Chapter 62: Recalling the Past, Cherishing the Present.
The uncle was completely baffled at this point. He hadn't understood a single word of what Tatsuro had said and urged with some impatience, "Don't just stand there, young man. Hurry up and take the money. Such a large dog will scare away other customers."
"Sigh, forget it. I'm bored stiff today anyway."
Tatsuro took out his phone from his pocket, asked a fearless passerby for the address, and then skillfully dialed the police.
If it were anywhere else, Tatsuro might have just let his dog bite him. It was a stroke of luck for this "dog uncle" that there were many people around; otherwise, he would have definitely made him experience a "bone-breaking massage."
Seeing Tatsuro about to call the police, the stall owner panicked and yelled in a low voice, "Stop, stop! Consider those five portions of takoyaki on the house, and I'll return your ten thousand yen right now, young man!"
Are you kidding me? If he ran, the stall couldn't run with him. This stall is expensive!
"Oh, really? I'm not forcing you, you know." Tatsuro's right hand, which was dialing, paused, and he faced the stall owner.
"Not at all, not at all! I'm giving them to you willingly, young man, hehehe." The uncle chuckled, put the five thousand yen back into his pocket, and took out the ten thousand yen bill Tatsuro had given him earlier, handing it over.
Tatsuro lowered his head towards Shura. After confirming it was correct, he took the ten thousand yen, put it in his pocket, and left happily with the five portions of takoyaki.
He said, "Thanks, Uncle. You're a really nice guy."
Uncle: "..."
A world of blackness, the blaring horns a constant clamor in his ears. Only the leash in his hand guided him slowly forward. Though he didn't know where he was going, nor the scenery along the way, he knew one thing: under Shura's guidance, he could always find his way home.
He didn't know where they were headed. The takoyaki in his left hand remained unopened. The blaring of horns gradually diminished until there were none. The stone path underfoot also turned into "rustling" grassland.
Tatsuro asked in confusion, "Where are we?"
"Woof woof woof! (Grassland, eat food!)"
"Hmm, you're right. We've walked for so long and haven't found a suitable place to eat."
Tatsuro released the leash in his right hand and sat down on the grass, taking off his sunglasses and placing them aside. He put the takoyaki from his left hand in front of him and opened one portion for Shura.
Shura, seeing the long-awaited food before it, began to wolf it down.
Tatsuro unhurriedly opened the other portions of takoyaki until only the last one remained in his hand; the other four portions were placed in front of Shura.
He picked up a skewer, speared a takoyaki ball, and began to eat, his mind drifting between past and future. He rarely did this, as indulging in impractical dreams would upset him.
But today was a day off, so it didn't matter. Life was but a fleeting dream; he'd forget it by tomorrow anyway.
He didn't know how much time passed before he finally finished one portion of takoyaki. Feeling the cool breeze in the air, he knew it was nearing evening. He patted Shura beside him and asked, "Where else do you want to go play?"
"Woof woof. (Let's go home.)"
"Home, huh... Then let's go."
Tatsuro picked up his sunglasses, slowly got up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and collected the five plastic boxes from the ground. With Shura leading, he threw them into a nearby trash can.
After tidying everything up, he headed towards home.
An hour later.
Tatsuro rode Shura back to Jujutsu High. As they passed the training grounds, he smelled the aroma of barbecue.
Just as he was wondering who was barbecuing, Shura, beneath him, stopped. Familiar voices called out from all around.
Panda: "Tatsuro, you're finally back! We've been waiting for you for ages. Let's eat barbecue together!"
Okkotsu Yuta: "Yeah, Gojo-sensei said your eyes can't see and you need a few days to recover. We'll take care of your daily needs these few days."
Zenin Maki: "What are you standing there for? Aren't you going to show some appreciation?"
Inumaki Toge: "Bonito flakes, tuna. (The author also doesn't understand what he's saying.)"
Kinji Hakari: "Hahaha, hurry up and try my cooking! Although I can't cook proper dishes and I'm not good at comforting people, I think my barbecue is decent."
Kirara Hoshi: "You guys made him cry with your touching words!"
Tears were streaming from Tatsuro's eyes at that moment. Hidden memories of the original owner's past surfaced in his mind. The neighbors who had seen his parents off were like this too; they were his parents' friends, not his. He used to visit their homes often as a child, but too much time had passed, and he hadn't gone much later, so he was forgotten. It was normal to be sad when friends passed away. He now somewhat regretted thinking about them that way back then and knew he had been too harsh and cold-hearted.
As these memories fully resurfaced, perhaps the him of now and the him of before (referring to the original owner of the body) were no different; they both existed within each other.
"When I have time... I should go back and apologize..."
Thinking this, Tatsuro slowly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. He said, "It's nothing, I just remembered some things. Let's go eat meat."
"Yo, everyone's here? Then let's eat together! Anyone want a drink?"
Gojo Satoru's voice drifted over. Everyone turned to look. He was carrying a case of beer.
"Satoru, you brat! I thought you came over specially to call me for something good. Turns out it was to make me carry beer and drinks?"
Principal Yaga was carrying a case of beer and drinks, complaining incessantly, his aura murderous, as if he would slaughter Gojo Satoru the moment he put down the heavy load.
"Don't say that. Isn't there barbecue? Principal, just consider tomorrow a day off. Tonight, we don't go home until we're drunk," Gojo Satoru said calmly, holding up the beer case with one hand.
"Me, Gojo-sensei, I want to drink!" Kinji Hakari raised his hand and shouted.
"I'll have a soft drink," Kirara Hoshi said.
Feeling everyone's enthusiasm, Tatsuro, for the first time ever, asked Gojo Satoru for a bottle of beer. It wasn't to drown his sorrows; the atmosphere was just right, and he felt it would be a bit off if he didn't drink.
Everyone sat on the training grounds. Kinji Hakari was chugging beer and grilling meat on the side, shouting from time to time, "This is youth!"
Tatsuro currently had a piece of barbecue in his mouth, four beer bottles placed beside him. His face was flushed, his eyes somewhat glazed over, listening to everyone recount their past stories.
Gojo Satoru had completely let loose and was currently doing one-handed Thomas flairs on the side. His level of skill was such that even professionals would have to kneel and beg him for lessons.
Okkotsu Yuta couldn't hold his liquor well. After being forced by Tatsuro to drink a bottle of beer, he was now lying on the ground, fast asleep.
Inumaki Toge sat quietly to the side, drinking a soft drink. No one dared to force alcohol on him; after all, if he started talking nonsense, everyone except Gojo Satoru, Okkotsu Yuta, and Principal Yaga would be down for the count.
Inumaki Toge felt a little disappointed that no one was trying to make him drink.
Panda was the storyteller, telling jokes he thought were quite amusing.
Zenin Maki, hiccuping from the alcohol, also complained about past events, among them the incident when Tatsuro first arrived and clung to her leg.
As for Tatsuro himself, he had already drunk himself into a blackout, becoming an unfeeling alcohol-pouring machine. He started to find drinking from a glass too small and uninteresting and began drinking straight from the bottle.
Principal Yaga hadn't drunk much. He remarked calmly, "Youth is good. It makes me reminisce about the old days a bit."