Fates Mistake

Chapter 2: Why is this my life?

TW: This chapter contains mentions of smoking, violence, alcohol, blood and sexual references which may cause some readers discomfort. Please proceed with caution

The next day is a disaster. A girl's hamster has passed away and her frantic mother comes in, desperately trying to find an identical replacement before the girl notices. The only problem is that the hamster was an albino, which is almost impossible to acquire in Japan.

Now, Baji's smoking out the back, I'm making calls to all the near-by pet stores I know and the woman is pacing frantically, muttering under her breath about microwaves and animals not mixing. My head hurts at just the thought of the day getting any worse...And then it does.

I glance up at the door as I hear the bell ring, and a wave of exhaustion flows over me just from seeing the pair of nightmares. "Give me the keys, Kaz!" "No! It's my car, I don't trust you." "Yeah, well, I don't trust your driving! We nearly hit another kid today!" "Driving tires me out!" "We live five minutes from here, dumbass!"

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh, before lifting my head to glower at Seijin and Kazutora. They both wince at my look, but Seijin still makes a beeline for the Staff Only door. She rattles the knob and glances at me innocently. Still glaring, I throw the keys at them and they catch them, flashing me a grateful smile.Kazutora opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off with a 'wait a minute' finger. He frowns, then shrugs, before wandering off to bother the fish in their tanks.

"Hello? Chifuyu Matsuno here? Uh, yes, I- No, just the one U. Yeah, that's it. I'm good thanks, I, um, I'm calling from Peke J's Pet's and Stuff? Yes, I just wanted to make an inquiry about something..."

While I rattle off about details, Seijin comes barging back in, slamming the door behind her and rushing over to where I'm standing at the counter. I step back to give them access to the drawer, where they claim a lighter, before rushing out the back again. I listen intently to the woman on the other end, determined to help solve this hamster fiasco.

When she gives me the news that they do indeed have what I'm looking for, I feel like jumping up and down, except I'm too tired. Baji kept me up half the night and the other half I spent thinking about my dream. It was weird for me to get so hung up on something so simple, but I can't stop replaying the scene in my head: the world tilting as Baji drove the knife into his stomach, his warm blood seeping through my clothes- I shake my head and bring myself back to the task at hand.

Beaming, I nod and copy down the information onto a piece of paper. I thank the woman on the other end, before hanging up. Ignoring Seijin stalking back in, a storm cloud over her head, I walk over to the tired looking lady, who couldn't be older than forty. She smiles as I give her the information for the hamster and she thanks me.
I turn around, as she walks out, and throw a questioning look at Seijin, who's trying to sneak a cigarette beneath the counter. "Hey! You know the rules. If you want to do that shit, take it out the back with Baji." Seijin sticks their tongue out and crushes the cigarette on the note pad.

"I can't deal with your boyfriend talking about you. It's nauseating." I blush furiously and Seijin smirks. "Did Kaz here tell you his "big news"? Her over exaggerated finger-quotations remind me so much of Baji, which makes me even redder. "N-No, he didn't. I was on the phone."

Seijin flashes their pearly white teeth at their roommate, egging him on. "Tell him." Kazutora rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. "It's not a big deal, I just have a date tonight." "With another dead-beat hippie chick." "This one's dif-" "Different, yeah, yeah. Just don't come crying to me when you end up shit faced and alone in some alley way."

"Yeah, try keeping your dick in your pants at least until the menu arrives this time," I say, jumping in on the jib. Kazutora looks between us furiously, beet red, before stomping out the door. Seijin chuckles after him. "So sensitive." She fiddles with my keys, telling me she has something else on her mind. "Sei?" "Hm?"

I tilt my head to gaze at them. "What's up?" They sigh and toss the keys across the counter, a bored look settling across their features. "It's no-" "Nothing?" I huff a laugh and stare right at her. "Sei, I've known you for, what, fifteen, sixteen years now? I know when somethings bothering you. C'mon, spill." They hesitate and I say a bit softer, "You can tell me anything, you know that, right?"

They give me a crooked smile. "I know, it's just that...I'm thinking of trying the pregnancy thing." I blink, surprised and take a small step back. I know she sees it, because she grimaces at my feet, but she doesn't say anything and I can't move back.

"But how are you-" "IVF. I know I said I was thinking about it a while ago, but now I'm looking into it more. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do with Kaz around, though. And I can't afford to get my own place, I've gotten sacked twice in three months." She shrugs, as if it's no big deal. "You'd think schools wouldn't be so picky with teachers."

Seijin is one of the most talented dancers I've seen and has wanted to be a dance teacher longer than I've known her, but she never finished school, so she mostly dances at strip joints and picks up the occasional private function. "You're still quite young, are you sure?" They grimace at me, almost judgmentally.

"You don't think I can handle it?" I shake my head, regretfully. "I never said-" "It's just that, I mean, I'm almost thirty, so I thought if I want to settle down, I should start thinking about it now." I purse my lips, an apology sitting on my tongue, but she just shrugs again and I sense a conversation redirection, so I swallow the words. "Have you seen Hina lately?" "Yeah, just yesterday."

I think back to Hina's sudden mood change and abrupt departure, surprised I hadn't thought anything of it until now. "Why, is she ok?" Seijin ignores my question and tilts their head, assessing me. I hate it when they do that. I feel like they can see straight through everything I do and say. "Hmm, interesting." I'm about to ask what's interesting when she slams her hands on the counter top, tossing the lighter back in the drawer.

Just then, Baji strolls in, and flashes a maniacal grin at Seijin. "Hey, Awasaki. You left before I could finish my story." Seijin doesn't move, just raises an eyebrow at him as he slings his arm around my shoulder. "So, he was halfway through the dishes, when I crawled over-" "Alright, that's it, I'm done."

Seijin plucks Kazutoras car keys off of the counter and swings them around her finger and gestures towards the door with them. "I gotta go, I have an appointment." "Finally realized you were going mad?" Without skipping a beat, Seijin lashes back. "I realized a long time ago, ponytail. I'm just going to ask if dark haired freaks can catch STDs from furries." "Fuck another animatronic?" "Oh, wow, never heard that one before." Baji smiles bashfully and Seijin returns it. "See ya, sluts." "Drive safe!" "Run into a pole." Ah, yes, ladies and gentlemen, my boyfriend.

I turn back to Baji and cross my arms. Baji grins at me. "Oh, come on, Chi, don't look at me like that, I'm just kidding. And besides, she's worse than I am." I shake my head. "It's not that, it's just...Why must you tell everyone about our sex life?"

Baji blinks at me, before letting out a loud, abrupt laugh. "I'm serious!" Baji makes his way over to the counter to place his nearly empty cigarette pack in the drawer. "Seijin Awasaki is not the whole world, she's a close friend who I've been pissing off for twelve years. This is just another way to spite them." "And me." Baji gives me a baffled smirk. "No?"

I cross my arms and my boyfriend flashes a crooked grin at me. "Come on, babe. If it bothers you that much, I'll stop." He strolls over and tries to take my face between his hands but I pull away. "But you won't, will you? You'll continue to "spite Seijin", then tell me you'll stop. And then the cycle continues." Baji looks crestfallen. "Chifuyu, I-" "Save it. I just had to deal with that whole hamster bullshit and my head is pounding. I need a drink, ASAP. You can close up, I'll see you at home."

I grab the car keys, knowing full well Baji will ride his bike home. Or catch the train, I really don't care. "Can you grab some more cigarettes for me, please?" "Get them yourself." I almost feel bad for the ice in my voice. Almost.