Quoted By:
The Chief, the one in charge of the whole camp, is looking at a magazine. Akiko can’t quite see its cover, but it does seem to be about fashion- or about the struggles of a melancholic supermodel.
Abraham: But Chief! She’s just gonna wreck it anyway like she always does. It’s gonna be like the shoes all over again!
Abraham, also known as ‘Donald Duck’, is a VHS porn collector who makes a living by buying and reselling rare tapes. Akiko had made such a habit of barging into his tent unprompted that he developed a spray with a special liquid, whose label just says ‘in case of Akiko’, to defend himself and his way of life. It has seen widespread use all over the camp.
Chief: Yes; but she has to be seen with something decent every once in a while, and it has been enough time already. Do you have any idea just how often her classmates change their clothes? Their styles?
Takeshi: Chief; buy this one.
‘Big Guy’ Takeshi, whose name already means ‘strong warrior’, is one massive motherfucker who failed as a sentai actor and ended up training dogs. His services are both cheap and good, but his looks and status are often too intimidating so most of his time is just spent looking for prospective clients.
Chief: Hmm. It is -pretty- enough, at least. Yes; I think this would do.
Hiro: Fine let me see just how expe- god dammit, Chief.
And that one is ‘Roronoa Luffy’ Hiro, a man with such a strong grudge against capitalism that he has swore to never buy anything ever again. Other than that there’s nothing really wrong with him; he has his family still awaiting his return. Once, he ended up in jail after begging for hamburgers so nowadays he just picks up coins under automatic washing machines- and gives them to other people.
Hiro: Look, all’s good and dandy, but if we go this way the food money is taking a hit.
Abraham: And we can’t be sure we’ll always have fish. We need that backup plan!
Hiro: Not having those 15.000 yen from the Universal Child Allowance anymore will shake things up, huh…
Besides them are some other nine or ten people at least, all park dwellers that share this dirty sanctuary with Akiko, all mumbling among themselves. The Chief takes a deep breath. Her blinking is slow and heavy. She looks tired; but in a different way.
???: And what about the World Rose Convention?
Far from the light of the bonfire, hidden from the light of the setting sun, the features of the woman’s face emerge from the dark. It’s Shiori “Rosetta”, a talented violinist who makes a living by doing street performances. The lady in the dark often tells Akiko to leave her alone, but has admitted to having very severe attachment issues. She helps from outside.
Shiori: It already happened eighteen years ago. Do not look at me like that for bringing it up.
Chief: Rosetta-san, no one’s looking at you like nothing.
Shiori: We could get evicted a month from now. Plan for that too.
…evicted?
>(To be continued!)
