5 - Hungry

And that other time I saw you,
you were a hungry girl.

In the mirror the tie resulted perfectly aligned to his shoulders.
Mamoru observed his image.
When he had bought the tuxedo, the store's clerk had adjusted it on his back with a critical eye. "You are fortunate. You have the measures of a dummy."
Mamoru had asked himself if being compared to an inanimate object was a compliment.
"Do you want to rent it?" the man had asked him.
In that shop for grown men, Mamoru had felt adult enough to say, "No. I'd like to buy it."
He would have to justify the expense to his legal guardian, but it was alright. He needed the tuxedo and he had both the looks and the money to wear it.
He nodded to the mirror.
He was a privileged person.
From time to time, when he was in a bad mood – and only then, that was his only excuse – he enjoyed tormenting himself with the list of his own misfortunes.
Nothing had been easy for him: he had no childhood memories, no parents and he hadn't acquired a family while growing up. For that, he considered himself the only guilty party: he was to one who had complicated the adoption process for the families who had tried to take him into their homes.
Moreover, he had no friends – though, maybe he had one. That was his fault too, but when he wanted to ignore the fact he willingly basked in his own solitude.
Then came moments like the one he was living, in which reality appeared to his eyes more clear than ever.
He was a privileged human being.
He had the economical means, the looks of a successful person and, most of all, a brain that would help him move through life. He had used it during those first few months at university. His efforts had gained him excellent marks and the attention of people similar to him. He had gotten to know other students eager to learn – among them, some exchange students that had travelled through the world. One of them, White, had presented him to Mr Edwards, an English philanthropist that offered scholarships. In his villa one could meet young people interested in physics, chemistry, literature, arts, music, medicine. University students like him, PhD students or even professors ready to share their knowledge to nourish the great minds of the future.
Mamoru wanted to be one of them.
During that evening he would have the opportunity to go beyond his meager experiences, made of books and classes. He would talk with people that, like him, were not content to live a life that would end with their death.
He wanted to do big things, he wanted to be remembered through history. It was his dream.
His life had begun with some disadvantages, but now he had the means and the possibility to realize his maximum aspirations, without limits. Everything depended on his will to succeed.
It was the condition – he smiled – of a very privileged person.

Strolling through the city with a tuxedo made him feel observed. Pleasantly so, when a look of admiration appeared in the eyes of a girl. But the majority of people just thought… 'Where is he going dressed like that? Doesn't he own a car?'
If only. He desired a car with everything he was.
Still, the age to obtain a license wasn't under discussion and he had yet some months to go before becoming eighteen. Moreover, he didn't have the money for a good car: his legal guardian had been straightforward on the matter.
"I can't allow you to spend more than this." Tsukushi-san had shown him the amount on a paper. He wrote down everything. "For a novice driver, an introductory model is more appropriate. You should get an unassuming car with no frills. Your parents would agree, if they were alive."
Tsukushi-san mentioned his parents whenever he suggested an unwelcome solution. Mamoru didn't like those attempts, and yet… Logically, an adult knew better that a boy how a parent would behave. Having someone to stop him could be useful.
He didn't feel the need to live with an adult – he wasn't a kid anymore – but it was good to know that, somewhere in the world, there was a person concerned with his interests, even if it was just in a financial way. The judge would have assigned him a full-time guardian if Mamoru hadn't insisted on living alone. Later on, he had demonstrated that it was the best solution for him. So he only had Tsukushi-san, who would handle his finances until he was twenty.
Which meant that, to have the car he desired, he needed to work. That too – Mamoru pondered – could be a formative experience.
A streak of sun hit him in the eyes and he put on his sunglasses. They were colorful, but he didn't care: his health came before everything. Moreover, that pair looked good on him. If nature had bestowed him with some gifts, why not take advantage of them?
Behind the dark glasses, on the pavement in front of him, he saw the appearance of two blond tails.
In the world different kind of people existed, with various fortunes.
For instance, Odango Atama surely had a beautiful family that had spoiled her rotten, and she also possessed the looks of a dollish anime girl that one day someone would love, but… How could one forget about the 30s in English tests? Or in Maths and Japanese, for sure. She really needed to cultivate her mind, since she was doing everything in her power to gain twenty pounds in a single day. Under one arm she held a white paper bag and with her free hand she was making a hot nikuman vanish inside her mouth in big morsels. The experience captivated her so much that she advanced with closed eyes, hungry as if she hadn't eaten anything both at lunch and breakfast.
She was hopeless.
He stopped in front of her. "You sure eat a lot."
Odango Atama's inflated red cheeks made her a vision of comic fury.
"Odango Atama eating a nikuman" he commented. She certainly was a living ad for food.
"It has nothing to do with you!" she protested. "When will you learn to mind your own business?!"
Ever? He was enjoying himself too much and she was the one that happened to appear in front of him every time. "If you keep eating like that, you will really become a nikuman." Chubby enough to burst.
She girated her arm. "Shut up!" She threw him her food.
He grabbed it in the air. "Ops, nice catch!" No nikuman in the face for Mister Royal Pain in the Ass that just told her the truth. "Thank you very much." He tasted the meat of the filling and had to agree with her gluttony: the nikuman was delicious, a wonderful appetizer before the dinner at Edward's.
He needed to get going. "One nikuman that you give to me," he told her in a loud voice, leaving, "it's one less making you fat!" And since he had already lost enough time with her, he deprived himself of the pleasure of her offended face and just went away.

"Tell me, Chiba-san," Edwards asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Do you have a special girl in your life?"
Why every person over thirty was interested in knowing if he had a girlfriend? Tsukushi-san, his female neighbours, Edwards... Was it a common topic of conversation?
"No" he smiled, trying to be courteous.
"Then this may be the right occasion for you." Edwards showed him the ample ballroom with a movement of his arm. "Tonight I have invited a lot of beautiful girls."
Yes, girls were more numerous than Mamoru had imagined.
"Look at that young woman over there." Edwards pointed to a girl leaning against the wall, her arms crossed behind her back. "Why don't you ask her to dance? She'd be delighted."
Mamoru understood. "Sure." Edwards was just trying to put all his guests at ease.
It was sad for a girl not to be asked to dance: Mamoru had learned it during the small parties at the orphanage, many years before. It was incredible that such a knowledge was useful to him now.
He went towards the girl. He didn't remember her name, but he had heard her talk animatedly about… English poets, right?
Her eyes widened when he approached her.
Good, she didn't need any convincing. "Would you like to dance with me?"
She nearly sighed. "Yes."
He extended his hand to her.
At the first touch, he knew that he would share just a ball with her that night.
It wasn't an abstract notion, just a sensation. He wanted to long for the warmth of another person, he wanted to dance like he was able to – naturally, another good fortune of his – and he wanted… closeness, at every level.
Maybe one day it would happen. One day down the road, if the right person for him existed.
And to you, I will tell about the car I desire and the dream I'm chasing. About how I feel different, sometimes superior, sometimes nothing special. About how I don't want to be alone anymore.
One day down the road.
If you exist.

5 - Hungry - end

N/A: Thank you to you who appreciate these little stories.
I love to hear comments, they made me want to keep translating :)
As usual, my English is not perfect. If you notice any errors, just let me know.