A Mark That Lasts Forever

Truce | 休戦 section 1

It's a warm, sunny day in Shinjuku. The square out front of the station exit is bustling with a diversity of people. I watch guys trying to pick up girls and girls complimenting each others' outfits while I keep my eyes peeled for a tall, lean guy with a goofy face. It's not long before he emerges from the station exit wearing a black denim jacket over a white hoodie and light blue jeans. He skips toward me, singing my name. I'm smiling uncontrollably.

"We're in Tokyo!" he exclaims as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Look at you blending right in!"

"You do too," I point to his styled wavy black hair.

"Where are you taking me for our date today?" he asks excitedly.

"I thought you wanted to go to The Lockdown."

"Ah, that's right!" He raises his index finger as if he just remembered our conversation from last night.

It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark entrance of The Lockdown when we exit the elevator. I jump at sudden thunder sound effects and screens with animated characters covered in blood while they mutter taunting words. I bump into a completely unfazed Shinjiro as he stops in the middle of the hallway to point and laugh at me. Once we've made it to the door, an attractive girl dressed in a miniskirt police costume greets us with a scowl, asking which one of us committed a crime. Shinjiro plays along, smiling widely and holding his hands out so she can handcuff him. She leads us down a hallway of prison cell-themed tables. We're brought to our own "cell" while the girl explains how to order and shuts the bar door on us.

"This is fun," Shinjiro chirps as he reaches for the digital menu tablet.

"Out of all the places we could have gone, I can't believe this is the one you wanted to visit the most," I say, eyeing the dark, creepy hallway on the other side of the bars.

"This is the place I wanted to go to with you the most," he clarifies with a mischievous grin.

I frown. "Are you trying to torture me?"

"Of course! You're the most entertaining part!" he beams.

As we eat, Shinjiro continuously orders more and more of some of the most unappetizing-looking food I've ever seen. Our pasta has eyes made of boiled eggs, and the hamburger steak has a knife sticking out of it with red sauce made to look like blood. Finally, a server opens our cell to deliver a dish of fairly normal-looking takoyaki balls.

While I'm listening to Shinjiro talk about his university life, I naively devour one ball at a time before my mouth is met with an intense spicy sensation. I throw my head back and cough in agony while Shinjiro guffaws. Eyes watering from the burning on my tongue and throat, I grab my glass of water and down the whole thing. Shinjiro is in pieces.

"You dick!" I attempt to yell between coughs.

He wipes a tear from his eye, recovering from his laughing fit. "I missed you, Makoto."

I grab his water and down it too.

"You can go back home now," I say, my voice strained.

"Aw, don't be shy. You can tell me you missed me too."

Ignoring him, I stuff my mouth with rice to replace the lingering tingling sensation.

"So." Shinjiro changes the subject once we've both calmed down. "Whatever happened to the 'nightmare roommate' you told me about before? I've been dying to hear the rest of that story."

"Ah," I utter after swallowing. "After that, he drank my milk, threw my stuff away, and hid a fake cockroach in my rice. And when I confronted him about it, the asshole slapped me!"