A/N: Like the summary said, I revised the last two chapters to give away even MORE hints about the identity of the family.
But I'll reveal the identity soon. Not this chapter, though, because I don't want them taking over the whole story, which is supposed to be about the Manjoumes.
This chapter is Shoji's POV. If I get everything arranged right, next chapter will be Mr. Manjoume, then it's back to Jun. But I might not go in the same order every time.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Gi Oh or any aspect of San Francisco.
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It was early in the morning. Shoji was taking full advantage of the peace and quiet by catching up on his gaming.
Just a few more minutes, and he'd finally beat the game! He'd been trying to do just that since he got the game for his birthday in April. That had been three months ago, but it was a hard game.
He was moving into the lair of the final boss when...OW!
His mom had just wrenched the heavy curtains open. Sunlight spilled into the hotel room. Said light blinded Shoji momentarily and made it so he lost his last life in the game by accident.
Crud. Now he'd have to start over at the very beginning of the level! And, being the last level, it was the longest and toughest level in the whole game!
That was it. Shoji's day was officially ruined.
But Mom didn't seem to care about this cataclysmic turn of events. She just cheerfully said, "Get ready everyone! We have a long day of sightseeing ahead of us! That means turning off your game, Shoji."
What was sightseeing compared to the thrills of killing dozens of virtual enemies? Shoji was kind of frustrated that no one understood the meaning of life like he did.
Well, at least this hotel had a nice breakfast buffet. Shoji and Chosaku ate as many breakfast pastries as they could fit on their plates.
Their parents, who were brought up before junk food had been really introduced in Japan, paid the kitchen staff extra to make them some tea and rice for breakfast.
Jun spent most of his time sticking his hands in the vats of eggs, bacon and oatmeal. He got yelled at, and Mom promised to discipline him later. But all the family knew she would never get to it.
After they finished breakfast, they had been planning to leave, but had to duck back in the room to wash off the maple syrup that Jun had somehow gotten in his hair.
THEN they checked out.
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One thing they had not been prepared for was the fact that San Francisco was quite chilly even in summer. It wasn't like anybody was in danger of frostbite, but a sweater might have been nice. However, they had only packed summer clothes.
Weather aside, even Shoji had to admit that this was a pretty place. Chosaku, as he always had to do, made a snide comment about how he couldn't see anything because of the fog.
Mom noticed none of these complaints, however. She was immersed in one of the many pamphlets she had picked up at the hotel.
If she had her way entirely, she would visit every building in the city, and maybe even stop by Oakland to take some pictures of local drug dealers.
That last part was stated by Chosaku, of course. He had no interest in pretty landmarks. All he seemed to care about were the crime-ridden parts of town.
Dad finally suggested a cable car so they wouldn't have to walk to all these places.
So here they were in San Francisco's famous transportation device.
Mom pointed out every building they passed. At the rate she was going, not even newspaper stands would escape her observations. Because, as she saw it, they were SPECIAL newspaper stands because they were located in such a historic place.
Jun was so utterly impressed by his mom's commentary, he fell fast asleep in a matter of minutes. He could get away with so many things just because he happened to be born last!
This was demonstrated as Shoji started to doze off, only to be pinched awake by his mom, who was indignant that someone wasn't listening to her spiel.
But, over-enthusiasm on his mom's part aside, Shoji actually found some of the places they passed by to be quite interesting.
Chosaku, however, was firmly of the opinion that everything "sucked".
After a while, even Shoji began to get bored. He missed his game, which was packed up in the van.
Shoji tried to imagine what the final boss might look like. Maybe it would be green and furry, with antlers sticking out of its head!
No wait, a reptile would be much cooler-looking. Then it could have yellow eyes and pointy teeth!
Shoji forgot momentarily that this was a game appropriate for all ages, and began to construct an imaginary final battle with blood and guts everywhere.
In his imagination, the hero was just about to cut off the bad guy's head (and thus spill more blood) when the cable car suddenly stopped.
"Time for lunch!" Mom said brightly.
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The rest of the day was more of the same. Jun ate too much Ghiradelli chocolate and threw up again, but not much else happened.
Then...finally...they were back at the van. Shoji could finally take another whack at beating the game!
He would have plenty of time. It would still be a couple of hours before they had to stop at a hotel.
Tomorrow they would head off to their next destination: Las Vegas.
Finally! It had taken a while, but Shoji was back at the entrance of the final boss's lair!
He walked into the dark room. This triggered a cut scene where the game's hero lit a torch and looked nervously around. Then the torch light fell on something...something...
HONK!
The sound made everybody in the car jump. Shoji accidentally hit the off switch on his game.
WHY did this always have to happen to him?
But his resentment would have to wait a while. Dad had just sworn under his breath and revved up the car to WAY above the speed limit.
"See? I told you! They followed us all the way here!"
Chosaku snapped out of his sulking, excited at the possiblity of a car chase. Never mind that they were the ones being chased.
Nevertheless, no chase happened as Mom said, "Do you want us all to be KILLED? The least we could do is say hi!"
Chosaku immediately resumed sulking.
But Shoji was interested in what this family his father so despised looked like. Maybe they were really ugly with warts and yellow teeth and stuff! Maybe they'd be so ugly, it would make up for Shoji's game being interrupted at the good part.
The window of the other car rolled down and...
A/N: Oh noez! It's a cliffhanger of doom!
But this will make it all the more fun for the Mr. Manjoume POV chapter.
I guess it's not REALLY a cliffhanger, since you all probably looked on my profile by now. In any case, I might not update for a while, just so I can make sure I have all the backstory straight.