The Kids Hit the Road
(Based on the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode 'The Gang Hits the Road')
Early one morning in the summer, we see Yusuke and Haru outside of their home as they hook up a You-Tow trailer (U-Haul) to a large, white van. With the couple are the likes of 22-year-old Minato Amamiya, 21-year-olds Nariko Watanabe, Hotaru Yajima, and Himari Sakamoto, and 20-year-olds Mana and Mitsu Kitagawa, Kasumi II 'Kas' Tanaka, and Riku and Mai Mishima. Since summer was here, and this would be Minato's last summer before he graduates from college, his friends thought it would be a good idea to go on a road trip to Abashiri, a beautiful seaside town in one of the northernmost parts of Japan.
They were expecting a nice two week long vacation from the stresses of life. Just spending time together and catching up while taking in the sites. But as you'll see in this story, going on a road trip is easier said than done.
"Alright, everyone, the trailer should be all hooked up," Yusuke said as he finished hooking the trailer up to the white van.
"Thanks, dad," Mitsu said, "Alright, everyone, let's load our bags in the trailer."
As Haru helped the young adults load their luggage into the trailer, Riku walks up to Minato, who is getting the driver's seat prepped before they depart. In Riku's hand, he has some road maps.
"Hey, Minato, you sure we shouldn't use a GPS?" Riku asked, "These maps are from before any of us were even born."
"It's the best I could do," Minato said, "Besides, I want an authentic road trip experience. Reading from maps, and stopping at a campsite when night falls to cook out on a portable grill before sleeping in tents and sleeping bags. You know, old school."
"I can get behind that," Riku said, "As long as we stay at a hotel when we get to Abashiri."
"Oh of course," Minato said, "We're not savages."
"Okay, everyone, that should be everything," Haru said as everyone finished loading their suitcases as well as the portable grill into the trailer.
"Thanks again for your help mom and dad," Mana said as she and Mitsu hugged their parents, "We're gonna miss you."
"We'll miss you too, girls," Haru said as she and Yusuke gave their daughters a kiss on the cheek.
The only thing not loaded into the trailer was a cooler full of drinks and snacks that Himari had in her possession.
"You got the snacks, Himari?" Kas asked.
"Yup, and I also got some 'special juice' if you know what I mean," Himari whispered.
"Oh I'm ready to get liquored up," Kas quietly cheered to herself.
"Not so loud," Himari whispered, "Do you want Auntie Haru or Uncle Yusuke to hear you?"
"No, Himari, my bad," Kas said.
"Uh, guys," Nariko said as she began looking around, catching everyone's attention, "Where's Kaito?"
"Yeah, and come to think of it, where's Kimiko?" Minato asked from inside the van, "You guys did remember to invite them, right?"
"We thought you guys would invite them," Hotaru said, "They're your siblings after all."
"Damn it, guys," Nariko pouted.
"You think they'd even want to go?" Himari asked.
"Let's give them a ring," Minato said as he and Nariko pulled out their phones to call Kimiko and Kaito.
Sometime later, 19-year-old Kaito Watanabe and 18-year-old Kimiko Amamiya come pulling up in Kaito's car; a bright red minivan. The two youngest members of the friend group park the minivan on the side of the road and get out with their luggage, which they throw in the You-Tow trailer.
"So you forgot to invite us on your road trip, eh?" Kimiko asked, somewhat annoyed at her friends.
"We were so busy preparing that I guess inviting you two slipped our minds," Mai said, "Sorry about that."
"Ah, it's okay," Kaito said, "What matters is we're all here now."
"That is a nice looking minivan you have over there, Kaito," Hotaru said, "Where'd you get it from?"
"It was a gift from Uncle Ryuta from when I graduated high school," Kaito explained.
"Whenever family members give their kids a car as a gift, it's usually nicer than a minivan," Mana said.
"What matters is that it gets me from Point A to Point B," Kaito said, "That's all I really need."
"Fair enough, I suppose," Himari said with the shrug of her shoulders, "Now hop in our van you guys, it's time to go."
"Open roads here we come," Riku said as he got in the white van with his friends.
"Bye mom and dad," Mitsu said.
"We love you," Mana said.
"We love you too, girls," Haru said with a smile.
Once all 11 young adults get in the van, Minato puts the keys in the ignition and they drive off for Abashiri. As the van drives off, Haru and Yusuke wave goodbye, hoping that the 11 see them in the mirrors.
"Well, two whole weeks without Mana or Mitsu," Haru said before cuddling next to her husband and drawing circles on his chest with her pointer finger, "We can do whatever we want, sweetie."
"Hmm, what did you have in mind," Yusuke asked his wife as the two of them stared at each other lovingly.
We then cut a shot of Haru and Yusuke's closed bedroom door as inside their room, Haru is heard shouting, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!'.
But we then cut to inside their bedroom, where it's revealed that Haru and Yusuke are playing Super Shatter Dudes Ultimate, and Haru just beat her husband in versus mode.
"I totally moped the floor with you in this round, Yusuke," Haru boasted.
"You beat me fair and square, darling," Yusuke said, "But I'll get you in the next round."
"You're so on," Haru said as she and Yusuke set up another match. As they did she turned to face him, asking, "We're also going to be having sex, right?"
"Oh definitely," Yusuke said. A moment of silence passed before the blue haired man said, "You want to take a break from playing this game so we can go at it right now?"
"Let's go!" Haru said excitedly.
Meanwhile, the 11 friends, with Minato in the driver's seat, were seen driving down a street singing along to music on the radio.
"A few times been around that track, so it's not just gonna happen like that!" They sang, "'Cause I ain't no hollaback girl! I ain't no hollaback girl! A few times been around that track, so it's not just gonna happen like that! 'Cause I ain't no hollaback girl! I ain't no hollaback girl!"
"God I love this song," Kimiko said.
"Little known fact this song is how I learned to spell bananas," Kaito told his girlfriend.
"I think a lot of us learned how to spell banana because of this song," Riku said.
"I'll be honest, guys," Hotaru said as he looked out the van's window, "I've never really been to the northernmost reaches of our fine country. I wonder what it's like over there in Abashiri?"
"Don't know, babe, that's why we're going," Himari said, "To get life experience and take in the scenery. "
"On the subject of things I haven't done, can I share with you guys some of the other things I haven't done in life?" Hotaru asked.
"Fire away, pal," Minato said.
"Okay, uh, here's one," Hotaru began, "I've never eaten a pear before."
"Are you kidding?" Mitsu asked, "How have you gone through 21 years of your life without having eaten a single pear?"
"I never really was much of a fruit eater," Hotaru admitted, "Most of the nutritious foods in my diet came in the form of vegetables."
"It's true," Himari said, "Whenever I came over to his place for dinner when we were kids he'd wolf down his vegetables in a matter of minutes."
"Hotaru, you have probably the weirdest tastes in food," Riku said, "You like tripe, you like anchovies on your pizza, and now you're telling us that you like vegetables."
"You know, Minny," Mana says to her boyfriend, "Pull off at the next grocery store you see, we're buying Hotaru a pear."
"There's no time, Mana," Mitsu told her sister, "We have a schedule to keep."
"For the record I wouldn't mind stopping soon because I've gotta got the bathroom," Kimiko said.
"Are you serious right now, Kim?" Kas groaned, "We just left."
"Well this whole road trip thing was sprung on me and Kaito and I only had enough time to get our luggage prepared," Kimiko said, "I wouldn't have to request to stop if one of you would've remembered to invite us."
"Alright, I'll tell you guys what," Minato said, "Italia Street is one the way out of Tokyo. They always have fresh fruit there. We'll stop and get Hotaru a pear there, and Kimiko can empty her bladder there too."
"You know Hotaru, I'm afraid to ask, but what other fruits have you not tried," Mai asked.
"Oh lots," Hotaru answered, "You know blueberries, pineapple, watermelon, kiwi…"
"What fruits have you eaten," Nariko asked.
"I like apples," Hotaru said, "My parents always told me 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away', so I kind of lived by that and on the rare instance where I craved fruit I'd ask for apples."
"That's insane," Kaito said.
While everyone was more focused on Hotaru and the lack of fruit in his diet, Minato was losing his patience as a cyclist was riding his bike right in front of him rather than in the bike lane.
"Can you believe this guy?" Minato asked as his friends turned their attention to the cyclist, "Look at him, he's taking up the whole road."
So, Minato's next move here is honking the horn and shouting, "Hey! Down in front!"
In response to Minato's horn honking and shouting, the cyclist briefly looked behind him only to flip him the bird.
"What was that?" Minato asked, aghast.
"I think he flipped you off, bro," Kimiko said.
"Now that's just plain rude," Himari pouted.
"No one flips off my Minny and gets away with it," Mana says with anger in her voice, eager to defend her boyfriend's honor, "Where's that cooler?"
"Right here, Mana," Riku said as he opened up the cooler, which was sitting next to him in the back of the van.
"Great, pass me one of the beer bottles we have in there," Mana said.
"Why?" Riku asked as he handed Mana one of the beer bottles.
"You'll see," Mana said as she opened up the window.
"Mana, what are you doing?" Mitsu asked her sister as Mana leans out the window, the beer bottle in hand.
"Hey, jerkface!" Mana yelled as she threw her arm back to throw the beer bottle.
"MANA, NO!" Everyone yelled, but it was too late.
Mana threw the beer bottle at the cyclist, hitting him in the head and knocking him unconscious. This results in the cyclist losing control of the bike, causing him to fall down. When he fell, the cyclist's body rolled to the side of the road while the bike was stuck in the middle of it for the van to run over it, at which point Minato pressed the brakes.
"Mana what have you done?!" Minato shouted.
"I did not think he'd become unconscious," Mana admitted.
"Duh, Mana!" Mai shouted, "If you hit someone with a blunt object with enough force you're going to knock them unconscious!"
"Is he okay?" Kaito asked, "Should we check on him?"
"Hang on guys, he's getting up," Nariko said as she saw the cyclist get up by looking into the side view mirror of the van.
"Oh that's good," Hotaru said.
"Oh, hang on everyone, he's getting something from his backpack," Nariko said as she continued to watch the cyclist. By watching him long enough she saw him take a lead pipe out from his backpack as he charges at the van, "Oh my God, he's got a pipe!"
"What?!" Minato asked in shock.
"He has a pipe, Minato!" Nariko panicked, "He's gonna whack us! Drive, drive, drive!"
Minato slammed his foot on the gas pedal and sped off, the cyclist throwing his pipe at the car as it drove away, only for it to hit and bounce off of the You-Two trailer. The group of 11 got away from the cyclist, but they weren't out of the woods yet, because as they drove the van made a scraping noise.
"What's wrong with the van?" Himari asked.
"I don't know," Mitsu said, "Minato, head back to our place so we can check it out."
"Got it, Mit," Minato said as he drove everyone back to the Kitagawa Residence.
When the van made it back to the front of Mana and Mitsu's house, Minato put the van in park as everyone disembarked from the vehicle to access the damages and Kimiko quickly ran inside the Kitagawa household to use the bathroom.
"Aw man, these tires are destroyed," Kas whined.
"Surely this van has some spares, right?" Riku asked.
"The owner of the rental agency where we rented this van from said that it didn't come with spare tires," Nariko said.
"Plus, it looks like some of that guy's bike broke off when we ran it over and now pieces of it are stuck in the axle," Hotaru said as he got on the ground to take a look beneath the van.
"We can't go on like this guys," Minato said, "As much as it pains me to say, we're going to have to cancel the road trip."
"Don't be so quick to give up, Minato," Kaito said, "Don't forget that I have a van that just so happens to be parked right over there."
Kaito pointed over at the red minivan that he and Kimiko came in.
"All we need to do is unhook the trailer from the rental van to the minivan and then, boom, road trip's back on," Kaito continued.
"Your minivan is kind of small though," Himari said, "I don't think all 11 of us and the cooler can fit in there."
Gilligan Cut To…
Kaito's minivan, with the You-Tow trailer hooked onto the back, is seen driving down the road. The 11 are seen inside the minivan, but as Himari feared, it was rather cramped. Since Kaito's van was meant to hold, at max, eight people, it was rather cramped. In the driver and front passenger seats sat Kaito and Kimiko respectively. In the middle seats sat Minato, Mana, Mitsu, and Kas with Mai sitting in Kas' lap. And in the back seats sat Himari, Hotaru, Riku, and Nariko, with the cooler in their laps. The middle and backseats were meant to seat, at max, three people, so naturally Kaito and Kimiko's siblings and friends were packed like sardines.
"Riku, your foot is touching mine," Hotaru complained.
"Are you sure it's not your foot that's touching mine," Riku snapped back.
"Settle down back there kids," Kimiko said in a stern, but teasing tone.
"Easy for you two to say," Kas said, "You two have your own seats. You both have all the room in the world."
"And I'm the only one here without a seatbelt," Mai said, "Heaven forbid we get into an accident, I'm going through the windshield."
"Not on my watch babe," Kas said as she held her girlfriend, "You're safe in my arms."
Hearing that made Mai smile as she gave her girlfriend a peck on the lips. But everyone couldn't focus on the tender moment for long, because they were still in cramped quarters.
"It's really cramped back here with this cooler," Himari complained.
"Why don't you guys just put in the trailer?" Kaito asked.
"Uh, because then, bro, we're going to have to pull over every single time we want something to eat and drink," Nariko said.
"And what's that smell?" Mana asked.
"What, 'new car smell'?" Kaito asked, "You don't like 'new car smell'?"
"I'm more of a wild cherry kind of girl," Mana said.
"Oh my God this thing is so heavy," Riku said in regards to the cooler on his, Himari, Hotaru, and Nariko's laps.
"I'm going to get a blood clot with this thing," Hotaru said.
"I'll say it again, why don't you just put in in the trailer?" Kaito asked.
"Why don't we put you in the trailer," Himari snapped back.
When Himari said that, Nariko got herself an interesting idea.
"You know, Himari, that's actually not a bad idea," Nariko said.
"What, knocking Kaito out and putting him in the trailer?" Himari asked.
"You are not knocking my boyfriend out!" Kimiko scolded.
"No, I mean three of us ride in the back until we hit a rest stop and we alternate as we go along," Nariko explained, "Who wants to ride in the trailer with me?"
"I'm down for that, babe," Riku said.
"Yeah, I'll ride in the back with you guys," Minato volunteered.
And so, the minivan pulled over so Riku, Nariko, and Minato could get out and ride in the You-Tow trailer with the luggage.
A few minutes later the minivan is seen driving down the Tokyo streets towards Italia Street. In the You-Tow trailer, Minato, Nariko, and Riku are seen using their suitcases as makeshift chairs. They even took a few snacks and cans of Monta from the cooler in the car with them.
"Now this is more like it," Riku said, "Certainly a hell of a lot more room."
"Yeah," Nariko said, "The only problem here is that it's hot and muggy back here."
"We could open the door a little bit," Minato suggested.
"So that the three of us and all of our luggage go flying out at the next corner?" Riku asked incredulously.
"No, Riku, I mean open it just a crack," Minato explained.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Nariko asked.
"I'm going to take this can of Monta I just finished and use it to prop the door up," Minato explained.
"Go do it, man," Riku said.
Minato stood up from his seat and began making his way to the trailer door, only to almost fall over in the process since they're in motion.
"It's hard to stand up back here," Minato said.
"Hey, I just got another idea," Nariko said, catching the two boys' attention, "How about we get some furniture for this trailer? We can get some in Italia Street."
"I think Grandpa Sojiro said something about getting some nice chairs at Italia Street once," Riku said, "I like this plan."
"Yeah, you can get just about anything from Italia Street," Nariko said, "You name it and there's a high chance that somebody sells it."
"Guys, look here," Minato said as Riku and Nariko turned to face him.
Minato opened the trailer door a little bit so he could stick the can of Monta underneath it. The door closes on the can, leaving it open ajar.
"There we go," Minato said as he made his way back to his seat, "Now the weight of the door will keep the can in place."
"Awesome," Riku said, "So what do you guys want to do know?"
"I don't know, we could play 'Two Truths and One Lie' or sing a song," Nariko suggested.
As the trio continued to think about what they should do to pass the time until they reached Italia Street, they drive over a pothole, causing the trailer door to rise up just enough for the Monta can to go flying onto the street, resulting in the trailer door closing again.
"Aw man," Minato whined.
Back inside the minivan, we still see Kaito in the driver's seat with Kimiko in the front passenger seat. Mai, Kas, and Mitsu are sitting in the middle seats. And Himari, Hotaru, and Mana are sitting in the back seats. The cooler is currently in Mai, Kas, and Mitsu's possession to give Himari and Hotaru's laps a break.
"I wonder how Minato, Riku, and Nariko are doing back there?" Mana wondered.
"I'm sure they're just fine," Mitsu said.
"Hey, you guys want to listen to some music?" Himari asked, "I made a playlist on my phone. Does this van have bluetooth, Kaito?"
"Hate to break it to you but there's no wi-fi or bluetooth in this van," Kaito informed his friends.
"Aw man, for real?" Himari whined, "Why would you uncle buy a vehicle that doesn't have wi-fi or bluetooth?"
"Uncle Ryuta said it was a few yen cheaper," Kaito said.
"So he had the option?!" Kas asked incredulously, "And he still cheaped out on you?!"
"Kaito, I don't know how to say this, but your uncle does not love you," Mai teased.
"Love isn't measured with material things, Mai," Kaito said, "All I really want in a car is for it to be able to get me from point A to point B, that's it."
"Alright, let's not fight everyone," Mitsu said, "I see a CD slot, Kaito, what CDs do you have in here?"
"CDs?" Kaito asked, "Who the hell uses CDs anymore?"
"I would've thought you'd at least make a mix for the road trip," Mana said.
"You guys forgot to invite Kaito and me on your road trip!" Kimiko scolded.
"You don't keep a good mix CD in your car?" Kas asked.
"I didn't know we were going on a road trip until this morning," Kaito said, clearly losing his patience, "If you all would've remembered to invite Kimiko and me we would've had time to make a mix CD!"
"Can we all just chill out, please," Hotaru asked, "Just the radio on. See if we can find a good station."
Kimiko turned the radio on and started scanning through the stations only to be met with static on each and every one of them.
"I can't find a station, guys," Kimiko sadly said.
"Great, just great," Mai pouted, "The antennae is probably broken on this PIECE OF SHIT CAR!"
"You're a piece of shit…car…" Kimiko said, realizing that her 'sick burn' didn't make any sense.
"Alright, I guess CDs are something we have to buy when we get to Italia Street," Mitsu said, "No big deal."
As all of that was going on, Kas noticed something shining beneath Kaito's driver's seat.
"Hey, I found something," Kas said as she reached down and picked it up, revealing the object to be a CD, "Hey, hey, our luck's beginning to turn! I found a CD!"
"Pass it here, Kas," Kimiko said as Kas passed the CD over to the blonde.
Kimiko put the CD into the player and it started up…only to reveal that it's not a music CD, but an audio book on tantric meditation.
"Inner peace, is an attainable goal" The instructor on the CD said, "The first step is releasing all anger and aggression that one holds inside."
Before it could play further, Kimiko, getting a perfect read on the other seven with her, ejected the CD out from the player and threw it out of the window for it to fall into a storm drain.
A few minutes later, the group makes it to Italia Street. Every weekend, some of Tokyo's citizens would get together and form a sort of marketplace here where they'd sell anything from food, to knick-knacks, to books, to movies, to anything you can possibly think of. On top of that, some food trucks show up to cater the event, and they'd even have live music playing during the whole thing.
Upon making it to Italia Street, the group of 11 disembark from the minivan and the trailer and look around at all of the people present.
"Man, I've never seen Italia Street so busy before," Mai said.
"This place is so cool," Hotaru said as he took in his surroundings, "I've been alive for 21 years, and not once have I been here."
"Well, get ready to cross one more thing off of your bucket list, babe," Himari said, "Let's go find you some fruit."
"Okay," Hotaru said with a smile on his face.
"Mind if Mitsu and I tag along," Mana asked, "If we're going to where they're selling food, maybe they're also selling coffee beans."
"We can make you all a fresh batch when we get to the hotel in Abashiri," Mitsu chimed in.
"Sounds good," Himari said as she took off with her boyfriend and the Kitagawa Twins.
"Meet back here in a half hour, guys," Minato called after the group of four as they walked away, "Okay, while they go food and coffee bean shopping, Nariko, Riku, Mai, and I will go furniture shopping to find some chairs to throw in the back of the You-Tow trailer."
"What do you want us to do?" Kaito asked as he, Kimiko, Kas, stood across from them with curious looks on their faces.
"I know what I'm going to do," Kas said, "And that's to look for some CDs."
"I think Kaito and I are going to check out that live band playing over there," Kimiko said as she pointed at a soundstage where a band was currently performing.
"Alright, gang, have fun," Minato said as the group went their separate ways.
With the group of Mana, Mitsu, Hotaru, and Himari, the latter two are at a fruit stand. Hotaru is eyeing each and every pear to see which one he'd like to purchase.
"Babe, you're just picking out a pear," Himari said, "You're acting like it's the most important decision of your life."
"But this is my first pear," Hotaru said, "I want to make sure I pick out the perfect one."
As Hotaru continued looking at the pears, Mana and Mitsu came up carrying big bags of coffee beans.
"Whoa," went Himari, "We're only on vacation for two weeks, not two years."
"True, but we'd like to buy in bulk so we don't have to buy more later," Mana explained, "What's going on over here?"
"Hotaru is trying to pick out a pear," Himari said, "Emphasis on 'trying'."
"Ah ha!" Hotaru said as he held up a pear, "No bruises, no discoloration, perfect shape! The perfect pear!"
"Find everything okay?" The stand owner asked as he came up to the group.
"I would like this pear please," Hotaru said.
"¥60 please (40 cents USD)," The stand owner said.
Hotaru handed the stand owner proper payment before staring at the pear. He turned the piece of fruit around in his hand before taking a big bite. Hotaru chewed it a little bit to let the flavor caress his tongue.
"What do you think, babe?" Himari asked.
Just like that, Hotaru's eyes widened and he dropped the pear right there on the ground, "Oh my God," Hotaru said in awe, "This is the best thing I've ever eaten."
"You mean that?!" Himari asked.
"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Hotaru said, "These pears are excellent!"
Hotaru then turned to the stand owner and handed him almost every penny he had, "Sir, your pears, I'll take your entire stock!"
"Okay," The stand owner said as he took Hotaru's money.
Hotaru grabbed a nearby basket and started loading it up with pears.
"Oh, you tasty pears, come to papa!" Hotaru said excitedly.
As Hotaru continued to stuff as many pears as he could in his basket, Himari, Mana, and Mitsu just watched.
"I never thought Hotaru's day would be made just by eating some pears," Himari said.
"It really doesn't take much to impress him does it, sis?" Mana asked her sister who nods her head in agreement.
With the group of Minato, Nariko, Riku, and Mai, they're seen approaching a man who is selling patio furniture.
"Hey there," Minato greeted.
"Hi," The salesman said.
"My friends and I are on vacation and we're looking for some furniture that we can put in the back of our trailer," Minato explained.
"Well, what kind of furniture are you looking for?" The salesman asked.
"Nothing too extravagant, just some chairs, really," Minato said.
"Preferable ones with good cushion," Nariko chimed in.
"Well I have these wicker chairs right here that should be to your liking," The salesman said as he pointed at four wicker chairs with a nice wood glaze on them.
"They're perfect, sir!" Mai said, "How much? And just so you know, we won't pay more than ¥3,000 (a little more than $20)."
"It's actually ¥3,000 per chair, miss" The salesman said, "If you want all four then it'll cost you ¥12,000."
"Okay, ¥4,000," Mai said.
"Huh?" The salesman said confused.
"¥24,000!" Mai exclaimed.
"That's twice as much," The salesman said.
After a moment of silence, Mai gave her next ridiculous offer which was, "¥2,000".
"What is happening," The salesman asked, bewildered.
"I apologize for my sister," Riku said to the man, "She doesn't know how to haggle."
"Look, if I split the price down the middle and offer all four chairs to you for ¥6,000, will you all leave?" The salesman said, exhausted.
"Sounds fair," Mai said as Minato handed the salesman payment.
"Alright, everyone grab a chair," Minato said.
As the four young adults were about to grab a chair, Kas came up to them holding a can of Colossus Energy Drink (Monster Energy Drink).
"I see you all found some chairs," Kas said as she took a sip from her energy drink, "Now maybe you can help me find some CDs."
"Just as soon as we get these chairs back to the trailer," Minato said.
"Uh, babe," Mai said as she noticed the can in her girlfriend's hand, "What are you drinking, babe?"
"A Colossus Energy Drink," Kas answered, "I'm thirsty and we didn't pack any in the cooler."
"And for good reason," Mai said, "At what point did you forget that Colossus Energy Drinks go right through you? You're going to be pissing every 15 feet. We'll never make it to Abashiri."
"I like to think I've gotten better at holding it down," Kas said.
"Well just in case, maybe we should go find a jar or two for you to tinkle in," Mai said.
"Tinkle?" Nariko teased, "What are you, five?"
"Yeah, five inches deep in your mom!" Mai joked.
"Ha! Got her!" Kas laughed.
Nariko just rolled her eyes, causing Riku to rub her shoulder to calm her down, as Mai and Kas went off to look for jars and CDs, leaving her, Riku, and Minato to carry the wicker chairs back to the trailer by themselves.
Back at the minivan, Kimiko and Kaito got back from the live music performance at the soundstage, and they're seen nibbling on some korokke.
"Mmm, these are good!" Kimiko said.
"We've definitely got to come back to Italia Street some time soon, love," Kaito said as he took another bite from the fried treat.
"Totally," Kimiko concurred.
As they continued nibbling, they saw Minato, Nariko, and Riku return with the wicker chairs, along with a roll of duct tape, in hand as they loaded them into the trailer.
"I see you guys found some furniture," Kaito said.
"We sure did," Minato said, "We even bought some duct tape so we can keep the chairs in place."
"Smart thinking," Kimiko said as she watched the trio get to work on taping the chairs to the trailer floor.
While they did that, the group of Mana, Mitsu, Hotaru, and Himari came back with their bags of coffee beans and pears.
"I guess Hotaru finally tried pears, eh?" Kaito asked.
"I've never tasted anything like it, Kaito," Hotaru said, his mouth full of pear.
"I think we've found Hotaru a new favorite food," Himari said, "I've never seen anyone this enamored with pears before."
"On the way here I could swear I saw him eat a whole pear," Mana said, "Core and all."
"Damn," Kaito said, impressed.
And finally, Mai and Kas arrived holding empty jars and some CDs.
"You found everything you needed?" Kimiko asked.
"Yup," Kas said, "Some jars to take a leak in should we need it, and some CDs. We've got some Tumbling Boulders (Rolling Stones), Green Lloyd (Pink Floyd), Monster Guys (Beastie Boys), and my personal favorite the Scorching Hot Banana Peppers (Red Hot Chilli Peppers). These should get us to Abashiri."
"Nice," Kimiko said.
"Alright, the chairs are secured to the trailer floor," Nariko said as she, Minato, and Riku hopped out of the trailer, "Who wants to join me in being the first ones to try the chairs out?"
"I'll take that offer," Himari said.
"Count me in," Mana said.
"Me too," Mai said.
"Alright, mobile she-shed time," Nariko said as she, Himari, Mana, and Mai entered the trailer, leaving the other seven to ride in the minivan. The four girls took a few drinks and a pack of hot dogs with them while the cooler remained in the minivan.
A few minutes later the group was driving down the street again. We cut to the inside of the You-Tow trailer where Nariko, Himari, Mana, and Mai are seen relaxing in the new wicker chairs.
"Ah, this is the life, ain't it girls?" Mana asked her friends.
"It sure is," Mai said as she took a sip from a can of Monta.
Himari took a look at the trailer door to find it open a jar. But this time, instead of using a can of soda to prop it up, Nariko, along with Minato and Riku, used whatever duct tape they had left over after taping down the chairs, to keep the door open so they could get some fresh air.
"Smart thinking with that duct tape," Himari said.
"Oh thanks," Nariko said, "It was Riku's idea."
"That's my brother," Mai said, "Always thinking."
"You think you should've taped down the grill though," Himari asked as she pointed at the portable grill in the middle of the trailer, "You sure it won't slide through the crack?"
"It won't because I measured the crack and its smaller than the height of the grill," Nariko said.
"Nice," Himari said, "'Cause I'm starting to get hungry."
"Hang on a minute before we start cooking, guys," Mana said, "I just realized that this is the first time I'll be away from my parents for an extended period of time."
"What are you talking about," Mai said, "Didn't you go on Shujin Academy's summer school trip to Hawaii?"
"I couldn't," Mana said, "Remember, I was sick with the flu?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Mai said.
"So I don't really know what to expect when we get to Abashiri," Mana said.
"Just stick with us Mana," Nariko said reassuringly, "We'll look out for you."
"That's right," Himari chimed in, "If some palooka gives you a hard time, we'll be there to back you up."
"Thanks guys," Mana said with a warm smile.
"Hey, that's what friends are for, Mana," Himari said, "Now let's get to cooking those hot dogs!"
"Alright!" Mana, Mai, and Nariko cheered.
Unfortunately, before they even had a chance to start cooking, they hit another pothole in the road. This causes the legs of the portable grill to collapse, allowing the grill itself to slide out of the trailer through the crack in the door. The grill fell onto the road with an audible 'clang' as the minivan drove on, leaving it behind.
The four girls just stared at the crack in the door speechless before Nariko said, "Huh…did not see that coming."
Meanwhile, inside the minivan, Kas is seen in the driver's seat with Riku in the front passenger seat. Kas figured she'd give Kaito a break from driving as he's seen with Kimiko and Hotaru in the middle seats while Minato and Mitsu are sitting in the back seats with the cooler.
"What do you guys want to do now?" Riku asked.
"You know, we have some beers in the cooler," Kimiko said, ready to partake in underage drinking, "You guys down for a drinking game? You get five seconds to name a country and if you guess wrong or if you take too long you have to drink?"
"Good call," Kaito said, "Let's do it!"
"Well that's gonna suck, I can't drink," Kas said.
"Sounds like you have an advantage against us then, Kas," Riku said, "Minato, beer me!"
Minato passed beers to everyone but Kas as they started their game, "Okay, go!" he says.
"United States," Kas said.
"Canada," Riku said.
"Mexico," answered Hotaru
"Panama," went Kaito
"Haiti," Kimiko said.
"Jamaica," Minato answered.
"Peru," Mitsu said.
Kas was then heard letting out a sigh, "I'm sorry guys, I can't get into this," she said, "It's the drinking that's the fun part. There's gotta be some way I can play while still getting shit-faced."
As if on cue, the minivan was approaching a female hitchhiker. Kas smiled happily as an idea came to her.
A few minutes later Kas was seen out of the driver's seat and in the front passenger seat drinking a beer, meaning Riku is now in the back seats with Minato and Mitsu. The driver this time around was the female hitchhiker that they picked up.
"Kiribati," Minato said, "That's another country for me."
"Dude, you know all of the lesser known countries," Riku said as he took a sip from his beer bottle.
"I also know that Kiribati is where the sun rises first in the world," Minato said, "Specifically at the uninhabited Millenium Island."
"With his knowledge on the countries of the world we're all going to be hammered before he finishes naming the Eastern Hemisphere," Hotaru lamented.
As that was going on, we cut to the four girls in the You-Tow trailer.
"So hungry," Mana whined as her stomach growled.
"It's not like we don't have food back here," Nariko said, "Help yourself to some chips."
"But I'm craving hot dogs!" Mana cried.
"Alright, for the sake of shutting Mana up, I have an idea," Himari said, "What if we take these wicker chairs, smash them to bits, place them in the middle of the trailer, which is metal, and then we set the chairs on fire and cook the hot dogs on that?"
"I don't know about this," Nariko said, "I mean, not only did we pay good money for these chairs, but then we'll have nowhere to sit."
"We'll just have to use our luggage until we find ourselves at another marketplace," Mai said, "And since you, Riku, Minato, and I paid for these chairs, we'll just get some of our friends to pay for the next set of furniture."
"If you say so," Nariko said.
"Alright, let's get cooking!" Mana said excitedly as the four girls prepared to break the wicker chairs.
Back inside the minivan, the likes of Minato, Kimiko, Mitsu, Riku, Hotaru, and Kaito are sound asleep in the middle and back seats, leaving Kas and the female hitchhiker as the only ones wide awake. Kas, however, was just a wee bit tipsy from having consumed a good amount of beer from the drinking game they played earlier.
"Thanks for driving," Kas slurred.
"Hey, I appreciate you picking me up," the female hitchhiker said.
"So, where are you heading anyway, stranger," Kas said in a friendly tone.
"Fukushima," the female hitchhiker answered.
"Oh, word, what's up there?" Kas slurred, "Oh my God, you're running away from home!"
"Uh, not really," the female hitchhiker said, "It's my grandpa's birthday and I have no other way to get there."
"Oh thank God," Kas said, "Because this world is an ugly place. Lots of fools looking to take advantage of sweet young things like you. You know, kidnap you and sell you to a brothel halfway across the world and shit."
"Thanks for the advice," the female hitchhiker said, "But I can take care of myself."
"Hold that thought, girlie," Kas said, "You like music? I got a song just for you."
Kas took out the Scorching Hot Banana Peppers CD, put it in the CD player, and it started right up.
"How long, how long will I slide? Separate my side, I don't. I don't believe it's bad. Slitting my throat is all I ever…"
At this point Kas started to sing along, albeit very off key whilst slurring the lyrics, in an attempt to serenade the hitchhiker.
"I heard your voice through a photograph," Kas sang, "I thought it up and brought up the past. Once you know you can never go back, I gotta take it on the other side."
"Uh, miss, are you okay?" The female hitchhiker asked, clearly growing uncomfortable.
"Well, centuries are what it meant to me," Kas continued, "A cemetery where I marry the sea. A stranger thing could never change my mind. I gotta take it on the other side. Take it on the other side. Take it ooooooooonnnnnnn, take it on!"
At this part of the song, Kas grabbed one of the empty jars that she and Mai had brought and she lowered her pants just enough to start taking a piss into it. This catches the hitchhiker's attention and she give off a look of disgust.
"Are you peeing in that jar?!" The female hitchhiker asked, aghast.
"Just focus on the music, fam," Kas said as she finished doing her business in the jar.
Kas just stared at the 'contents' of the jar, shrugged her shoulders and threw her urine out the window…for it to fly back into the car through the back seat's open window, hitting Riku in the face and waking him up.
"GAH! What is that!?" Riku spat, "Is that piss?! Pull over!"
Riku's outburst ended up waking everyone else up, "I said pull over!" he yells.
"You might as well pull over, he's just going to keep yelling," Kas says to the hitchhiker.
"Pull over, you little brat!" Riku shouts at the hitchhiker, "Stop the car!"
The hitchhiker pulls off on the side of the road and everyone gets out.
"Are you kidding me, Kas!?" Riku shouted, "I'm covered in piss."
"Maybe you shouldn't have had your window down," Kas drunkenly defended herself.
"Maybe you shouldn't be throwing jars of piss out the window?" Riku said.
"Well how else do you expect me to empty the jar out?" Kas asked.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe we wait until we stop so you can empty it out there?" Riku said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Uh, guys, what's going on in the trailer?" Kimiko asked as she pointed at the smoking trailer.
The group of seven plus the hitchhiker go over to the trailer and open the door up, letting loads of smoke out, causing everyone to start coughing. When the smoke cleared, they find Mana, Mai, Himari, and Nariko unconscious, putting a scare in them.
"Holy shit!" Kaito exclaimed
Seeing the four girls unconscious, it was clear where they had to go next: the nearest hospital.
By the time Himari, Nariko, Mana, and Mai got out of the hospital it had become nightfall. Minato, Riku, and Hotaru were seen escorting the four girls back to the minivan and trailer where Kas, Kaito, and Mitsu were seen cleaning out the trailer from the fire the girls started earlier. Thankfully none of their luggage suffered any damage as they're seen laying in a pile next to the trailer.
"Man, it's dark and we haven't left Tokyo yet," Minato said as Kas, Kaito, and Mitsu stepped out of the trailer to address the group of seven.
"If it's any consolation we got rid of the soot and smokey scent from the trailer, sweetie," Mitsu said.
"So what happened in there, girls?" Kaito asked the four girls.
"Mana wanted some hot dogs so Himari came up with the 'genius' idea of lighting the wicker chairs on fire," Nariko explained.
"You gotta admit it was a pretty good idea," Himari said, trying to defend herself.
"Yes, it was a good idea," Mai said, obvious sarcasm in her voice, "If not for the fact that the glaze on the chairs was highly toxic resulting in the four of us passing out. We're lucky to be alive!"
"Look, I'm sorry, okay," Himari frowned.
"I'm just glad you're okay, babe," Hotaru said as he gave his girlfriend a hug and a a kiss.
It was at this moment when Kimiko and the female hitchhiker came out from behind the hospital carrying a large sofa.
"Hey guys," Kimiko called, "Check out this sofa we found by the dumpster."
"Excellent find, Kim, toss it in," Kas said as the blonde and the hitchhiker loaded the sofa inside the trailer before they assisted Kas, Kaito, and Mitsu in loading the luggage back in the trailer.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to have that sofa in there?" Riku asked, "I mean, if it was found near a dumpster then I'm sure it's with good reason."
"I don't care where that sofa was found, it's a comfy place to sit," Nariko said, "I'm going in there."
"Count me in, babe," Riku said.
"Us too," Kimiko, Kaito, Mai and Minato said together.
"What, you guys are still going to ride in the back after everything?" Mana asked.
"I sure am," Kimiko said, "You're not going to get the smell of pee out of that van for weeks…Kas!"
At the end of that statement, Kimiko shot a glare at Kas who just blushed and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Yeah, not my proudest moment," Kas admitted.
"Yeah, the smell is pretty bad, I'm in," Hotaru said.
"If you're riding in the trailer so am I," Himari said.
"Me too," Kas said.
"You girls want to come with us?" Minato asked the Kitagawa Twins.
"No, I'm going to ride in the van," Mana said, "At least there's cushioned seats in there."
"Not to mention someone needs to watch our hitchhiker friend as she drives," Mitsu said.
"Alright girls," Minato said as he gave the twins a kiss on their cheeks, "Be safe."
"We will," Mitsu said as the other nine in the group got in the trailer and closed the door behind them.
"I guess it's just you and us, miss," Mana said.
"It looks that way," the female hitchhiker said, "Hey neither of you are going to sing to me are you?"
"I mean, Mitsu won't," Mana said, "But I might if something good is playing."
"Whatever," the female hitchhiker said with a shake of her head, "Let's get out of here."
The hitchhiker and the Kitagawa Twins got in the van and the group left the parking lot of the hospital.
The van and You-Tow trailer were now seen driving along a Tokyo street, the moon and street lights illuminating their path out of the city. We cut to the inside of the trailer where the group of nine were seen conversing before going down for the night.
"Hey babe," Mai said to Kas, "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to be rude to the girl, but you've got to be careful when picking up hitchhikers."
"I know it was a little risky," Kas said, "But she seemed sweet enough. She even said she was going to her grandfather's house for a birthday party or something. Would a bloodthirsty murderer do something that wholesome?"
"That wholesome stuff could just be a sob story so you'd feel sorry for her," Hotaru explained as he ate one of his pears from Italia Street, "I should know, the killer in the new short film I'm making is all about creating sob stories to gain his victim's trust and sympathy."
"Hotaru is right, Kas," Himari chimed in, "The sweet and quiet ones are the one you have to watch out for. They act like they're normal and innocent, and then when the time is right, they carve you up like an Easter ham."
"If that hitchhiker was a lunatic we would've been more than capable of taking him in a fight, right?" Kimiko asked.
"Of course," Riku said, "There's only 11 of us and one of her. We would've rushed her easily."
"And in the off chance she has a gun?" Nariko asked.
"Oh, easy, we just use Riku as a human shield and pray that the bullets don't hit any major organs," Kimiko teased causing everyone but Riku to laugh.
"Very funny, Kim," Riku pouted.
"Aw, I'm only kidding," Kimiko said, "But I don't think she had a gun. She was wearing some pretty skinny jeans, and I think one of us would've seen it from her pants pockets."
"I sure hope Mana and Mitsu can handle her by themselves if she's not what she seems," Minato said, worrying about his lady loves.
"Mana and Mitsu are some tough customers, Minato," Kimiko reassured her brother, "I remember them telling me that they beat up Sota Hayashi good for peeping on Auntie Haru while she was exercising."
"Bastard clearly didn't learn his lesson from that Watanabe Special I gave him back then," Kaito said.
"The point is, Mana and Mitsu can take care of themselves," Kimiko said.
"I hope you're right, Kim," Minato said, "I love Mana and Mitsu so much that I can't bear the thought of something horrible happening to either of them and me not being able to do a thing about it."
"We understand, Minato," Mai said.
As the group continued to talk about the hitchhiker they picked up, Nariko let out a very audible yawn.
"I'm getting tired, everyone," Nariko said as she wiped her eyes of any tears formed from her yawning, "Riku, babe, can you help me unfold this sofa. I'm going to pass out."
"Got it, Nari," Riku said as he helped his girlfriend open up the sofa bed.
"We should all try and get some rest," Hotaru said as he finished his pear.
"We've got a long trip ahead of us," Kas said.
The group grabbed some sleeping bags, or found a place on the sofa bed to rest their heads, before settling in for a deep sleep.
The next morning, inside the You-Tow trailer, the group of nine are still sound asleep. One by one, however, they all began to stir as the sound of birds outside the trailer woke them up. When everyone awoke, they realized that the trailer, and by extension the van, was in park.
"Are we moving?" Kimiko asked as she rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes.
"I think we stopped, Kim," Minato said, "Does anyone have the time?"
Riku reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone to see that it had just become 7:30 A-M.
"It's half past seven," Riku said.
"Holy crap, that means we've been driving all night," Kas said.
"Let's get out of this trailer and see where we ended up," Himari said, "Maybe we're halfway there."
Minato opened up the trailer door and all nine stepped out to see a very familiar looking environment.
"What the hell is this?" Minato asked as he turned to his left to find the Kitagawa Residence!
"Aw man, we're back at Mana and Mitsu's place?!" Minato exclaimed in disbelief.
"Is this some kind of a joke?!" Mai asked.
As everyone took this revelation in, Kaito walked around the trailer to see if his van was still there…but it was gone! In the middle of the night, someone, likely the hitchhiker, drove everyone back to the Kitagawa residence, unhooked the trailer from the van, and took off.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Kaito yelled as everyone joined him.
"Dude, what happened to your van?" Hotaru asked.
"I don't know," Kaito said, "I don't understand."
Everyone's next course of action was to run into the Kitagawa Residence to see if Mana and Mitsu were in there or if they got kidnapped by the hitchhiker. Fortunately, when they entered the house, they found the twins in the living room with their parents, who just stared at the group of nine as they entered.
"So you all have been had, haven't you?" Yusuke asked.
"Mana, Mitsu, what happened?" Minato asked.
"Well, we were on the road making our way out of Tokyo, right?" Mana asked, explaining the situation, "And that was when I realized that Mitsu and I had left our portable coffee maker at home. So we told the hitchhiker to drive us back here so we can look for it. When we got here we entered the house and left the hitchhiker in charge of the van. Mitsu and I spend the next fifteen or so minutes turning the house upside down while also trying not to wake mom and dad up until we eventually find the coffee maker. But when we went back outside, the trailer was here and the van was gone. And that's the whole story."
"So the hitchhiker stole my van," Kaito asked in disbelief.
"Pretty much, yeah," Mitsu said.
"Well, so much for a fun and interesting road trip," Himari lamented.
"Haru and I called the police a few minutes ago," Yusuke said, "So Kaito should have his van back soon."
"Now everyone, what have we learned from yesterday's events," Haru asked the group of 11 young adults.
"Don't pick up hitchhikers no matter how innocent they look," Kas answered.
"And don't leave a vehicle alone with someone you don't know," Mitsu said.
"Make sure you triple check the list of essentials if you're going to go on vacation," Mana chimed in.
"Don't light wicker chairs on fire," Nariko said.
"Pears are delicious," Hotaru said as he pulled one of his pears out from his pocket and started to eat it.
"I don't know what those last two have to do with anything, but at least you all learned the big lessons," Haru said sweetly.
"Well now that your vacation plans are pretty much over, what are you all going to do now?" Yusuke asked the group.
The young adults took a few seconds to think before.
"Anyone want to hit up Miura Beach?" Minato asked.
"Took the words out of my mouth, babe," Mana said.
"Race you all there!" Himari said as the group of 11 ran out the front door, grabbed their swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen from their luggage in the You-Tow trailer and ran off for Miura Beach.
END