amielrox: So, Yoshiro how was your trip back home?
Yoshiro: Horrible, I had to go through a sandstorm, rox.
amielrox: And not just that, Spex. You chickened out when you got to your parents' house.
Yoshiro: Shut up, rox!
amielrox: And to top it off, you met a barmaid who looked just like Angel...
Yoshiro: Yeah...wait... 'Just like Angel'? You mean she's not Angel?
amielrox: I never said that...
CHAPTER 2: ANGEL?
"...Angel?"
Yoshiro stared at the barmaid in shock. She looked so much like Angel did; purple hair, yellow ochre eyes, the pleasant smile, everything! The only difference Yoshiro could see is that this girl was in her late teens when Angel should have been in her twenties, like Yoshiro, by now. Angel would have actually been a year older than Yoshiro by now. The barmaid simply blushed.
"Oh, I'm no Angel..." She said bashfully.
"You're... Oh God..." Yoshiro tried to pull himself together, but he still couldn't get over the shock.
Suddenly, from the counter, the bartender called to the barmaid.
"Hey, Aki! Stop flirting with the patrons! Who are you talking to?"
The bartender then looked at Yoshiro and slightly flushed.
"It's Kuroya Yoshiro..." the bartender thought. Four years ago, the Four Outlaws were vigilantes. Their heroic deeds actually earned them some admirers. The bartender was one of them, particularly because he enjoyed western stories.
"Oh! Mr. Kuroya! Come! Sit here on the counter!" he said.
Hearing the name "Kuroya" made the other patrons stop and stare in fear. How would anyone react if they were in the same room as a man accused of murder? Though their names were cleared, some still feared them.
Aki, the barmaid just looked at Yoshiro, blushing pink and said, "Kuroya?" Apparently, Aki was an admirer as well.
Several patons walked out. Yoshiro was still trying to regain himself. He stood up and proceeded to walk to the counter. The bartender was getting jittery.
Yoshiro sat down at the counter with his head in his hands, muttering "Angel... Angel..."
"Mr. Kuroya, It's an honor! Ever since I heard of the people you helped, I knew you were innocent!" the bartender said, ecstatic, "My name is Greg." he added, offering to shake Yoshiro's hand.
Yoshiro slightly snapped out of it and shook Greg's hand, though his head was still bowed. Aki walked up behind Yoshiro, "Two beers, right, Mr. Kuroya?"
Yoshiro looked at her. His mind was shuffling between the image of the young Angel and the image of Aki. "How is this even possible?" he asked himself. Angel and Aki would have been perfectly identical if Angel were alive today, Yoshiro knew it.
Pulling himself together, he said "Make that three..." His head sunk into his hands once more.
"Hey, come on! What's wrong?" asked Greg, pouring beer into some glasses.
"Nothing..." Yoshiro replied. He raised his head, "Really, nothing."
Aki sat down next to him and asked, "Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" She then placed her hand on his shoulder. This sent a chill up Yoshiro's spine. He had another flashback...
Young Yoshiro and young Angel were sitting under an acacia tree and talking.
"Are you sure nothing's bothering you?" asked Angel, placing a hand on Yoshiro's shoulder.
"Yes... No! It's horrible! Those bullies won't stop picking on me! All my friends were there but they were too scared to help me! Those bullies are always ganging up on me!" bellowed Yoshiro, who started to cry.
Angel hugged him and Yoshiro started to cry on her shoulder.
"Hey... you're crying again... It's okay..." she said, trying her best to comfort Yoshiro.
The flashback was cut short when Yoshiro heard the bang of three beer glasses being put down on the counter.
"Here ya go, Mr. Kuroya! On the house!" said Greg.
Yoshiro raised his head and saw the three beers he ordered.
"Thanks, Greg. Oh and just call me Yoshiro..." said Yoshiro, picking up the first glass.
Greg and Aki watched as Yoshiro drained the one pint glass in a mere five seconds.
Yoshiro drank the second one, spilling some beer on the front of his clothes, soaking the bandanna around his neck.
He then saw Greg, staring at him in utter amazement. Then he looked to his right, there he saw Aki, who was giggling at the sight.
"Oh, man! I forgot she was sitting beside me!" he thought. Yoshiro then pulled out a hanky from his front pocket and started wiping his face in panic.
Then another barmaid appeared from the back room. She was short and stocky, with medium dark skin. Her hair was tied in a bun and she looked like she was in her early thirties.
"Well! Looks like little baby Aki finally found a boyfriend!" she said, seeing Aki with Yoshiro.
Aki blushed and said, "Shut up, Vina!"
"That's Nanny Vina to you!" Vina retorted.
Vina looked at Yoshiro and said, "Hmm... he looks alright... pretty handsome..." she started checking under the flaps of Yoshiro's long coat, "Pretty clean, except for the sand..." Then she checked under Yoshiro's hat, "He's not yet bald..."
"Nanny Vina..." Aki said, clearly embarrassed.
"Hey, Vina, have you checked his belt?" suggested Greg.
"Not yet..." said Vina. She then started to check Yoshiro's belt and then...
"Eeeeeeeeek!" Vina screeched, "He... he's got a gun! Two of them!" Vina had just discovered Yoshiro's guns.
Yoshiro clapped his head on his forehead.
"That's right! Don't you know who this man is? He's Kuroya Yoshiro!" said Greg proudly.
Vina was scared stiff as Yoshiro looked at her. She silently walked back to the back room.
"Serves her right," said Aki.
"So, Yoshiro, what's bothering you?" she then asked Yoshiro.
"Okay..." said Yoshiro. He might as well tell her. "I came here to fix things up with my parents. I'm here to tell them I'm sorry for running away."
"And you chickened out?" asked Aki.
"Yes, I chickened out."
"I have an idea! I'll go with you!"
Yoshiro just stared at Aki. Greg stared too.
Yoshiro nodded and stood up. "Shall we?" he asked Aki.
"After you." Aki replied.
Yoshiro started walking to the exit. Aki stood up and followed him.
Then, Greg called to Yoshiro, "Hey, wait!"
But too late, Yoshiro and Aki had already gone out.
"You forgot your beer..." he said, picking up the untouched mug and taking a sip from it.
-end of chapter
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