a bit of curry, so she will certainly be ecstatic." "Her mouth will be watering from the sensation. Dave, you did you want Feli and Draco to come too?" "Of course, Ringo. Why wouldn't I?" "Fair enough. What about Lemres?" "His behavior might cause us some… inconvenience. I was thinking of inviting Ex, but he's probably way too busy. I mean, he has to watch over Tee." "Sig?" "I dunno… I think he'll just be kind of indifferent to it." "It could be awkward for us if there isn't another guy." "I know… Ugh, this is difficult to set up for six friends." "... Tarutaru?" "... ! Hey, yeah! There's Tarutaru for us to bring and it'll be great for him. The last time that we went somewhere, the Puyo Isles, something came up for him to take care of at the last minute. This could be a good way to make it up to him." Ringo nods to me and we ate dinner for the night. Like always, Ms. Ando's cooking was quite superb. It got me thinking about how Japanese foods taste. At this point, I've never had anything remotely Asian before. The prominence of chopsticks worried me. I didn't know how they would feel as "utensils". I had only held forks, spoons, and occasionally sporks up until now, so this could have been very different to me. I had a shower with Ringo and went off to bed for the evening. The rest of the remaining school week went by uneventfully. Me and Ringo told my other friends about this trip. Feli and Draco had no objections with it, as long as we would be together. Amitie happily accepted the invitation, being curious about Japan. Raffina unfortunately had to decline because of her family. Klug said no because he decided that he wanted to train on his own for the break. Sig only wanted to take care of the bugs around his place, so that was an indirect "no". Tarutaru was elated and glad that I would be making things up to him.
Arle squealed at the mentioning of curry and pleaded to go. She asked Carbuncle if he would be okay with watching their house. Of course, he answered with an enthusiastic "Gugu gu!". The little guy danced around with seemingly random motions throughout their living room. I had then faced this same predicament, there was one last slot to fill and I didn't know who could take it. Then, I relinquished my insistence on not bothering Ex. I called him and he picked up. "Dave?" "Yeah, it's me." "What is it?" "Well, considering that you have been such a good friend to me… I figured that maybe I could pay you back in kind." "Pay me back with what?" "Going by Suzuran and Primp's calendar… do you think you could come with me to somewhere for Fall Break? I mean, of course, if you have the ability to, that is... I understand if you have your hands tied at the moment, Tee must be giving you mental pain." "Oh, him? He apologized for everything that he's done to us." "R-really?! You mean it? He's changed?" "Yeah, for that… I lightened his time in the cell to one month. You should thank Yui, she's the one who got through to him. Anyway, I'll be happy to spend some time with you, Dave. I know my two daughters can look after the Tetra, now that Tee is in good conscience again. So… what is this place you mentioned, Dave?" "Well, here's the thing… it's a place in Ringo's world, but it also exists in mine." "What? How can this be?" "I'm not entirely sure, Ex… What I can say for sure is that Suzuran and my home world's location have some sort of connection. The first time I came to the city, it was from a portal that forcefully sent me from my home... to the outside of Suzuran's borders. And so, it may not just be my home and Suzuran serving as counterparts to each other… This place that I speak of is one that both worlds share. The location is called Japan; an island country surrounded by water all around. Over there, lies a huge population of people, for such a small land. A unique culture of both folklore and technological advances flourishes. The people use a language with three separate alphabets." "Three?" "Yes, three. Although… the third one isn't used as often as the other two, for good reasons. You might learn more about it when we come together for this. It won't just be the two of us, Ex. Seven others will join in for the fun." "Lemme guess, three of them are your lovers, correct?" "Indeed. Enough about that though, you'll need to get ready for tomorrow morning. That's when we'll all take a plane to Japan. Come to Suzuran where my residence is at, it's Ando Family Fresh Produce. Make sure to tell the crew of your absence." "I will, hopefully all of this trip will be fun, unlike the Puyo Isles." "Mhm. That murder scandal was not good for anybody. Let's hope that something like that does not happen. I'll be hanging up now." "Alright, see you." I hung up the call after he ended the conversation. "Hey, Ringo… I was able to get Ex to come." I met back up with her. "Oh, well that's awesome. I guess we'll wait for everyone to come early in the morning. Let's go home and prepare for it." She said. "Yeah." I nodded. We came back home and enjoyed the night of packing stuff up.
The early birds of the morning squawked away and we wasted no time. Everyone arrived, as scheduled, which made me happy. "Hey, Dave. Who's that fellow?" Ex wondered. "Oh, Tarutaru? You've seen him before right? He is with me in the class Ms. Accord teaches, Ex." "Huh… okay, I remember. I guess his appearance didn't seem so significant to me. That's probably why I don't recall him. Uh… how come he wasn't around when the trip to the Puyo Isles was a thing?" "I don't exactly know… All I know is that he had something come up at the last minute, so he didn't come with us. Anywho, Tarutaru's a swell guy. He may look like that he lacks a brain, but he's actually decently intellectual. As he looks would have you to believe, he's strong. Not as strong as me, but Tarutaru can still hold his own against weaker baddies and then some." "And who's the woman there?" "That's Ringo's mother, to which I refer to her as Ms. Ando. She takes care of both me and Ringo." "But, wouldn't that make you and Ringo siblings by law?" "No, Ex… I did not accept Ms. Ando as my mother, for two reasons. One: I already had a mother from my original home. Two: I personally wished for her not to raise me as a son by law. I just wanted to create a suitable environment where me and Ringo can live together and love each other. I didn't want this to turn into a case of technical incest." "Ah, got you. That would have made things needlessly awkward for you two." "Mhm." I nodded at the end. Ms. Ando walked up to Ex and examined him. "My, who might you be, mister?" "I'm uh… Ex, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Ando." "So you're Ex… I've heard about you from Dave and the like." "Oh… is that so? Um… so you're a single-parent too, I see. Sorry about your husband being killed." "It's… fine, really. You lost your wife?" "Yeah, something like that… Although, I don't know whether she's dead or not. She could still be kicking for all I know..." "Well, what kind of wife was she to you?" "She… was a very sweet individual. I had loved her with all my heart. Then… she was taken away from me by the vacuum of space, from a hole that was formed in the Starship Tetra." "How was this hole formed?" "It was created by an attack that we received from an unknown enemy. I tried holding on to her as best as I could, but in the end… she was still sucked into space. I haven't seen her since that day… and it pains me every time that I revisit this story. *sigh*" Ex's mood was dampened, but I came in to remind him that we are going to have fun in Japan. He smiled, then all nine of us traveled to an airport with our things. "Arle, have you ever been on a plane before?" Amitie asked her. "Nope. Planes were just not a thing from my world, Amitie. I've heard that they take you reeeeal high in the air." "This is my first time too." Amitie giggled to Arle. I looked back at Draco, where she was taken aback by the plane. "A machine that flies for you…" She stared at it. "Impressive, huh?" I came to her. "Yeah, it sure is, Dave." She smiled. "It's not anything like the Tetra, but planes have their own charms." Ex commented. "Uh, Feli… can we talk alone for a bit, before the flight is ready for us?" I led her to an area to be by our lonesome. "Uh… what is it, Dave?" "Remember when our Potions instructor covered my mouth and talked to me alone? You were watching, right?" "Yeah… I remember her making that one motion with her fingers, like she was on to you. Was there something that you wanted to say to me from then?" "Yes, there was... and, I finally have the distance away from her to tell you this. Basically, uh… Witch was the one who helped me to be able to control my dragon form and make it complete." "Okay… why would she want to hide it from me and Lemres? We both saw you as a dragon and surely she must know that…" "No, that's not what she was hiding... it was what she did with me after that. I had gone through a purification process at Draco's place… but, because it was so painful and I screamed my head off from said pain, I passed out from post-shock. Now here's the sketchy bit, Feli: What she did after that, she became a bit… frisky. When I woke up, she was sitting on top of me and Draco was asleep… for some reason. That's when I learned of her getting frisky with my body. Witch became jealous of Draco having my love and did not like me rejecting hers." "So she's after you too…" "She's too old though… that's why I didn't accept her love. I don't know if she's still watching me through that one thing or not… but she WILL get my head if she finds out I told you." "I'll protect you if it comes down to that. It's my duty to… I'M one of your lovers, not her. I'll beat her up if I have to! Whatever it takes to make her stop seducing you... Now, how about we spend some quality time together~? There's no way that she can find us, especially if we arrive in Japan." "I suppose you're right, Feli. Let's go back!"
Witch's POV
So… you think that you can just get away from me and reveal that to Feli without retribution, Dave? Well, I don't think so. I'm gonna come to you, regardless of an unfamiliar place to me. When I do… you're punishment is gonna be QUITE severe. And, Feli thinks that she can save him from me... Think again, girlie. My mind cracked. I had cut off my way of watching Dave so I could free say things without him hearing me. "Time to hunt a naughty boy down…"
Dave's POV
We made our way back to the others, just when the plane was about ready too. "Oh, there you are, Dave... I was looking around for you. Where were you at?" Arle wondered. "I was talking with Feli about something… don't worry, it's not anything you should concern yourself with. So, did you need me for something, Arle?" "Well uh… how should I put it…? Amitie has gotten cold feet from anticipating this fly to Japan." "Cold feet? She's… scared of flying on this? Amitie was just fine when we arrived, what's the deal?" "Well, Ringo told her that we would be up thousands of feet in the air. And then, she remembered what I said earlier to her. I guess the predicted height was too much for her to bear. Amitie's over there, scared stiff." I saw the sorry state that Amitie was in. Yep. She's definitely afraid of going up to that height. I'm not the biggest fan of heights either. I'll go to her. "Hey, Amitie?" I crouched down to where she sat. "D-Dave…?" "Arle told me that you've become scared of this." "W-well- N-no duh… I didn't consider how high we would go up while on that plane." "Question, have you been through something like a plane flight before?" "I was in the Tetra when Tee was the captain…" "Okay… and were you scared of that?" "K-kind of…?" "*sigh* Look, I'm not enthusiastic about going up to at least four-thousand feet in the air either. In fact, I have a phobia of extreme heights and I've NEVER been on a plane before. But, I'll still ride it because I want to see Japan with my own vision. I haven't been able to do so back in my world, where it also exists." "R-really?" "Yeah. Throughout my years, growing up as a teen… I had grown to like things that originated from Japan. For example, it was a juggernaut when it came to quality games. I'm sure you probably don't understand the significance of that, but it's something that became a positive influence for me. Hey, maybe you'll find something in Japan to positively affect yourself. C'mon, aren't you excited?" She looked up at me with a reinvigorated smile. "You're right, I should be excited above all else! Thanks, Dave. I don't even feel that scared now because my curiosity has returned!" "That's the spirit, Amitie." I smiled as well. We boarded the plane and took off for Japan.
"Hey, Ms. Ando… you never told us where we'll land in Japan. It didn't say on the tickets either. Where are we going to land at?" I wondered. "Oh, well… Japan has four international airports. All four of these are individually close to a big city. The first two of which are Narita, and the one we're landing at, Haneda. These ones are next to Tokyo, Japan's capital city. Kansai is near Osaka, and Chubu for Nagoya." She told me. "Uh, excuse me, Ms. Ando. If I may ask… what's the big deal about Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya in particular? Erm.. besides the fact that Tokyo is the capital…" Ex asked her. "Tokyo has so many places to sight-see, both modern creations and old relics. Osaka is very much known as a food paradise for the Japanese. And Nagoya… It's not as notable as the other two, but you know, it has historic importance in the eyes of the country's people. Nagoya is also Japan's fourth largest city." She told him. "A culture that embraces both old and new customs… very much unique I would say. As someone who has lived in advanced technology for quite some time, this will be different to me." Ex said. I looked back over to where Ringo and the other girls sat. "I dunno, this place's culture sounds like a hodge-podge mess to me." Draco remarked. "Draco, the place looks a lot more defined when you actually do see it. I grew up with my mom here, so I know." Ringo replied. "Uuuuh, how long are we going to be flying like this?" Amitie asked. "Oh, we'll be flying for several hours. Although… the timezone will be different to ours. We're behind by thirteen hours, so it should be about... 11 P.M. there right now." Ms. Ando explained. "Wow, I never knew that there was such a discrepancy with the time." My eyes widened for a second or two. "But wait… won't that really screw up our sleep schedule?" Feli figured. "It should, like over half a day ahead of us… that's crazy." Tarutaru was in disbelief. For the rest of the flight after that, we decided to rest. By the time we reached Japan, it was technically well into the early morning of the next day. "I didn't think there would be such a thing as oversleep, but lo and behold… my head feels so light." I said. "Yeah, well… we needed to get use to Japan's time. This was the only way that we would be able to adjust properly, Dave." Ex told me. "So, Mom… do you have an idea where we'll be staying for the duration of this trip?" Ringo asked. "My child, do you remember an area called Ikebukuro? That's where we lived before moving to Suzuran." "Ah- I do, Mom…! It was so long ago, but I remember playing with Maguro back then… like it was yesterday." "And, remember when you were fawning over magical girl anime? You would be so charmingly funny, just acting out as heroines from those. *chuckle*" "M-MOM-!" Ringo was instantly embarrassed by that remark. "W-what? You used to watch anime, Ringo?" I turned to face her. "Um… you know about anime too?" She turned to me. "H-hell yeah! Watching them was one of my pastimes back in my world! I love anime." I was so happy, knowing for sure that anime existed in this world's Japan. "Are those… TV shows, Dave?" Ex made a guess. "Not in the traditional sense, Ex. Anime doesn't just consist of shows, they can also be movies. Anime is literally shortened from the words animate or animation. Hence, these are always animated in someway… and that's what gives them that status. Most are animated in 2D, but I have seen a few with 3D animation. Safe to say... anime wasn't originally made for 3D and it looks jarring, no matter how long you view it for." I answered. "Oh, I see." He to be seemed satisfied with my answer. "*sigh* Can we PLEASE just get to where we are going to stay at? I don't wanna keep standing here all day in embarrassment." Ringo pleaded as she continued to blush. "Very well, my girl." Her mother complied. We walked for a while in the streets of Tokyo until Ikebukuro was found. Ringo's eyes glittered and brightened with awe. I could see why, this was her neighborhood before moving to Suzuran. "Ikebukuro…! I recall it all! There's the spot that cosplayers and idols hang out at. The old fish place that Maguro's family used to run is still standing too." Old… fish place? Nevermind… So, this is Ikebukuro… My mind wandered. "Dave?" Tarutaru came up and shook me. "... H-huh…?" "Dave, you're falling behind." "O-oh! Thank you for telling me, Tarutaru. Jesus, that lot can get far quickly." Me and Tarutaru caught up with the group at this hotel. "Here we are, everyone." Ms. Ando presented us. Taking one peek at the building revealed one fact. This hotel was half semi-luxurious and half lower-end. Several parts of it seemed rather promising, while others… not so much. "What the heck is with this inconsistent infrastructure?" I scratched my head. "This does look jarring…" Ex agreed. "As long as it's not a dump, why should we care about the infrastructure?" Ringo made a point. "Guess that makes sense…" Draco went along with. "Let's… go inside. Even though the temperature feels like seventy-ish degrees... the humidity is dense around here." Feli spoke up.
We entered the joint without another second of that humid air. Ms. Ando spoke to a receptionist in Japanese, while we waited in anticipation. She came back with number codes for our rooms. "Here are four codes. Each of these will open up a room in this place. Since we have nine people, one the rooms will have to be shared by three of us. I could only get us one room for three people. The others are for two people each. We'll head for the fourth floor, and you'll think about who you want to bunk with." She came back to tell us. Thus, I began thinking right off the bat. Hmm… Well… I have already bunked with Ringo when we were in the Puyo Isles. It would be a tad redundant to choose her again. I'll also have to consider the fact that I could be one of three sharing a room. Maybe I can band together with Ex and Tarutaru, since we're the only three guys here… No. As much as I like Ex as a friend, I wanna have so much fun. Amitie is a ball of sunshine, but she is too overbearing with her optimism. Arle could be an interesting choice… I haven't really spent much time with her, even taking the Puyo Isles into consideration. Oooooh, but Feli and Draco are so hard to pass up on. I'll have to see what choices the others will choose before I decide. We hopped on an elevator to take us to the fourth floor. Next to our rooms, we came to make our decisions. "So, has everyone thought over a final choice?" Ms. Ando asked us. We all nodded, but my nod was just there so I could come up with my choice. "I wanna be with Amitie in a room." Arle said. "A-Arle…" Amitie reacted with a smile. "I could bunk with Dave and Tarutaru. It makes perfect sense since we're a trio of guys, and only one of the rooms we have is made for three." Ex logically stated. "Wha...? No, I wanna be with Dave." Draco pleaded. "Me too." Feli followed. "*sigh* Do you two really want him THAT badly?" Ringo pressed her hand against her face. "Ringo, you don't know my loneliness... I haven't seen much of him since we came back from the Puyo Isles. If anyone wants him, there's no one more deserving of having Dave than me." Draco expressed. "And don't say that you want to bunk with him, because it isn't happening. You already live with him back home, right? Then, you also bunked with him on that island resort. In a way, you have hogged him to yourself for quite some time now." Feli looked at Ringo, slightly jealous. "Feli… I didn't say that I wanted to bunk with Dave this time around. If anything… I wanna be with… Mom. I haven't slept with her since I was a little girl. I was hoping I could relive that feeling once more." She told her while blushing. "I… don't think Dave should with you two, Feli and Draco. I understand the relationship you all share... but, I've made up my mind that we should all be discreet here. Most of us don't know how Japanese people behave. I think it would be best that we remain quiet here and don't do anything weird." Ex spoke up against. "..." Neither of them didn't say anything in response to his words. All they could do was stand there and hold on to each other. Feli and Draco seemed rather sad by this, but didn't express much of it. However, I could tell that their hearts were crying on the inside. I had to say something. "*sigh* Fine, I'll be with you, Ex and Tarutaru… Sorry girls, we can have our fun and love outside this partially worn down popsicle stand. I just don't want us to receive complaints from other guests, of which are only in Japanese no less… We'd be screwed if there isn't a place for us to stay at. If we do our love-filled hijinks here, we would have to be suuuuuper quiet about that. I doubt that you two could pull it off. Just be lucky that complaints weren't sent our way from that one night at the Puyo Isles. Maybe you can get to know each other more without me being in the way. Think about the good that can do." I said to them, ending with a smile. "Dave…" Feli stopped without saying another word. "R-really…?" Draco came to me. "Yeah, it could be fun… AND, it won't be noisy, correct?" I convinced them. They looked at each other for a minute and clasped the other's hand. Feli and Draco nodded, then agreed to be a pair in a room.
"Now, since that's been settled... let me tell you all a custom that the Japanese go by. As I unlock the door to my room, you'll see another door directly in front of it from our view." Ms. Ando showed us. "Huh? What's the purpose of having another door here?" Amitie was confused. That's a good question… why is there another door here? I thought. "Well… this is here to provide a space for your shoes to go. In Japan, it's bad to enter in a house, an apartment's room, or in this case, a hotel room with your shoes on. Instead, you put on slippers (like the ones you see here) as footwear while you're inside, standing, or walking about. Also, your personal belongings should stay in this little area as well." She explained. Ah, that makes sense. I've seen plenty of anime where characters do that. I came to realize. "I heard of keeping the living space spotless, but this is somewhat overkill…" Ex felt awkward. "Aw man… I have to go through with doing "manners" stuff?" Arle sounded bummed out. "Arle, it's not that bad, you can deal with it." Ringo eased her friend. "I'm… somewhat accustomed to this already… don't ask how, I just am." Tarutaru mentioned. "Oh, really? That's surprising." I responded to him. "So, we have to keep in mind to leave our shoes in that area before entering these rooms? I can remember that!" Amitie cheerfully said. "It's strange, but I don't mind. I already keep my shoes away from my room's floor back at home anyway." Feli spoke with not much concern in her voice. "Dave, what are your thoughts about this?" Ringo wondered. "Ringo, I already know how this custom goes and I don't mind it either. But… it might take me some time to get used to it. I haven't done it in practice, I've only seen it in anime." I answered. "Oh, I see. I guess the only person who REALLY needs to adjust to this is Arle. Don't worry, I'll get you to be a well-mannered person, and you won't hate it." She turned around to look at her. "Ringo, this kind of this is making me uncomfortable." "C'mon, Arle. This will improve your livelihood, at least try it." "*sigh* Fine… I won't neglect this practice…" "Good." Ringo softly clapped her hands together. "So um… how do we know which rooms are which?" I scratched my head. "Dave, do you see the little numbers on the top-left corner of these number code sheets? Next to those, there's Japanese lettering that displays "Room number"." Ms. Ando showed me. "Mhm. I see it… So, if I look at this and follow the room numbers on the door… I can eventually find one corresponding to the sheet it's associated with." I requested for her to hand me the code sheet for the three person room. I slowly walked forward, glancing over at the numbers on the doors. After thirty seconds, I found it. "Hey, Ex and Tarutaru, looks like I've found it." I called them over and they came. As it turned out, our room was farther down the hallway by quite a margin. "Damn, all the way over here?" Ex sounded like he was bummed out. "I… guess we were all hoping to stay within close proximity…" Tarutaru assumed. "Yeah… this sucks, but at least the girls are close enough together… It should be fine, guys." I told them. "I suppose so…" Ex shrugged. "Now, about that code…" Tarutaru reminded me. "Yeah. Ex, how about you put it in? You're good with punching commands in back at the Tetra, right? Besides, I think I trust you more with holding on to that sheet than myself." I gave him the sheet. "Alright, sure. What are friends for Dave?" He smiled. Ex entered in the code and the door opened. "... And there's the in-between spot. … Hey, isn't this one a little bigger than that other one?" Tarutaru noticed. "Well, this room was made for three people, so this spot must also be optimized for that, Tarutaru…" I guessed. "Either way, it's thoughtful design." Ex appreciated. We saw the girls go and do their thing with the rooms they were given. With our things still by our side we entered into the small space. After we took off our shoes... and put on the slippers, we left our stuff by our shoes and locked the code door behind us.
We finally saw how the room itself appeared. "Well… I didn't have the highest of expectations, but…" I stopped. "Yeah, this... wasn't what I imagined either…" Ex became a little pale. What we as a trio saw in this room was rather... underwhelming. It looked shabby and low-class, the lights were somewhat dim, and the faucets seemed to have trouble with bringing in water. The bath and shower were an exception to that, those worked fine. No kitchen was present, meaning no stove or microwave. Good thing we didn't bring any food that requires cooking… I sighed in my mind. The primary portion of the room seemed to be a living area. And then, a small section was dedicated to sleeping. "Dave, what are those?" Ex pointed. "Oh, those?" From my world, they're called futons. Basically, cheaply-made beds that rest flat on the floor. They're more like sleeping bags, but I digress. More traditional beds are less common in Japan. A lack of comfort from the pillow is going to irritate me…" I sighed at the end. "... Am I even able to fit in one of those?" Tarutaru doubted. "I dunno." I shrugged. Just then, I got a text message from Ringo. "What the hell?! The room that me and Mom are in is not adequate!" I made a reply to her with the following: "Ringo, what do you mean by "not adequate"? What seems to be the issue?" "Dave, this room looks like it's on the verge of being broken down. It's almost like an abandoned location with this level of crap. I would suggest that you come see it for yourself." "Okay…?" I pocketed my phone and went over to my shoes. "Dave, where are you going?" Ex noticed me trying to leave. "Ringo just suggested that I would check out her room. Apparently, she mentioned that it looked like "an abandoned location". That, and she said that it was crap in a nutshell. I'll be back." I left and closed the code door. I wasn't concerned with locking myself out. I knew that I could just text Ex and tell him to let me in. I slowly walked over to her room, building up the suspense.
Author's Notes: Dave and friends arrived at Japan in Ringo's world. All seemed to be great at first, but then... things turned sour. Witch zipped in hot pursuit of Dave after hearing that he revealed the secret to Feli. In the hotel that Ms. Ando booked for everyone, the three-person room was found to be underwhelming by the guys. Dave got a message from Ringo, telling him that her room was inadequate. He decided to check it out for himself. What level of terrible conditions does that room fall under? How are conditions in the other two unaccounted rooms? What will Witch do to Dave if she finds him? Next chapter, Chapter 38: Misleading Conditions.