He stood by the picnic bench, watching the car vanish beyond the horizon, the sound of engines fading until the countryside was silent.
Now, she was gone and Senbo was all alone. Senbo was alone, he would never see her again, even after all the times they'd spent together. And all of this was because of what they'd done to Saiko, all that Senbo wanted was to play her guitar and be just as good as the anime girl.
Now, what was there left for him to do now? Even if he still dreamed of being a musician, would he have a purpose in life after he was out of high-school?
Whatever came his way next in life, Senbo would just have to accept it for what it was. He looked to the picnic table, remembering when he and Aibo had made their plan. And then, he remembered their final conversation just a short notice ago.
A tear rolled down his cheek, he lowered his head solemnly and nodded; it was time to move on with his life.
Senbo walked away, ready to go home with his parents, to accept the consequences.
But just then, he heard a crackling sound from thin-air, coming from right behind him. The Asian-looking spiky-haired teen turned around; his eyes lit with bewilderment as a bizarre portal appeared from thin air. Then, he appeared.
Carrying an orange Splattershot in his belt and wearing black shorts, grey boots and a purple T-shirt with Saiko's symbol on it surrounded by flames, the green-eyed Inkling approached Senbo, taking in his surroundings.
Senbo was beyond confused. Not only did that Inkling have the same hairstyle as him, but he looked exactly like him. And it looked like he came from another dimension.
It took a couple seconds, but as Senbo found the strength to speak, he leaped back in alarm with wide eyes and raised a finger to the Inkling who sported his appearance. "WHAT?!" He yelled, "WHAT THE FUCK?! SINCE WHEN WAS I AN INKLING? JUST WHO ARE YOU?!"
His Inkling counterpart raised his hands and just smiled in a calm manner.
"Whoa, man! Chill…" Inkling Senbo said, "I come in peace, no need to be so scared." When the Inkling spoke, he spoke fluent English, even with the slight reverberating half-robotic echo that came whenever Inklings spoke.
In fact, he sounded like one of those chill street-side folks you'd often run into, like someone who just wanted to be peaceful and was always upbeat.
"Ok…" Senbo calmed down, "But still, what is going on here?"
"Short answer…" Inkling Senbo said, "I'm you, but I'm from a universe where you live in Inkopolis and you're an Inkling, and this is obviously a universe where you're human and you live in the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Kinda weird, but this is what you get with different worlds when you're looking at quantum theory and the multiverse."
"I knew you had to be from some random dimension for me to be an Inkling." Senbo grunted, "BUT THERE'S A MULTIVERSE? FOR REAL? HOLY SHIT!"
"Yep…" The Inkling pointed to a watch-looking device on his right wrist, "And I was doing a bit of dimension-hopping, checkin' out some universes. Even Aibo's doin' the same, bet it won't be long until she meets your world's Aibo. Oh, by the way, dude. Gotta watch the language, jeeze."
Senbo rolled his eyes, "Whatever, man."
'I can't believe I'm talking to a squid kid version of me.' He told himself quietly.
He never forgot about it, even after those weeks later.
Today was a cloudless and sunny day in Mushroom Town. As usual, Senbo was on his own with nobody else as he walked through the parking lot of the shopping district on the 18th avenue of the city, walking towards the Toadstool Mall.
Senbo's pocket was full, he had plenty of money saved up in his wallet. Today felt like an ideal day to grab a coffee, school was out and he could use something sweet right about now.
Plus, all of the open coffee shops in the Mushroom Kingdom were having a 15% off deal with their refreshments. Heck, you could have a coffee for one dollar during that time, without having to worry about the cost when you were done. Just one dollar for a cup of coffee or maybe two more, how bad could that possibly be?
Even after what he'd done to Saiko, even after some of the bad attention he and Aibo had gotten on the news, Senbo could still walk free. It was a miracle he hadn't been sent to jail or put under house arrest; that would've been hard to deal with, especially if the former came with a life-sentence.
If that had happened, he wouldn't have been able to get coffee today, let alone prison coffee.
Senbo smacked himself mentally, he didn't need to think about that. He was a free boy and he was lucky for that, but he knew the authorities would likely be monitoring him. He betted anything that Mr. Hal Monitor was watching right now, perhaps from one of the cars or the security monitors up above.
At any time, that monitor-headed cop could appear with that haunting facial expression and ask in that robotic monotone if he sensed something I-L-L-E-G-A-L...
HONK!
The teen jumped out of the way as a Mercedes drove past, he must have been so caught up in his head, he didn't watch his surroundings. The driver poked his head out and yelled, "Watch where you're walkin', ya stupid kid!"
'Wow, thanks for the warning.' Senbo thought.
He walked towards the entrance to the mall, passing by a couple of red Toads in blue SMG4 T-shirts as they were exiting and chatting amongst themselves about the latest meme craze that was floating around. One kid dressed up as an Among Us crewmember walked by Senbo, gave him a brief glance and then walked off.
"SUS!" Senbo called out.
"Guilt!" The Among Us fan called back.
He chuckled quietly, albeit a little nervously. Senbo may as well be famous, but for the wrong reasons. How many news stories were talking about him on TV, how many papers had articles of his and Aibo's actions now?
The mall was quite busy at this time of day, especially at this time of the week too. People were busy buying clothes, meeting friends and checking out furniture.
Senbo saw a couple security guards with bull dogs by their side, he paid no attention and minded his own business, making sure he didn't wind up in trouble with the guards or the dogs.
One poodle in the mall walked up to Senbo and leaped up on his leg, looking up at the young man with that priceless droopy-eyed face just begging for some attention.
"Dogs..." Senbo pet the poodle on the head, then a voice called for the dog to come away and Senbo watched as the canine returned to its owner, an old man with a walking stick. The old man looked at Senbo and just smiled, it seemed that not everyone had heard about what he'd done and not many people knew him.
"Nice dog." Senbo said to the old man before walking off.
He took the escalator, heading to the next floor. The coffee shop was usually found on the upper floor of the mall, even while other malls had coffee shops on the lower floor. As he came closer towards the top, he could smell coffee from not too far off.
Senbo walked up the last few steps as the moving stairs came to the stopping point.
The young man looked around the area and walked through the shopping floor, smelling the sweet smell of expresso and was soon taken by surprise when he bumped into someone he didn't expect to see; the Old Man Hobo, the Mushroom Kingdom's resident funny guy, next to the likes of Mario.
Old Man Hobo was carrying a bag of eggs and a plate of spaghetti as well as a pair of black shades over his eyes, as if his bushy brows weren't enough. The old man looked up at Senbo and glared at him straight in the eye, looking at him with a hint of disdain, which made it clear he knew what he'd done.
"Egg." The Old Man said suddenly.
"Um, nice to see you today?" Senbo asked innocently.
SPLAT! "Egg!"
Without warning, Old Man Hobo threw an egg right in Senbo's face. Senbo wiped away the yolk with a napkin and groaned, he deserved that, didn't he?
"Bad egg!" The Old Man Hobo told Senbo, pointing a finger at him.
"Didn't have to tell me, old guy." Senbo muttered.
"Egg." The Old Man Hobo gave Senbo the middle finger, then he walked away. Senbo stood there, watching him walk off, all while people walked around him. He shook his head, what he'd done wasn't going to stop him from getting coffee.
Senbo turned around and walked in the direction of the nearest coffee place, a glowing sign hanging from the ceiling read 'Starbucks' and the smell of coffee was getting stronger.
Senbo couldn't wait to have a drink. He walked through the open doorway, heading into the coffee area of the mall. Now that he was here, it was time to find a place to sit down.
He took in the area, watching a couple customers drinking together with one dog laying underneath a table while his owner drank coffee. A Goomba hopped up on a table and started sipping coffee without hands, a scene that nobody batted an eye at.
Senbo was heading towards the closest table he could find when he walked into the store's manager; a white humanoid cat with a ribbon bow on her tail and wearing a green apron with a name tag that showed her name; Karen.
"Oh, hi." Senbo said, "I'd like some coffee. Warm, latte, 15% off?"
"You're the latest customer I've gotten today." Karen said in a dry voice, "And you're a kid, where are your parents?"
"I came alone." Senbo said, "Plus, my parents trust me to be back soon."
"Hold on a minute!" Karen snapped, "I know you."
And without warning, the cat whipped out a gun, a PK Walter, from her pocket and aimed it at Senbo's chest. Karen glared at Senbo with fury in her eyes and the teen threw up his arms, his eyes wide. His heart pounded intensely and his blood ran cold, this could not be happening, this could not be where it ended for him.
"Senbo Mazushi, the kid who made it look like Tari drowned in a quicksand pit just so you could get a guitar." Karen said, "I met Saiko the other day, she told me the whole story. What you did to her, not cool, kid. And the band dissed you at the Oscars with 'Darkest Hour'."
"Y-yeah." Senbo stammered, "I-I-I saw it on TV, c-c-congrats to Saiko on the Grammy."
"If I had my way, I would pull the fucking trigger." Karen spat, "But I only do that when we deal with robberies, you're just here to grab a coffee, are you not?"
"Y-Yes. A-A-And I-I-I'm sorry, I... I don't mean a-a-a-any trouble."
The cat lowered the gun and Senbo breathed a sigh of relief, even though his instinct told him that she could still use that gun if something happened.
"Just have some coffee and don't cause any trouble, kid." Karen told Senbo, "I'm warnin' ya right now, do not cause any trouble or you're gonna be sorry. I have a gun and you do not want to get the bullet; this is your only warnin', kid. DO NOT CAUSE TROUBLE?!"
Senbo flinched nervously. "N-N-No problem, m-m-ma'am."
Karen led Senbo to a table and headed off, leaving Senbo alone. He imagined himself being her with Aibo, she would have loved to have a cup of coffee with him.
He wiped away a tear from his eyes, not wishing to mourn over his lost relationship, his lost love. Perhaps someday, if they did meet again, maybe they could have a coffee together.
Senbo looked at the menu, reading all the types of coffee that the store served. A latte was on there, 15% off. There was also an Inkopolis Squidbeak Cup-ink-o, Senbo wondered what that tasted like.
Perhaps he could visit the Inkopolis coffee store some time...?
Funny enough, Senbo hadn't visited Inkopolis yet. He and Aibo had planned on doing that at some point while they were together until they were caught red-handed by the Glitchy Gang after what they did to Saiko. As a matter of speaking, a trip to Inkopolis was still on his to-do list.
Hopefully, he didn't have to worry about the Inklings treating him badly.
He didn't have to wait long for his drink. The smell of coffee reached his ears again as Karen came by with a cup of latte and placed it on his table. "Here you go, kid." She told him, "Drink up, your lucky day, don't make me regret it."
"Thanks, Karen." Senbo said.
"I don't remember you coming here often." The cat said, "How do you know my name?"
"Your name tag."
"Funny. I know your name from Saiko and the news, you know my name from my tag."
"It's a nice name, I like 'Karen'."
"Yeah. Y'know, 'Senbo' is... such an odd name. In Japanese, it means 'dragonfly', and you don't even look like one. Are you from Japan?"
"It's just my name that my parents gave me."
"Ok, well. Remember, most folks don't like you much and you know why."
"Got it. Thanks for the warning."
Karen walked off, leaving Senbo to his drink. He looked at his latte and took in the scent for a minute, then he helped himself to his coffee. He sipped on the steaming warm liquid, letting it sink into his taste buds.
The latte tasted, quite good, it felt refreshing to drink. Senbo then remembered he had yet to pay Karen, perhaps after another drink.
He drank down his coffee, making sure it wasn't too hot while taking breaks between sips, mostly since Senbo didn't want to drink it too fast or have too much. He had a particular intake regarding caffeine and his parents had told him that too much coffee would make him go crazy.
Senbo sipped slowly, taking in the smell and the taste of his tasty latte. With each sip, his worries went away. He'd felt a little down for the past several days since he parted with Aibo, even after his encounter with that squid variant of himself. Today, it felt like his lucky day.
It took a while, but he soon finished his latte right as Karen came back to check on him. "How was it, kid?" She asked.
"Great, that didn't taste so bad, thanks." Senbo answered. He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a dollar bill, giving Karen her check.
"And you know how to pay since drinks and meals don't come free." The cat said with a smile, accepting Senbo's payment. "I'm thankful you didn't cause a problem, feel free to come back any time you want."
The teen stood up and shook Karen's hand, only for the cat to point to his face. "You got some coffee on your face." She told him.
Senbo chuckled and grabbed a napkin, he wiped off the coffee stain from his face, then he threw it in a bin. Afterwards, he shook Karen's hand. "Thanks again for the coffee, Ms. Karen." Senbo said.
"See you around, kid." Karen said to him, bidding Senbo a farewell.
And with that, Senbo left the Starbucks behind, walking through the mall as he headed for home. After today, even after having to deal with scorn for what he'd done, Senbo felt a little lucky that he was able to get something he wanted and that nothing bad happened to him.
It was so true, just one cup of coffee was enough to make even the smallest difference...
The End