7. Adventure
"This is ridiculous," he mutters under his breath, eyes to the road in front of him.
Tall buildings stand high, colorful signs fill the street, pictures of girls cover the advertisement boards… It's not the first time he walks through that particular area, but when he looks at the details, oh my, only this time the scenery looks ridiculous. But no, it's a bit unfair to blame the scenery for being ridiculous—it's in fact him who is ridiculous enough to step a foot in… there.
Akihabara. The (in)famous heaven for otaku.
Even from before he entered the area, he can already feel people's glances, looking down at him, mocking him with words like, "Look at that guy! He's heading to Akihabara! The Akihabara! What is he, an otaku?!" (Of course there's no such thing like that—it's just his feeling; he's just being overly insecure, overly dramatic.) And now he just can't feel anything but embarrassment in every step he takes.
But, no matter what, he won't back up. Not when he's got this far. Not until he can find out the truth… about just what the hell Jersey is so interested in. And the blond guy said he comes there regularly! Doesn't he feel any kind of embarrassment?
Deep in his thoughts, Parka doesn't pay much attention to his walk. Sure, he's looking at the tall buildings and colorful signs and whatnot, but not the clad-in-maid-costume girl standing on the side of the road.
"Good afternoon, Master! You're very welcome in our café! Want to take a look?" She extends her hands towards him, offering him a conspicuous pamphlet. Only then he realizes her presence, and only then he shifts his gaze to her and sees her. Flashy maid outfit, complete with a flashy headband, smiling happily at him. Well, she is cute, but he's too weirded out to think further. What 'Master'?!
Slowly raising his hand, he pulls a nervous smile and speeds up. No, he's not going into some maid café! Just the thought of it already makes him uncomfortable as hell. No, everything makes him really uncomfortable. He really wants to turn back. But he can't. He certainly can't. Oh fuuuck, he certainly can, if only his curiosity didn't nag him that bad. But the curiosity itself didn't come from nowhere. It's thanks to his so-dear best friend. Because of him, he's there.
Fuck you Jersey!
(Parka knows that he shouldn't be blaming Jersey, but he's too disappointed to himself for being so helplessly curious. He needs someone to blame just to justify his act of stepping a foot in Akihabara.)
Okay. He should move on. Now where to go? There is really nothing there but shops with ridiculous huge anime banners, arcade buildings that are far too tall for his taste… Well, people can do whatever they want, but maybe stuffs like that are not for him, after all. He should call it a day and get back fast—
Before he sees a-little-too-large-to-be-unnoticed crowd swarming near a particular store. Curiosity gets the better of him and he walks there to see… an idol shop. He has no idea why it's so crowdy but hey, it's an idol shop. Maybe it will answer all his questions.
Oh, little does he know.
~~Note: This chapter takes place before the chapter before.
I went too far and actually went to Akihabara (for science!) before writing this chapter. It's not as bad as what's written up there, but it did feel embarrassing.