Chapter 38: Misleading Conditions
I approached the door and made a text to Ringo, notifying her to let me in. She opened the door, and I entered. "How bad is it?" I asked. "Take a look for yourself, Dave." She insisted. I examined the vicinity and was in utter horror and shock. "Oh God… it's worse than I imagined it in my head… The visible abandonment isn't subtle in the slightest." I said. Walls were heavily scratched up, causing the wallpaper to peel off and deteriorate. There was this… funky odor, water faucets were completely clogged with gunk, the entire room as a whole was just a mess. "Th-this is… downright unacceptable… Does the staff care not for the state of these?" I felt offended by the poor preservation. "That appears to be a "no", Dave. I can't believe it… in a Japanese hotel of all things. You would have expected it to be preserved much better, but not for this place." Ms. Ando was annoyed by this. "Look at the shower and bath! This odd ooze is released instead of normal bath water." Ringo showed me. "Yuuuck! I don't even want to begin to know what THAT stuff is. Seriously, what the hell is this… abortion of a hotel room?!" I nearly hurled. I decided to take my leave and go back. "How were things over there?" Ex wondered. "Worse than what you can ever possibly imagine. Our room looks NICE by comparison, and that's saying something. And before you go and ask "How bad?", just don't." I shook my head.
An hour after we had just sat around, I got a new message from Ringo. "Where are you guys? We need you to meet up with us in the hallway outside. Mom seems to have something planned for us. The other girls are with us as well. Tell Ex and Tarutaru to come with you." I did just that, and they decided to follow me outside where everybody else stood. "So, Ms. Ando… mind telling us what this is about?" Ex came up to her. "We're taking a look at our surroundings. Ikebukuro is a nice section of Tokyo, but not too flashy. Therefore, it feels more like a home than a top-of-the-line city. I had a feeling that everyone would be more into something like this for the time being. There are other districts, like Shibuya… but, we won't bother with those right now. Dave, you have a fondness for anime, so we'll stop by somewhere that shows them off." She said. I honestly didn't know what to say, I felt so free and cheerful after I heard that. All I could do was smile warmly. "Oh boy, look at his eyes…" Ringo sighed. "... Ringo, are you THAT embarrassed?" I looked at her. "..." She silently pouted. "C'mon, don't be like that, Ringo… Isn't that something that you're supposed to embrace? I don't know what this "anime" is, but it MUST be exciting if Dave likes it." Arle said to her. "... Fine." Ringo sighed again. Walking through the sidewalks of Ikebukuro proved to be adventurous. Exploring a new place that you have never been to is usually pretty fun. This was no exception to that.
I got to see all the Japanese citizens go about their day. As I expected it to be, most people here didn't talk to others… only the closest of friends did so. "Hey, isn't that…?" I stopped moving. "Yeeeeep... that's the cosplay area. I don't feel proud that this is still a public thing here…" Ringo turned around. "What's so bad about it? That actually looks fun." Ex seemed confused. "Look here, it's not bad per se. It's just that… I find it too silly to look back at my past, involving this and anime." She explained. "Ringo, that was just you as a kid displaying the spirit of fictional characters. We all did it at some point when we were children... the very young tend to have imaginative minds. It may be silly to look back at today, but it made sense back then. It's one of those things that comes from growing up. When I was a little boy, I had some of the most inventive imagination a child could have. I wasn't necessarily smart, but I had my own fantasies. My mind had a burst of creativity. Now though… through the process of aging, I have lost a lot of that sight. My brain is still quite creative for a young adult, but not like how it used to be. I've been exposed to reality, more mature themes, and what-not. I can't see the world through imaginative lenses anymore. It's like a blur… Now that I'm no longer a child, I only think about realistic things for the most part. But, if it was a price for getting more intelligent… then it was well worth it. I believe a good mind consists of great intelligence and a dash of innovation… don't you think so, Ringo?" I went on. "Dave, sometimes… I think that Amitie's optimistic personality has rubbed too much on you…" "Come on, Ringo. Can't you just embrace everything from your past? How many times have we been over this? Look toward the future with pride and never lose sight of who you are. Even if your embarrassing takes on characters got you riled up today… accept that this was at one point, a part of you. I like you just the way you are, regardless of any "embarrassing" memories of being a child. Ringo, you're still a girl that I love..." I kissed her. "...!" "...and don't say anything that is contrary. You're you and there's nothing wrong with that to me, alright?" "Dave…" She kissed me back before it was stopped. "Okay, that's enough of showing your love in public, you two. It's making things look awkward for the rest of us." Arle became a bit peeved. "Arle, you killed the mood…" I frown. "Well, we have places to go… and YOU'RE holding us up." She glared at me. "That is a good point… besides, the Japanese people will think that we're weird if you don't stop." Ringo agreed. "Fine…" I conceded.
Arle continued to look at me, making sure that I wouldn't delay movement. "*sigh*… why is Arle so pessimistic all of a sudden?" I wondered. "It's probably because she wants to see what anime is for herself. Arle can be rather impulsive at times." Ringo guessed. "Like, she's impatient? Makes sense…" I shrugged. "I heard that... I'm just curious, that's all. Do YOU see me in any sort of rush here? No. No, you don't. I'm walking at the same pace like everyone else." Arle said. "Really? That's not what your choice of words seem to suggest, Arle." I told her. "Shut it, Know-it-all-lover-boy." "L-Lover-boy?" I reacted. "Yes. If you would let me finish… I'm not one of those people who can't sit around, like hyperactive idiots. I'm in my early twenties, so I can't just run around for like a straight hour without a break." She explained to me. "So wait… how old are you?" I asked. "How rude. Asking somebody like me how old I am… *sigh* If you must know… I'm twenty-two." Arle answered. "Huh. You look younger than that… more like nineteen." I told her. "If that was your attempt to flatter me after asking for my age, then you've failed miserably. Just stop talking to me and don't say anything about me." It was clear that she became irritated by me. *sigh* Why are women so complicated? We saw an anime shop and looked inside. "... What is this?" I began to glance at one of them in particular, a DVD case. The cover art features a high school boy and a frog. Japanese lettering accompanied the art, appearing at the top. Obviously, I couldn't read it, so I got Ringo. "Hey, what's this title, Ringo?" I presented it to her. "Hm… Uh… Ryōseirui no senshi... - kōkōsei to kare no kaeru no monogatari…? I have no idea what it could roughly mean in English, Dave." She told me straight. "What? But… you lived in Ikebukuro in the past... How?" I wondered. "I guess… I don't know as much Japanese as I thought I knew. Well, I know that the word "monogatari" mostly means story, but as for the rest of the title… I don't know." Ringo felt bewildered. "Perhaps I can be of help..." Ms. Ando looked at the title, like Ringo did. "Ah, I know what this displays..." She said. "You do?" We both tilted our heads. "I'll give it an accurate translation, it's... "The Amphibian Warrior - A Tale of a High School Student and his Frog". That's what I see it as… And what's this…?" She turned the case around and read the back.
"Let's see here… "Our hero, Hideki, finds himself in the midst of danger. One day, he was attacked by an evil band of tsuchinoko people, the Tsu Marauders. Left on the ground to die, Hideki was rescued by one of the last frog people left in Japan. This frog's name was Jiraiya, the one who was destined to save the land. He told him that if the Tsu Marauders don't stop, they'll kill every other creature around. He also tells Hideki that the frog and tsuchinoko peoples are able to transform into either their human or true forms. Although Jiraiya is a frog person himself, he is not able to transform into a human for some reason. And without a human form, he doesn't stand a chance at fighting back. Hideki wishes that there was something he could do to help. Jiraiya then thinks of an idea involving Hideki to be used as a host. He said that he could fade inside of the boy's body. There was an issue with this though; Hideki would have to be the one to fight since it is his body. He agrees to help Jiraiya, then begins to learn the martial arts of frog people. This will lead him through a huge adventure, meeting allies and enemies along the way." Wow that was a long synopsis… Whew." Ms. Ando caught her breath. After we listened to the synopsis, we realized that the idea of the premise was unique. Sure, rising tensions between frogs and snakes is nothing new, but this takes it in a different direction. These weren't just frogs and snakes... they were two groups of warriors, duking it out in a war. I liked it because of that aspect. Time passed and we left, where I bumped into somebody. "Oof-!" I go. "Hey, watch where you're going! Seriously, what's up with the people here? … Hm?" A voice shot out. Huh? Somebody else speaks English around here? Wait… is that…? I looked up. "Oshare Bones? What are you doing here?" I reacted.
The skeleton recognized my voice and he became excited. "Oh! There you are, Dave! I was looking for you and your friends. I heard about you guys going to this Japan place, word on the street. Naturally, I became curious and decided it would be a great time to go. I was a bit fatigued with handling the shop. I figured that this would be the break that I needed… especially with Winter approaching. Ms. Accord told me to travel to Suzuran first, then catch a flight. Yes. She's the one who told me about you going to Japan. I guess she observed you talking to your classmates and that's how she knew. Anyway, I wanted to see how culture was like here. The clothes that people wear, what they do, et cetera. I will say though, this place isn't as colorful as it could be… A lot of the buildings have just brown, black, grey, or combination of the three. Not exactly stellar if you ask me… *gasp* Dave, who is that man right by you?!" Oshare noticed. "Uh, you mean Ex?" I pointed to him. "Yes, yes! Could I see him, please?" He requested. I brought Ex over as part of the request. "Hey... is that a skeleton…?" Ex looked. "I'm not just ANY skeleton. My name is Oshare Bones, I run a clothing store in Primp Town." "Oh! So you're the one who got clothes for Yui…! I'm Ex and I really appreciate her being a happy daughter, thank you." He thanked the skeleton. "What? You're her father? Did you seriously take in an incarnated human girl to raise? You must have a really caring side to you… it brings a tear to my eye. Anyway, you look incredible in those! The suspenders compliment your figure nicely, Ex. Top it off with that classy bowtie… and you got yourself somebody who almost looks just as fabulous as me." Oshare praised. "Huh… so that must be some pretty high praise. I'm honestly shocked, no one ever really pays any mind to what I wear. Oshare, you have made my day." Ex bowed to him. The skeleton then turned back to me. "So, Dave… I know that it hasn't been that long ago, but how have things been?" He asked me. "There have been ups and downs, however... me, Amitie, and the others are doing fine." I answered. "Good. Oh-! I have to take my leave now. There's things around for me to see and do. Goodbye~!" Oshare left. "And there he goes…" I mumbled. "Dave, everyone else is taking off without you again." Tarutaru approached me. "...Good God... can't they just tell me before leaving?" I sighed.
I dashed and he followed behind. "*pant pant* This... is the second time that you guys left without telling me today... What the hell?" I complained. "Well, that's what you get for wasting the time we have!" Arle pointed at me. "Arle, it honestly wasn't THAT bad and we have plenty of time. This is only the first day of us being here, chill." I made my case. "Yeah, Arle… I get that your curiosity and enthusiasm is at an all-time high… but this is supposed to be a time where we're taking our time and having fun. Please, try to remember that…" Ringo agreed. "Yes, just loosen yourself up. There is no need to be so impatient… okay?" Ex nodded and waited for an answer. "*sigh* I guess… sorry, Dave." Arle apologized. "It's okay, we just need to all be on the same page from now on. You are my friend, and I am your friend too, Arle." I held out my hand. "Heh. Always coming through with your softness… it's hard to believe that you're a guy. But yeah, you're right. We are friends, Dave." We made a handshake, solidifying respect and understanding. "And thus, another problem resolved by using friendship!" Amitie smiled.
We spent the rest of the day, enjoying ourselves. The time for dinner arrived and I felt extremely hesitant on eating anything remotely Asian. Up until here, I have not had anything in that category. I'm a… picky eater, so it's hard for me to try new things. Not to mention, I've never held chopsticks in my hands either. I thought for sure that it was going to suck for me. "Wh-what's wrong, Dave? Aren't ya gonna eat?" Draco noticed my subtle sulking. "Well…" I told her about my issue and she took note. "Dave… I understand. There's plenty of food that I don't dare to eat. I avoid plants because not only do I find them to be yucky, but they also mess up my diet. I eat tons of meat for it." "So you're a carnivore then…" "A carni-what?" "A carnivore is a living thing that eats meat as its main source of energy. Herbivores are the opposite of that, only eating plants. Omnivores are in the very middle of the two others. They can eat anything, as long as it's edible. A human is the most obvious example of an omnivore. Besides us though, not many other animals fall under that. Bears like Risukuma are also omnivores." "Wait, bears actually eat plants?" "Not as often as eating other animals, Draco. They mostly hunt around in shallow rivers, scooping up any fish that come by. But, I digress… Point is: You eat meat and I'm very much "pick and choose" with food. *sigh* This is the only part of the trip that sucks for me. Well, besides the fact that the locals here speak Japanese and most of us do not." "Oh, you poor thing…" Draco softly squeezed me and kissed my cheek. "Dr-Draco…?" "I'm not sure how much say I have in this, but… I think you should try new things, Dave. At least feel hopeful that you'll like whatever you haven't tried yet. And if not, remember what I'm telling you today and think of me being supportive. I may not be the brightest bulb screwed in, but I believe in my heart. So c'mon, whaddya say?" "I… I… … …" "I see… it looks like you need more motivation." "...!" This kiss Draco gave me was salivating, like she had held saliva in her mouth to exchange with me. "There. Some of my love lies with you now. You got me on your- no. You have Ringo, Feli, AND me by your side. Ever since we had been in this relationship with you, Dave… all three of us watched as you proved to be an awesome guy. Hell, I was awestruck when you turned into a dragon for the first time… even if it was an incomplete transformation. And, I felt so obligated to help you reach the complete dragon form. Hear this... I did a solid for ya and it's now time to do one for me. Just dig in, no matter what you think at first. Can you do just that for me~?" *sigh* Man... what do I even say here? I didn't want to ruin this for us.
I was so conflicted with this, I had to think for a bit. In the end, I decided to be a good person and not ruin this for everybody else. "Aw, fuck it… I'll join, Draco." "You'll eat with the rest of us?!" "Hesitantly... yes." We joined back up with the others. "There you are... Where were you?" Ringo looked at me. "Oh, he just needed some persuasion from me to eat this stuff, that's all." Draco answered for me. "...!" I recoiled slightly. My worst fears from the world of food were realized. Raw fish in the form of sushi, spicy dishes, the works. My body was not designed to handle even a hint of spiciness. And, raw meat just makes me feel ill. Combine those two atrocities together, and I would be in critical condition. This was all assuming if I could even pick up anything with the sticks. Shit… my body will cry with pain and illness if any of that enters my mouth and esophagus. But… I couldn't say no to Draco's plea. Damn! What am I going to do?! I thought hard and quickly, but nothing came to mind. I sat down, grabbed the chopsticks, and swallowed my own saliva hard. Thankfully for my end... I could not grab anything for the life of me. I figured that I was fine. But then, trouble for me brewed again. "Well... it looks like you can't use those effectively. Here, say ah~." Ringo moved the sushi closer to my mouth. Meanwhile, I was shaking uncontrollably, fearing the worst outcome. "Uuuuum, maybe this isn't a good idea…" I tried talking to her. "Nonsense, you agreed to do this. What's the worst that can possibly happen?" She shook. "That's only because Draco practically begged me…" I spoke under my own breath. "C'mon, eat it, Dave. You need to eat- -something…!" She shoved it into my mouth. "!" I tasted. Holy shit! This tastes awful! But, I have to swallow it... Ugh… here goes nothing! I chewed at it slowly, showing signs that I was NOT enjoying it at all. I finally swallowed it and I immediately felt light-headed. "How… was it?" Ex asked away. "It… was… ...!" I started, then wobbled.
Ringo's POV
Dave was about to say something regarding the sushi, but then he fell over. He was knocked out cold within three seconds. "! D-Dave!" Ex worried. "*gasp*" Arle and Amitie stood up. "Oh my God, what happened to him?!" Feli reacted. "Dave?!" Draco came to him. "Unfortunate to be him…" Tarutaru shook his head slowly in sadness. "This is horrible… Was this the outcome he hinted at when he said that this wasn't a good idea for him?" I speculated. "This is my fault… I drove him to eating the food here… Damn! If only he told me this would happen before it was too late…" Draco lifted his body up to a sitting position. "Dear me… He should have told me that something like this would occur beforehand." Mom approached him. "Ms. Ando, do you know what happened to Dave?" Ex asked. "I think I do… it seems like his body is very sensitive to certain things." She explained. "What kind of things, Mom?" I laid down another question. "Well… think, my girl. What did he just eat?" "Sushi?" "And…? What is sushi in a nutshell?" "Raw fish… …! Hold on. I'm going to call one of my friends from home." I walked away to be alone and punched in Ris' number on my cell phone. "C'mon…!" "... Hello?" "Ris, it's me, Ringo." "Ringo…? Anyway, I'm assuming that you need something from me." "Yeah, it's about Dave. He ate raw fish and now he's out cold." "He what?! … This isn't good… that means he became ill from it." "You mean… he's sick?" "Yes, if he passed out from eating any form of raw meat… then that means his body isn't used to any bacteria or virus that originates from that. I'm no doctor, but if a person gets those things when they are not used to them… they could very well die. It's not unthinkable, you know." "Then I have probably killed Dave without even realizing it…" "? Did you coerce him into eating it?" "Uuuuh… kinda? He couldn't use chopsticks so I had to pick up his food for him. And then, he was suggesting that it probably wasn't a good idea." "You should have listened to him, Ringo." "I know… I've been a bad girlfriend to him and now he's on his way to a deathbed, right before my eyes." "There's still time to save him, Ringo. He just needs to be treated before it becomes too late. I think we should hang up now, you need to get him to the nearest hospital ASAP." "Alright, Ris. Bye." I held my phone tightly, then pocketed it seconds later.
I called out to Mom as I ran to her. "Mom, where's the nearest hospital?" I came back. "It's within half a mile from here." She answered. "... Everyone, please follow us." Ex requested. "Actually, Ex… you take care of everyone else." Mom told him. "W-wait, what?! Why?!" He asked. "Japanese hospitals really don't like it when big groups of people enter at a time. Ex, you're the only other adult in this group. Here, I'll leave a map of Ikebukuro with you. Who can carry Dave over there?" She looked at the others. "I've lifted him up before, Miss. I'll do it." Tarutaru stepped up. "Okay. Now, Ringo… I want you to stay with your friends until we come back, even if that means you go back to the hotel rooms without us." Mom told me. "But, Mom… I wanna be by Dave's side." I insisted. "My girl, need I remind you of how Japanese hospitals prefer tranquility over panic?" "... No… I understand." I gave up. "Good. I'll go now." She patted my head, then left with Tarutaru, who was carrying Dave. "Well, it just seems like nothing can go right for Dave… Seriously, every time that he is thrown into a different scenario, it almost never ends well for him." Ex sighed. "Yeah, he doesn't deserve this!" Amitie agreed. "Now I just feel sorry for him falling victim to that..." Arle sat down. "This… is the second time that he has gotten sick from an outside entity. The first thing didn't even happen that long ago…" Feli bit her lower lip.
Is… she referring to the time when he caught that Puyo-like fever? "There's nothing that we can do about this for right now, so let's go back to the hotel and sit tight, everyone." Ex proposed. All of us went along with him for that reason. Night came and went without much else happening. Mom didn't return, so it was safe to assume that she and Tarutaru were still with Dave. I prayed for him to pull through and met up with everyone else for the morning. "Woah, um… did you two have trouble sleeping?" I noticed Draco and Feli having bags under their eyes. "*yawn* Yeeeeah… we were so worried for him and so, that anxiety kept our asses up for the whole night." Feli stumbled a little. "I figured that was the case…" Ex cracked his neck. "Let's put a little faith in Dave's ability to get himself out of this. He may look and act fragile, but I've seen some of his toughness. Ex, you've witnessed it more than me. If anyone is going to put in the most faith here, it would be you, yeah?" Arle turned over to him. "I suppose so, Arle. … Let's not sulk about anymore. Dave would want us to have the time of our lives, even at the expense of his own misfortune. Let's see more of Ikebukuro, yes?" He brought up. "But… the only one that knows Japanese out of any of us is me. It'll be hard to enjoy a place like this with a lack of good communication." I argued. "Huh… that IS certainly an issue… Hm…" He pondered. "Trips like this just don't seem to work out… First the Puyo Isles with that whole murder incident, and now this… *sigh*" Feli crossed her arms. The entire day was uneventful and Mom still didn't return with Dave and Tarutaru. I would've texted her and asked for Dave's condition by now, but I already knew that she had her cell phone off. It's not good to have a live cell phone in a hospital, unless in the case of it being used for an emergency. I prayed continuously for Dave to be okay, up to the late portions of the night.
Witch's POV
"*sigh* Finally made it to this "Japan" place… let's see if I can find Dave with this. … … He's sleeping in a… no. He's… suffering on a bed? Something is wrong with him… and I just came here to punish him. … … ARGH! Why is that boy prone to change so easily?! Damn this! Either way, I must come to him. It looks like one of those hospitals… and everything is still and silent. Hm? Who's that woman with him? And, that other guy too… Hold on, I think I've at least seen HIM before. Taru… taru, I believe his name is? They're both quite distraught and sad by Dave's look. God… just what happened to him? I need to see which hospital it is… … … … I'll turn myself and my broom invisible, then scour around, outside of the building." I did just that and I eventually found the room he resided in. There. I'll open the window, enter, and close it back up. … ! Phew, that was a close one… One of them almost woke up from the sound of the window being opened. Dave's unconsciously clutching his stomach… I went to go and touch it. "Is he having a serious stomach ache? I felt his forehead, then I finally understood what might have happened to him. He must've eaten something bad, right? His head is on fire and his movements are telling me everything. I might have something to alleviate that… uh… Ah-ha! Here! This pill will do the trick... I remember it being able to stabilize the digestive system and kill off anything bad. It should do the trick… at least I hope that it does. Time to shove it in his mouth… I waited for when Dave opened it and chuck the pill inside. He by instinct, began to chew on the pill and swallow it. Well, that's proof that his body can still feel things as he sleeps… Time to ditch this place and go home. I don't feel right about punishing him anymore, at least, not right now anyway. I left for home in a portal, created by yours truly.
Satan's POV
"Well... I wasn't expecting Witch to do that, especially since she was going to harm Dave. Still, if she tries anything funny after he returns home… I'll have to stop her before she gets out of hand." I said to myself.
Amitie's POV
"*yawn* … I reeeeally hope Dave will be fine…" I got up. "It should be fine, Amitie... Dave got out of sickness before. If he did it once, he'll get by again with the right stuff." Arle reassured me. "I sure hope you're right about that, Ar-ly." My brain screwed up. "Uh… did you just call me... Arly, Amitie?" "H-huh?! Oh, uh… sorry about that, Arle! Just kinda tired, that's all. I didn't mean to call you by that name." "I understand. We're all tired in some way, because of this trip." We got ready and left our room to see the others. "Hey Ringo, did you get anything from your mom?" I approached her. "N-no, Amitie…" She replied. "Oh…" I didn't bother with asking anything else out of her. *sigh* I can tell that she misses Dave. And, what's worse about all of this… we don't know his current condition. But yeah, he's always passed out in some way, shape, or form. I'm tired of him going through all of that, I want Dave to actually live without all these problems. Granted... me, Arle, and Ringo often have issues of our own to deal with, but we've been coping with them for years. Him though? He's only been with us for a few months at most. He's strong for sure, however… even if he does wake up, will he have the motivation to keep living as our friend? N-no! I mustn't hesitate! I know that he can pull through, because I'll help him as his source of optimism! I shook my head.
Tarutaru's POV
We continued to watch him closely. For an hour since we came to his side in the morning, he didn't budge. Suddenly, his body began to twitch. "Hm?" I noticed. "Ms. Ando, you may want to see this..." I tapped her. "Huh?" Ms. Ando looked back. "Ooooough… Where am I?" Dave muttered. "Dave, you're awake…!" She placed her hand on his cheek. "I… am? Last thing I remember was… eating that piece of sushi." He rubbed his eyes. "How are you feeling now?" I asked him. "Tarutaru, you're here? … I'm fine, almost as though it never even happened." He replied to me. "Awfully quick of a recovery if you ask me… but, I'm not complaining. Ringo will be so relieved to hear this news." Ms. Ando stood up. After some time, Dave was able to stand up like normal and all that. We were, in turn, able to leave after the hospital bill was paid for. "Finally, now that we're outside, I can send a message to my girl." She reached for her phone.
Amitie's POV
*buzz buzz* We heard a buzzing noise kick in. "It's… my phone…!" Ringo realized and reached into her pocket. "I-Is it a text?" Ex looked at the screen. ""You won't believe this, Ringo! … Dave just came to this morning and we are out of the hospital. Where are you guys right now?", it says." She read over. "That's great!" I perked up. "For real?!" Draco flew off, looking for him from the air. "! Let's follow her, guys!" Feli ran off. "H-hey! Wait for us!" Arle scrambled to her feet. As we tailed behind Draco, Ringo looked like she was sending a message back to her mom. "Alright, I told Mom that Draco is flying in the air, looking for Dave. She'll know where to go if she sees her." She told us. "Awesome! As long as this doesn't take too long, we can meet back up again." Ex kept up the pace. "*pant pant* Ugh. Running tires me out so easily…" I slowed down. "Amitie! Don't lose steam, stay with us!" Feli looked back. "I'll… catch up. You guys… just go on ahead…" I continued to pant. "Then I'm staying with you." Ex stopped and remained by my side. "Okay, just don't move from there; we'll come back with them to get you two." Arle promised. "*pant pant pant* … … Whew… I'm just beat." I found a place to sit. "I'm guessing that you were never good with physical exercise, Amitie…" "Nope… I suck at it, Ex." "That's only because your body is out of shape. How often do you go out and run, or do other things of the sort?" "... ..." "... I'm going to assume not often at all…" "H-hey! I'm a girl who focuses on magic, why would I be good with running or whatever?" "It's still nice to have moderate exercise... at least on a weekly basis. It allows you to be more flexible in fights. Don't the lessons or whatnot you do in Ms. Accord's class have you run at the minimum?" "Not on my side of it. Dave, Raffina, Tarutaru, and Yui have that. Ms. Accord is just having the likes of me do what I typically do best. And of course, you train Dave, one-on-one… He's like the uh... What do you call something or someone who is solid at everything, Ex?" "Jack-of-all-trades?" "Ah-! Yeah, that... ... He has exercise AND magic up to eleven. He's so powerful… it's hard to NOT admire him for it" "Yeah... Dave has been the strongest person I have ever made friends with. Who knows? Maybe you can make new friends too if you work hard enough. I'm sure Dave would love that..." "You think so?" "I know so, Amitie..." We both sat around with smiles for the rest of our time alone.
Dave's POV
I felt brand-new after recovering from that piece of sushi… for the most part. I realized that I became sorely in need of food. My stomach growled loudly and persistently. "Ugh… my stomach's going bonkers and I can't do anything about it, Ms. Ando..." I moped. "I'm thinking about having us return home because of that, Dave." She decided. "Aw man... ... ... Well, Japan… it was nice being here… while it lasted anyway. Short lived…" I sighed. "I know… you really wanted to see all the anime stuff right? I'm sorry that it didn't come to full fruition." She apologized. "It's fine. ... We were all taught a valuable lesson in the end." I told her. "...? And what might that be?" She wondered. "A person eating foreign food has a good chance of ending up like how I did, just a couple of days ago... from what you told me that is..." I said. "Hm... that is a good lesson to learn... ... Huh?" Ms. Ando stopped and saw something up above us, which made me and Tarutaru look up as well. "Draco?" I squinted. Then, it looked like she found us and landed on the ground. "You're okay!" Draco bear-hugged me. "It's nice and all… but I'm still kinda weak at the moment, Draco. … D-do you think you can stop?" I pleaded. "O-oh, sorry…" She stopped. "There they are!" I heard Feli's voice. "G-guys!" I saw. "He's weak, don't hug him, alright?" Draco told them. "I'm glad that you're okay." Ringo held my hand and smiled. "Heh… I feel that you say that all the time. But… it's justified. I'm always getting myself around that threshold towards death like a dumbass." I said to her. "But… you're not a dumbass, Dave. You're just an unlucky person whose misfortune knows no bounds at times." Ringo told me. "Really? Then… I guess I haven't truly seen myself for who I am. I figured that I would be given a break from possible negative outcomes. However, that just doesn't seem to be the case. Say… where's Amitie and Ex?" I looked about, but I couldn't see those two. "Amitie became tired from running, so Ex opted to stay behind with her." Feli explained to me. "They should still be back over where we came from, let's go." Arle gestured. We walked back to see those two talking to each other. "Amitie, Ex, it's me!" I hollered and waved. "Wicked! You're okay!" Amitie rushed to me. "Woah!" I reacted as she squeezed me. "W-what's with the affection, Amitie?" I wondered "What do you mean "what?", Dave?! I didn't want you to die, only to see that your condition is stable! How could I NOT be happy?!" She said. "This… isn't the kind of feeling that I'm getting from you. What's going on with you?" I asked. "N-nothing… why would there be something that's going on with me?" She insisted.
Is she lying to me…? I mean, I don't see a reason for her to lie, but… it looks like she's keeping a secret from me. I'll try to ask her about it when we find some alone time. "Everybody, it looks like we will all have to go back home because of Dave's problem." Ms. Ando told everyone else. "In the end… I pushed things along too quickly." Arle looked down. "No, it's not your fault, Arle. You had nothing to do with the progression to me eating sushi." I said to her. "Oh yeah, you never got to finish your answer to me how the sushi tasted, Dave." Ex reminded me. I remembered the vile flavor of it and resented the thought of it. "I… didn't like it at all, Ex. It was like a deadly bomb, destroying the taste buds from my very tongue." I gave the straight and obvious answer. "I knew that you would have most likely said something like that… I saw your face as you chewed it down. It was clear to me that you didn't like it from the get-go." He said with a sullen look. "... Let's go home… after we get our stuff." Ringo said. All of us nodded and went to the hotel to retrieve our belongings. Ms. Ando requested an early exit from the staff, to which they allowed. Getting to the airport, we were able to catch a flight back to Suzuran. For most of the plane ride, we dozed off since it was supposed to be nighttime over there. Waking up ten minutes before departure, our sleep schedule returned to how it was before going to Japan. "*yawn* Morning…" I quietly said while stretching. "Mornin'." Draco sat up. "Jet lag is a bitch…" Ex rubbed his eyes. We landed and left the plane with our things intact. "Ugh… as soon as we get home, I'm eating, big time." I swore. "Well... goodbye, Ex. I hope we can see each other again." Ms. Ando wished him a safe return. "Me too... I would like that, Ms. Ando." I saw Ex take off in a portal to Primp Town, where the Tetra was still flying above. The girls, except for Ringo, entered that same portal. Tarutaru was the last to go, waving to me just before leaving. "And… it's just us now." Ringo pointlessly said out loud.
We came back to the house where Ms. Ando cooked breakfast right away. In the meantime, I organized my things in my room and put them away. "*sigh* … … I still feel bad for causing all of us to abandon the trip so soon… I couldn't even live through a day in Japan…" I continued to sigh during this time. "*sniff sniff* Hey… *sniff* That smells delicious… I wonder what it could be? … My belly is dying, I need to see for myself." I came out of my room to see Ringo just as curious as I was. "Dave… can you smell that aroma?" "Yeah. It smells sweet and… something else I can't exactly describe." "Wanna see what it is?" "Oh, why wouldn't I? Of course I would." We looked down to see Heaven in edible form. "...!" We reacted. The sweet aroma that I had my nose on was none other than cinnamon rolls. "I thought I knew that smell…! Cinnis… mmm…" My mouth salivated. "Sausage, scrambled egg moistened by butter… bacon…" I continued to notice. The options were so mesmerizing to us, and that's when Ringo's mother called for us. She was officially done making one hell of a breakfast. "Oooooohoho~! It all looks so delectable, Ms. Ando! Thank you!" I bowed and smiled. "This is my way to make it up to you, Dave." She smiled back. I started to dig into all of it. Ringo and her mother had their fair-share too. After my stomach was finally satisfied, I felt anew. "Ah… Ringo, your mother is awesome." "Well yeah, that's Mom for you. *giggle*" "I guess that means the rest of this break will be spent with just us…" "Maybe not, Dave. We can still visit people like Amitie if you want to." I began to think about what she had just said, planning things out.
Author's Notes: Dave and his friends explored Ikebukuro and everything that it had to offer. By the time that chowing down was the primary focus though… Our main character became pale and actively attempted to avoid eating what was on the table. Even after Draco was able to get him to sit down with the others, Dave knew that he, himself regretted this. Chewing on some sushi caused him to black out for a couple of days. A couple of nights after Dave ate it, Witch secretly entered the hospital room he, as well as Ringo's mother, and Tarutaru resided in. She popped some sort of pill into our hero's mouth, hoping that it would fix him up. The following morning arrived and he woke up, relieving the others. However, this forced the group to go back home, since Dave could not eat anything that Japan offered as a serious meal. With a good portion of the Fall Break left, what else can everybody do? Next chapter, Chapter 39: Downtime Galore.