Hello, I'm writing a story called "299,441 Yen" and I will be posting this story on RoyalRoadl.com, I will be updating the story every week if possible, here is the link http://royalroadl.com/fiction/14136/299-441-yen Synopsis: What if someone that you meet in your dreams ask you to wake up as if nothing had happened? What if the same person requests you to work as Novelist for 299,441 Yen a month but with one condition: "You will work for me only during your dreams", but why would the payment be in Yen if the currency of Josh's Country is dollar? Wait, doesn't that mean that the Job is at Japan? Prologue Chapter 1 – Root Chapter 2 – Signals Chapter 3 – The Client Chapter 4 – The Third Wheel Chapter 5 – The English Teacher Chapter 6 – The Confusion Chapter 7 – The delayed story Chapter 8 – Destiny goes in a straight line Chapter 9 – The gatekeeper
Prologue Monday night, the starting point of a new week, funny but accurate at the same time, funny because there was nothing new on a pretty common Monday, check the pending work from last week, complete the weekly quest on the game before reset on Tuesday, upload new content on the fiction page, same dinner as last Monday, watch the latest episodes of anime and realize that the ending seasons are as lame as always, but yea, it was accurate as well because it was the beginning of a new week That night it fell normal until I woke up and found myself buying a house, “This is a dream” I realized because I remember trying to buy a house inside the game before going to sleep but then I woke up and my room was not my real room, it had Japanese curtains and on the other side a Japanese lady who was surprised to see me , she started to speak but I didn’t know what she was saying because obviously she was speaking Japanese and I had no idea what she was saying so I moved back to my room and noticed something on the board inside my room 299,441 Yen The phone rang and on the other side a person called me, he asked me to come to Akita for the Namahage Festival that occurs at the Shinzan Shrine, I realized that I didn’t have my car because I was actually in Japan but I was able to reach my destination thanks to the technology of my smartphone and then someone called the door at my room, my mom was trying to wake me up from the dream but before I woke up completely I heard the voice of the person who called me in my dreams “Go live your daily routine, we will meet here tomorrow” What was the meaning of all of this? Maybe something that I ate last night was rotten and made me have nightmares, even though it felt so real, there is no way I will have the same dream today, that’s what I thought
Chapter 1 – Root 4:45 am, I was getting my car out of the garage getting ready to leave for work, it was really hard to wake me up that day, the weight of my body felt heavier than usual, I spent more time on the shower trying to wake up completely but I kept listening to those words “Go live your daily routine, we will meet here tomorrow” I had yet to repeat a dream in my life, but having dreams was very common for me, I was used to tell my workmates about my dreams because it happened not long ago that one of my dreams became true, it took around six months to become a reality But yes, thinking about this dream was a different story, meanwhile while I was driving to my workplace I stared at the sunrise, I wondered myself how would it feel to see the sunrise in another country, I’m not a person who travel at all and I barely went outside the country when I was younger, but this was a different feeling, traveling to the countries around you will never compare to travel to Japan but wait, I was not supposed to travel to Japan at all because I meet that man in my dream and how the hell did I travel there in just one night? Normally it will take nineteen hours to reach Japan if I decide to go there in one go, well, if is a dream then that would explain everything because everything could happen inside a dream Yea, I don’t consider myself a novelist to begin with, why would they hire me to work as novelist and how did they find that I was an amateur writer? Ah, I remember now, I posted a story on a website, maybe someone read It there and maybe he liked it but that would make sense and it won’t make sense at the same time because after making my research about people making a living just by being writers I found that the chances were really low so if someone hired me to be a novelist then it would mean that I was like a person who just won lotto, being hired when there are better stories than mine, it was like a chance in a million But I should not give too much thought to it, I have to focus on work today, I hate when this happen on busy days “Good Morning Josh” “Good Morning David” David is my co-worked on the work force management team, he just says Good Morning as habit because he doesn’t even remove his headsets when he salutes, is like if he notices the shadow of someone behind him and say Good Morning by default, like if he had a sensor on his back Josh finished his daily reports and then he decided to go for coffee, David was taking a smoke break early in the morning “You will get sick if you smoke early in the mornings” “You haven’t gotten punched before your coffee, have you?” Yea, David was not a very sociable person and he was right, I should mind my own business if I want to keep my life into my comfort zone Josh went back to his station and started browsing his twitter account which had around 500 followers, most of them Japanese bots “You still dreaming of going to Japan?” said David who came back, he stinks to cigarette Josh ignored him and David put on his headsets and started to look like he was playing drums and started making huge noise “Can you lower the volume please?” The boss on the other side of the station was the only person who David could not go against, Josh felt that Karma was haunting David for being a jerk “Josh can you come please?” It was a bad signal to have the boss call me to her office “Josh, it looks like you are making the same mistake on this report, I know that you run this report by memory but you need to pay more attention” Josh was facing his boss and David was behind her making fun of Josh who was being scolded by the boss “Are you paying attention Josh?” “Yes Ms. Walker” Ms. Walker was a really beautiful woman on her 30s, I don’t get why she was not married yet, that ponytail and her glasses made the best mix on a girl with long legs, Josh was not able to look at her because he always gets turned on, well, I would get turned on if she like to give fan service as she usually does, leaving her blouse wide open so everyone can see her bra and crossing her legs to show those black stockings “Look, I cannot tell my clients that the reports are wrong, otherwise we will lose credibility, is something bothering you?” “No ma’am” “Is your family ok?” I hate when she starts asking me personal questions “Yes, they are fine” “Did you fight with your girlfriend” Yea, I definitely hate when she asks the same questions “No ma’am” “Then if you don’t have any personal problems, STOP MESSING UP AND GET BACK TO WORK!!!!” And here is where the explanation of why she is not married comes, she might be sexy and all but she has short wick, meaning that she can lose control of herself in one second, people usually calls that bipolarity but that is just an excuse for the people who don’t really know what they want but in Josh case was different, Josh work was lacking focus “Didn’t I tell you? Smart people smoke and get drunk, that’s why you are still dumb” Josh tried to ignore David comment “Yea, only a dumbass like you would dream about Japan, if you can’t even have the discipline to learn how to run a report that you do every freaking day, you are really a retard” Josh started to write as he used to when he felt under pressure “Writing your hate thoughts on your personal diary? Are not they for girls? Don’t tell me that you are in the closet waiting for the right moment to go outside?” “SHUT UP DAVID, LET JOSH DO HIS WORK” Ms. Walker saved Josh who was doing exactly what David said, he was writing on his book but it was not exactly what David was saying, the truth was that Josh wanted to get out of his mind the dream that he had, maybe that will help him to forget about it and focus on work Tuesday passed and Josh went back to his home, even when the traffic was heavy he found peace after a hard day at work, it was like everything went wrong, he was late for lunch so every place at the cafeteria was taken so he had to eat lunch at his station, he dropped his afternoon coffee, the machine took his money when he tried to get a second coffee, yea, it was a very bad day but that didn’t stop him for getting dinner that night, a couple of beers would make the trick and make him forget about today “I thought you were not coming today” Josh opened his eyes and he was inside a temple, it looked really scary, there was a hand made of bones alone which was writing on a notebook “Come, follow me please” “Sorry, but what was that?” “The Ouija?” Oh yea, if you look at it, it makes sense…. Josh was inside the dream again “Take a sit” “I’m sorry but can you turn on the light? I can barely see your face” “You don’t need to see my face, ok let’s talk about business” The person handed a cup of tea to Josh who was acting normal “That should help you with your dinner” Ah I see, this is a dream, I guess the beers are kicking in “So, as I said yesterday, we want you to work for us so please fill this form, that way we can send the payment at the end of the month, your payment will be 299,441 yens, the stories that write must be done during your dreams otherwise they won’t work, we will provide you with a notebook” “Wait, why do I have to write only during my dreams?” “That’s the only way where we have meet” “Why can’t I write when I’m awake?” “The notebook that we are giving you will stay here so you have to come here to write in it” I keep forgetting this is a dream “Ok, I guess” “Is time for you to go back, I would recommend you to sleep more as you will have to spend time writing here” “Yeah Yeah…” Josh was standing up to get ready to leave when he hit his head with the ceiling of the temple which made him wake up and he realized that he hit his head with the floor, it was the first time in ages that Josh fell from his bed Jos was silent during the breakfast and sometimes he started to smile like saying “it must be a joke”, he was driving and he kept saying “is not possible”, it was Wednesday and Josh life was about to change
Chapter 2 – Signals Ms. Walker noticed how Josh looked happier than usual when he got to the office “Did something good happen Josh?” “You won’t believe it if I tell you” “Is a rare sight to see you smiling” “Yeah, I know but is so silly that is incredible” “Come to my office so you can share that happiness of you later today” That moment never came because Josh had several stuffs to do that day, he even forgot how happy he was at the beginning of the day, he went home and felt like a rock, and then he started dreaming again but he had a different dream this time Josh was running with a katana on his hand, it was almost dawn, it was maybe 3am and the streets were filled with fog, and then, Josh heard people coming for him and he started to run, if he had a pen he could have started writing the exciting story of a hero who ran from his enemies like he was doing at that time but it was a different dream, in fact he had forgotten about the dream where he is novelist The dream turned into a pursuit that lead him to another country where a gang was waiting for him and then one of the people in the crowd said “You done it, you have to deal with that Burden yourself” Josh then woke up and felt disappointed because this dream was different and he was not able to continue dreaming about being novelist, his happiness from previous day went poof in just one night, he thought that it was mere coincidence, but he was not going to waste the chance of writing that dream that he just had and when he got to work he started to write hoping to have a chance to write the story on the notebook that the guy lent him on the dream from Japan It was 11am and Josh started to feel sleepy, he has been sleeping properly but the fact that he has been moving during his dreams are making him feel tired, he planned to sleep a bit during lunch break, he finished his lunch and then placed his headsets on and started to relax until he fell asleep “Yo! I just wanted to know if you could come tonight?” “huh?” Josh was a Cosmo station, north of the Namahage Museum at Oga city in the Akita Prefecture, the smell of the place felt like combustible, it was a station so it made sense “Sure” Josh woke up and he was at his office and his desk had droll because he was really tired “You just woke up on time dude, the boss is on the parking” It was 01:20pm and David didn’t wake up Josh so this could have turned into something really bad, Josh has been sleeping more often than he used to, I guess this is a signal of tiredness, it seems that Josh is not resting enough even though the time of his sleep has increased, well, if you travel to Japan during your dreams it must take a lot of effort “Josh, I’ll need you to stay tonight” said Ms. Walker Staying late at work was something that Josh was used to, even when staying late meant the hell for him because he really put effort on his daily activities to leave at time, having less time for himself always stresses him out, as long as he doesn’t fall asleep while driving he should be ok 10pm and he is going home now, he won’t be able to play his game at this time because is way too late, he has to get early next day to come for work, he finally reached his home and he fell as rock on his bed, finally he gets to rest “Dude, you are late” Josh woke up at Namahage shrine, a girl was leaving the office and Josh boss came and he finally was able to see his face, it you can call that a face that’s it His boss was wearing a mask, it was really a creepy mask “What took you so long?” “It was a long day at work” “Ok, is not like you have a schedule on this side” The smell of the place was like Sulphur and Josh felt uncomfortable and left the room “Take this, it will help you feel better” The person with the mask gave Josh a cup of Sake, Josh drank it and he started to feel better “I don’t want to put too much pressure on you but do you have any advance on the story that you will write?” “Yeah, but I don’t know where to start because I don’t know the type of story that you want” “It doesn’t matter as long as you start writing” “I was planning on making the story about how the O Sole Mio music was created, but then I came with another idea about re-creating stories of the folklore of my country in a Japanese version, but what I really want to avoid is to make Harem, I had enough of it already” “The reason that I’m asking is because we have a client that is looking forward to your work” “Really?” Josh could not believe it because as he said before, he didn’t know he was that famous just by writing one story, so having someone looking forward to his work was something shocking “This area, Namahage is very famous for its festival during February, but this place becomes a dead place after that so having some attraction beside that event will help us to promote Namahage Tourism” That was a lie…. Josh woke up again and another day started for him, it was like a vicious circle that never ended, his life was being drained for not being able to sleep properly I may consider either living on this side or the other side but I can’t live in both sides at the same time, this is going to kill me, it is already a hell to live my daily life, I like the supernatural feel of traveling to japan during my dreams but I won’t believe until I see a real signal that those dreams are not fake Josh was really expecting that last day of the month to see the final signal that he was waiting, there was only one proof that will make him believe that this was not a normal dream, finally the day came and he went to the ATM to check his account, and he finally realized that this was not a dream, $2,676.10 appeared on Josh account and he went in shock, he pulled out his phone to make the conversion to Yen and realized that the amount matches with the 299,441 yen that he was supposed to get by working as novelist But wait, something is wrong here, how come he got paid even if he has yet to complete a novel for the Namahage guy? Josh had to come with an idea to start writing next time that he travels to Japan, meaning that he need to start writing on his next dream The Namahage dude was coming to the shrine, it was the first time that he was not wearing a mask and noticed that Josh was already there, he got used to the Sulphur smell after coming during a month to the Shrine, for some reason the look of Josh was different on this side than on his real life, he didn’t look tired at all “Yo! You came early today” “Hello, hey, this is the first time that I see your face” “I guess I should tell you my name now” The guy looked like a person on his 25s, he was younger than Josh “My name is Keita, my mom picked that name for me, she said that I’m meant to be a blessing for others” “Those $2,676.10 really looked like a blessing to me, so your mother was right, look, here is the draft of what I was thinking for my first work” Keita started to read the draft and he had a serious face “What do you think?” “I’ll show this to my client, keep writing, don’t worry about the feedback yet, you can change the story whenever you want”
Chapter 3 – The Client My name is Megumi, I’m 23 years old, I’m from Akita, I’m currently studying at the North Asia University, School of law to be specific, is not like I had any other options living this far from the capital, I have been trying to move from Akita since I was in school but since I failed to assist to the Namahage festival when I was kid my parents decided that I will live with them until I die It was not my fault that I could not go, it just happened that I was sick on that day, also is not my problem that I have school activities the year after, and is not my problem that I missed every year after…. The truth is that Megumi was really scared of the people who dressed like demons during the festival, that is the main reason of the festival though, she just didn’t understand the reason why her parent wanted to scare her that much when she was kid, she was a good girl so her parent should not worry about her going the wrong path when she grow Everything would just be alright if I could just get some company, all my friend left this prefecture since there is like nothing to do here, we are surrounded my nature, I can’t deny that is pretty but there is no point if you are alone “You have 20th years already, you should ask your parent to give you your independence” “Are you planning to be their child even if you reach your 30s” The echoes of my friends leaving me behind keep taunting me, and of course, this is my judgement for avoiding the Namahage festival, if I knew that this would have happened I could have gone Megumi was lost in thought during her English class, she was looking through the windows, flying her mind to Tokyo, she heard so many stories about how the capital is filled with people as a never sleep city “Megumi” It would be really nice to have so many friends around you, people that make you feel alive “Megumi……” Megumi then turned her eyes to the notebook that was on her desk and a hand was above the book “Megumi, I have been calling you all this time, you cannot go wander in your world while we are in class, I have told you that so many times” “Sorry….” “You have even forgotten my name, I don’t blame you, I could not find the equivalent of my name in Japanese so I forgive you” The teacher then moved back to the board as the bell rang “That’s everything for today class” This English teacher likes to bully me all the time during class, I should just report him Megumi took her book and went straight home, her boring life was getting on her nerves “Megumi, are you going to skip dinner again?” “I’m not in the mood…. Leave me alone!!!!” Megumi slammed the door and didn’t opened during that night “Dad, we should consider let her go to Tokyo” “Look, she doesn’t have the protection of the goddess on her because she keeps running from the festival, she is not scared enough to understand how scary life can be” “but if she keeps skipping dinner her health will be at risk” “She has to learn to fear death if she wants to grow up” On her room Megumi was watching the pictures on her phone, pictures of her friends who lived at Tokyo, the couples that she meets during school were getting married, the only one stuck was her at Akita We are on 2017 and my parents still believe in demons, I don’t think they understand how life is now She fell asleep imagining her life with her friends “Megumi” “Megumi” “Megumi-San” Megumi got caught again by her English teacher “Are you sure that you are not in love with someone?” Her teacher was making fun of her because she was really lost in thought, like someone who is in love “What do you know about love? are you even married? I don’t think you even have a girlfriend” The teacher closed his book “I’m sorry Megumi, I didn’t mean to offend you” Megumi had small tears on her eyes, that’s what made the teacher apologize, she then cleaned her eyes while the teacher gave his back to her I have decided, I will leave this stupid prefecture even if my parents don’t want to Megumi had a friend who lived at Sendai, Ayase, a girl of 24 years old, good looking girl who worked at Sendai station was contacting Megumi in order to run her plan “It must be hard to deal with that teacher” “The English teacher is only the pick of the iceberg, I don’t have a social life here, I really need to meet people, otherwise I will never meet love” “Are you sure you want to do this to your parents?” “They know that sooner or later I have to leave the house” “This is quite impressive Josh” “Sorry I took a lot of time to come with the idea” “I didn’t think you could write a novel of this genre after what I read on your last work” “My first work was a gamble, I’m not a fan of Harem stories myself, I like drama more” “Do you think we can get updates more often from now on?” “After seeing the payment you made, of course, I just could not believe it at first but now I’m a believer” “I will tell my parents that I will be staying late at the university and after the fourth day, I will head your way” “You should just tell them where are you going so they don’t get worried” “If I tell them they will stop me” Megumi ran her plan, she started to arrive late at her home, her parents started to get worried, she told them that she started to hanging up with some mates, that way they could start thinking that she made friends and her life was going to change now, she accepted her fate and decided to start a social life But that was just a façade The day arrived, Megumi decided to go to Sendai, that day she took off her home like usual and when she was at the corner of her home she said goodbye to her parents, it took only 3hours of train to reach Sendai, Ayase received Megumi with a big hug “Your parents will be very scared when they find out where you are” “That’s what they get for not letting me go to Tokyo” Ayase lived at Koeji, Taihaku Ward which is just past the Hirose River, Megumi was so excited to be in a city with so many buildings, compared to Akita, Sendai was a huge metropolis on Megumi eyes “I guess the best part of all of this is that I don’t get to deal with that English teacher anymore” Ayase opened the freezer and Megumi eyes started to sparkle “This must be fate!!!” “Tonight, we will have a girl’s night baby!!” Ayase pulled out Sapporo beers from the freezer and they started to drink, it was the first time for Megumi who got drunk really quick, but she was enjoying it, the freedom she always wanted, she finally embraced it
Chapter 4 – The Third Wheel Megumi woke up in the middle of the room while Ayase was taking a shower, she thought that was early in the morning but surprise, it was 4pm of the next day “Jesus Christ! Look how late it is!!!!” Ayase came out of the bath and said “Good Morning Megumi” “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier” “You slept like a rock, I don’t know how didn’t you wake up when my boyfriend was here” Megumi turned beet red and lost control “Wait, are you telling me that someone saw me sleeping in the middle of your apartment?” “Yes” Megumi looked like she lost her reason to live “Don’t worry, I covered you and he didn’t see anything at all” Megumi uncovered her face “He was too busy with me, that he didn’t pay attention to your dead body, good thing is that you don’t snore at all” “oh my god, I can’t believe what you are telling me” “We are going for dinner in a bit so I’ll come late tonight, just make sure that you turn the lights off so he doesn’t see you when we come back” “Ok” That night Megumi was watching tv, she ordered pizza for dinner and was living the dream, she always wanted that freedom, having someone telling her what to do and what not to do got her really tired…. The time passed and it was eleven pm, Ayase said that she was coming late and she was being serious. Megumi decided to sleep and turned off the lights. “We cannot do it here” Megumi was able to listen someone at the door, she was on her futon but she was not sleep yet “hmmmm----mmmm” “Stop it, the neighborhood will listen to us” “I told you that we should to a love hotel” “I’m not that type of girl, look, I have to go” “I’ll see you tomorrow” They kissed and the door opened, Ayase had an alcohol and tobacco smell on her clothes, she entered the room and didn’t take her clothes off and fell next to Megumi “Hi there” “Oh Megumi, hello, nice to see you, good night” Ayase fell asleep in front of Megumi who covered Ayase with a blanket, this was the first time that Megumi saw someone come drunk at home that late at night, she started to feel that she was not ready for that level of freedom yet. The next day was the same, Ayase life was something that Megumi didn’t know about it, that doesn’t mean that Ayase was a prostitute or anything but Megumi started to feel curious about her boyfriend and one day she decided to ask her “Ayase” She was washing the dishes “What’s sup Megumi?” “How long have you been dating your boyfriend?” “If I remember correctly, I believe like six months now” “how did you meet him?” Megumi started to help Ayase “He was an English teacher that I meet at the university” Megumi then remembered her English teacher at Akita and started to be curious “No Megumi, is not your English teacher” said Ayase “The one that you described had black hair and my boyfriend has blonde hair” They finished washing the dishes and head back to the futatsu “How is he?” “He is kind, he is very popular in the University, we try to keep our relationship hidden because if they find out we are dating we will have problem and he might lose his job” Megumi face looked like if she wanted to try meeting more people because she has been shut in that room since she came to Sendai trying to avoid people finding out that she escaped from her parents at Akita. “I would invite you to come with us but you may feel uncomfortable because you would be a third wheel” Ayase was trying to avoid inviting Megumi on purpose because the type of life that Ayase have means staying everyday out at night with his boyfriend, she had to spend her time after work just for that boyfriend of hers. “You can always ask him if he could introduce some of his friend to me” “Do you think you are ready for that type of relation? How is your English?” “I can’t say that I can’t understand, my last teacher was good even though he always bullied me” “Can you keep conversations at all?” “Not really but it would be nice to try since I want to practice, also I heard that the majority of people at Tokyo speak English” Ayase then asked Greg if he could invite one of his friends so she could introduce Megumi to him and planned to go out that night, Megumi was really nervous because it was her first date and to make it worse it was a blind date, she will have to deal with the person that Greg brings doesn’t matter if she likes him or if he hates her. The hour arrived and Greg meet Ayase, and since it was the first time that Greg saw Megumi, Ayase started the introductions “Megumi, this is Greg, my Boyfriend” “Nice to meet you Megumi” “Nice to meet you Greg” “Ayase told me to bring a friend of mine so I brought Alex” “Hello, my name is Alex, nice to meet you” “Nice to meet you Alex” Alex was not a bad looking guy, in fact if you compare Greg and Alex, Alex seemed manlier than Greg, Megumi could not contain her heart beating fast. “Let’s go inside and let’s drink something” That was not a bad idea after all, until the first round passed that’s it, Megumi was drunk after her first glass of beer, Alex arm was around Megumi who started to enjoy Alex company, Ayase was surprised that they became friend really quick, no wonder people say that you get to know each other better if you share drinks. It was getting late and the four of them were really drunk, they asked for the bill and it looked like they forgot their money so Greg made a call. “Let me handle” He took his phone and made a call, the other three were too drunk to notice that they were in problems. Greg came back and Ayase asked “Who were you calling? Don’t tell me you are cheating on me” “I would never do that Ayase” Meanwhile in a corner Megumi was being kissed by Alex who was not wasting time with Megumi. “They are going quite fast for their first date” And then the person who Greg called came on a car “You are a lifesaver dude” “…..” “I should change Greg and make you my boyfriend instead” said Ayase “So, you are not ok with me cheating but you cheat in front of me huh?” “I’m joking darling” The person who came paid the bill and then headed back to the car, Ayase and Greg were inside the car when the person entered the car and then remembered “Oh crap, I forgot we are not alone tonight, wait a second dude” Greg went outside and brought Alex and Megumi, meanwhile Ayase moved to the sit next to the driver “Hello sweetheart” “…..” Greg came and noticed that Ayase moved “I had to move because the four of us won’t fit on the back sit” Megumi and Alex kept kissing inside the car. “Let’s head to Ayase apartment” “Ok” Megumi was sleep by the time that they reached Ayase apartment, Ayase took off the car and Greg and Alex went outside for a smoke leaving Megumi on Ayase hands, and then the driver took off and helped Ayase and took Megumi on his arms, like if Megumi was a princess “I’m sorry, if her first night with us” The driver entered the apartment and placed Megumi on the bed and when he was about to leave Ayase grabbed his arm and kissed him “You looked so manly with Megumi on your arm” She then placed her right leg between the driver legs “Will you do the same to me if I fall sleep next time?” And then Greg called out the driver from outside “Josh, we have to leave” Josh looked at Ayase and told her “Good Night Ayase” “Good night sweetie pie”
Chapter 5 – The English Teacher Another day, another dollar, which side of the story are we going to dig in this time? Josh was up really early in the morning even on weekends, the sound of his fingers on the keyboard was really getting annoying and then Greg told him “Dude, close the door if you plan on writing so early” Josh moved to the door and slammed it “I guess he is mad” said Greg who decided to go for a drink to the kitchen and he stumbled on something in the ground, it was Alex, he looked at him and got his milk and moved back to his bed. Alex, Greg and Josh were English teachers at Sendai, however Josh had partial job as Teacher at North Asia University at Akita, the Jet program evaluated him better than Alex and Greg so they decided to place him at Akita. It was noon and Greg finally woke up and Josh was coming from running errands “So, what are we going to have today for lunch?” “I’m not your mother” “Dude, you know we appreciate you but with that attitude you will never get a girlfriend” “Our time here is short and I really want to stay longer, once I get my residence here I will worry about getting a girlfriend” Josh was a workforce management at his previous company overseas, it took a lot of effort to get into the Jet Program, he was not planning on wasting his time like Greg and Alex. “Is Alex awake?” “Yes, but he went out, I think he will have lunch out, he said he was on a date” “With the same girl from last night?” “No, a different one” “You guys should use condoms” “Don’t blame me for treating you like my mom if you plan of giving that type of advice” “I’m not saying it for your sake, but for the sake of the girls you date” Josh was worrying about Megumi because he knew who she was last night when he carried her to her apartment, and then Greg received a call, it was Ayase. Ayase knew about Josh, she knew he was the chef of Greg and that he was a very responsible guy, but she didn’t want to introduce him to Megumi because she wanted Josh for herself, she meet Greg first but one day that she spent the night at Greg home, she meet him. Josh was a man of not many words when it comes to talk to girls at home, main reason was because Greg and Alex always brought different girls, the other reason was because he didn’t speak Japanese as he wanted and the third reason was that his main goal was to stay at Japan even after the Jet Program finished. One of those night of drinks Ayase could not wake up Greg who passed out at the bar and she was really worried because she doesn’t have a car, Greg had yet to mention to her the protocols to follow when he pass away at the bar. The waiter brought the bill and she didn’t have money to cover the bills and she was about to go crazy but then Josh appeared and paid the bills. He grabbed Greg who was out of combat and Ayase followed him. He placed Greg on the back sit and then asked Ayase “Where do you live?” “Is not far from here” “Get in, I’ll give you a ride” This was first time that he had a conversation with Josh, she was really ashamed of the situation, Josh was driving and then she said “…. Thank you” “Do you speak English?” “just a little bit” “That’s cool, I was really worried that you would not understand me” “I can keep a conversation I guess” “That’s nice” They stayed silent for a bit, it felt a bit awkward because it was not like he was trying to act cool, it was just that he was alone with the girl of his friend. Ayase was a good looking Japanese girl with black hair and very smooth skin, he looked really young and Josh was worried that Greg was dating a barely legal girl “I know I should not ask this to a girl but …. how old are you?” Ayase turned a bit red and said “Yes, you should not ask that question to someone on their first conversation” “Yea, my bad” That made the moment get worse “Let’s say I’m past 20s” “Thank god” said Josh “Why?” “I thought for a second that Greg was dating a non-legal girl” Ayase looked at Josh and Josh looked at her “You look really young that’s why” “You really like to talk a lot don’t ya?” “I’m driving this late at night and need to wake up early so I need to stay awake” Somehow their Ayase and Josh got along pretty well that at the end Ayase felt attracted to Josh each time she meets with Greg. Going back to our pseudo current Josh after that Flashback, Greg just received a call from Ayase, Josh was hoping that she doesn’t ask him to go out again because it will mean that Josh will have to stay up until late night in case something like yesterday repeat again. “Hi sweetheart” “I love when you call me sweetheart baby” Josh had to deal with that type of conversation because Greg didn’t feel ashamed talking like that in front of Josh, while Josh felt like he was getting close to acquire diabetes just by listening, he decided to move out, but again, Greg knowing that Josh didn’t like to hear him talking like that followed him, and that’s what I meant when I said “He had to deal with it”. Josh then decided to go get his headphones so he can avoid listening to that call, in reality what messed him up was the fact that Ayase use to talk to him the same way as he does to Greg, somehow it made him feel like it was faking it because she really wanted to talk with Josh and not with Greg, well, Josh was the one with a car and not Greg. But then surprise! when Josh was about to put his headphones on he heard “No, Alex is not here” “Megumi has been asking for him the whole morning, she may have passed out last night but she remember then she was brought on his arms last night” Josh hate towards Megumi started to grow because it was not Alex who took her to her bed “I guess she was drunk because it was Josh who took her to her bed” “I cannot tell her that because Josh was not with us last night at all, well, tell him to call her when he gets back please” “Ok sweetie” “Bye” Greg noticed that Josh was not happy after listening the call, it was not like Josh liked Megumi at all, what was affecting him was the fact that she was his student at Akita, also a person who escaped from her parents and as a teacher he felt that he failed teaching her about life, he was an English teacher but he somehow helped to make her feel uncomfortable, but then he remembered that thing happens for a reason and that he should not give too much thought to it. Meanwhile at Namahage Shrine, Josh was running late with his chapters for the week, Keita brought some sake to Josh “Here, it looks like you are having hard time this week” To be honest something was happening to Josh and Keita noticed, having him travel each day was killing Josh, he was living more time on his dreams that in real life, Keita plan was going smooth, he went back to his office and the Client was there reading Josh work. “Do you have the clue that you are looking for yet?” “How did you figure out it was him?” “It was you who gave me the description remember?” The client was crying while reading Josh manuscript “This only gives me hope…. But seems so unreal” “There are things in life that doesn’t have explanation….and we are here to find the answers, Japan is always looking for mutual understanding with other countries, that it’s not limited to countries alone but to deities as well because they can hear out prayers”. The client then asked Keita, she marked a section on Josh manuscript “This part here, how can you explain that?” Josh then went to run errands when he suddenly received Ayase call “Hello Sweetheart” “Hi Ayase” “Megumi is with me, can you come pick us up?” “I’m not a taxi” “Don’t be so mean Josh, we just went shopping can got so many bags that we can’t even move” Ayase then covered the phone and told Megumi “Alex say that he is coming to pick us up” “Oh Really?” Megumi started to check her phone and Ayase secretly to Josh “I will call Alex if you don’t come help us” “He doesn’t have car” “But he can have Megumi” “……that is not my business” Josh felt the chills when he answered because he remembered touching Megumi body last night when he charged her on his arms “I will be waiting for you” Josh was about to answer when she hung up “Let’s get some ice cream while we wait” Time passed and then on the Ayase saw Josh car in the window “Our ride is here” Ayase and Megumi went outside and then Megumi saw Josh, it was the first time that Megumi saw him at Sendai and then she pointed at him “YYYYOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUU” Josh was not surprised, but Ayase was “Do you know each other?” said Ayase and then Josh answered “I’m her English Teacher”
Chapter 6 – The Confusion “Well, I was at least” Megumi was not happy after seeing Josh coming for them, Josh was driving and Ayase was on the seat next to him, the atmosphere was really awkward because Megumi made a big scene before entering the car “WHY ARE YOU HERE” Josh didn’t answer “Wait, is Josh the teacher that you told me about the other days?” “……” “DID MY PARENT SENT YOU FOR ME? BECAUSE IF THAT IS THE CASE I’M NOT COMING BACK” The people in the street started to stare at Megumi who was really mad and then Ayase grabbed Megumi arm “Calm down Megumi” Ayase gave her bags to Josh who extended his hand to grab Megumi bags as well but she refused “People like you are really disgusting” said Megumi to Josh “Let’s go” Ayase was surprised how Megumi hated Josh so much, but to be honest it felt more like she felt that her freedom was being taken away because Josh was one of the person that she wanted to leave behind by escaping to Sendai. Josh was being a gentleman since he went to pick them up and Ayase was acting like if Josh was her boyfriend, Megumi could not keep watching them on the car, Ayase kept grabbing Josh hand because he kept driving with his right arm leaving the left arm available. They finally reached their home and Josh helped Ayase with the bags and when he was coming back to his car Megumi stared at him. “You are the lowest of the lowest” Josh answered with a “Have a good day” and tried to leave the place “You are no longer my teacher so leave me alone” Josh opened the door of the car and saw Megumi spit on his car on the mirror Ayase was waiting for Megumi at his apartment and she was not happy with Megumi behavior, they didn’t talk to each other the whole day, Megumi was busy trying to figure out a way to get out of Ayase home because she felt that Josh was going to keep an eye on her. Ayase on the other hand was trying to find an explanation of how it was possible that Josh was the mean teacher that Megumi talked so much about. Both went to sleep that day and didn’t say anything to each other until the next day “Good Morning” “Good Morning, did you cool off your head already?” “Shut up” “I don’t know what happened between you two but I have to tell you that you don’t have to treat him like you did, at least try to not doing it in front of me” “Look, I want freedom and you are acting like my mom now” “You are living at my place, I think I have the right to tell you this at least” Megumi went outside, Josh was being a problem to Megumi again because this time he was separating her from her friend Ayase, Ayase decided to call Josh because she felt really bad after what happened “Good Morning” “Hello” “I have to apologize for what happened yesterday” “Don’t worry” “I didn’t know you had a past with Megumi” “That’s between Megumi and I” “Did you reject her or something?” “I will hang up” “Sorry I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable” “So, what do you need now?” “Can’t I call you just because I want to hear your voice?” “I’m busy at the moment, thanks for you apologize but you don’t have to worry about it” “Will you accept a coffee as apologize later today?” “Greg will get angry with me if he finds out you go out with me very often” “I don’t think so……” Ayase said that in a tone of voice that made Josh worry a bit because It felt like she knew that Greg was seeing other girls at the same time, Josh knew that he was cheating on her but he didn’t want to get involved. “When are you going to get free time?” “I’ll let you know” Josh hang up and five minutes later Ayase called again “Are you free now?” “I’ll let you know” Josh hang up again and five minutes later Ayase called “Are you free….” “3 pm” And he hangs up, Ayase was happy that he was getting close to Josh and then the phone rang, it was Josh “Let meet at Sendai Castle” “You making me walk?” “Do you want to repeat the episode form yesterday with Megumi?” “I’ll be there” “Bye” The reason why Ayase felt attached to Josh was because he was a reliable person compared to Greg, bad thing about that is that Josh knew it and he felt a bit of guilt because Greg and him were from outside Japan and Greg was affecting Japan in a way that Josh didn’t want, he felt responsible and wanted to alleviate a little bit the damage that Greg was causing. That afternoon Megumi was searching for a Job and she was aiming Tokyo, her goal was to live there by herself to prove that she could live alone. She noticed that Ayase was going out again but she didn’t ask her. Ayase meet Josh at Sendai Castle and they stayed there until the sunset, the view of the city while the lights turned on was really amazing, the weather was just perfect “Thanks for coming with me today” “You are welcome” said Josh who was writing while he looked at the city “What are you writing?” “Just some thoughts about Japan” “Are you writing about our date? You are really a romantic man” “To be honest, I could use this as research material so I can’t deny it” “Do you want to become a writer?” “Yea, Japan seems a place where your mind can fly really high” Meanwhile at Ayase apartment someone was at the door “Hello Megumi” “Hi Greg” “Is Ayase at home?” “I thought she was with you, she left early this afternoon” “I see…look Alex is here with me and we wanted to go out with Ayase and you, would you mind going out with us?” I have to prove myself that I can do things on my own said Megumi to herself “Let me get dressed and I’ll be ready in a bit” “Are you undressed? Can we go in?” Greg laughed and then added “I’m joking, don’t be scared” They went to the city and they were about to enter a restaurant and Greg made another attempt to contact Ayase, Alex was acting like a real idiot as always while holding Megumi from her shoulders and then Megumi noticed a car which stationed on the other side of the street and Ayase came out and then Greg turned on the same direction, Josh took off the car and then gave a hug to Ayase and then she heard her phone and canceled the call, she made a signal to a taxi and she went back to home. Greg looked really disappointed and Megumi was feeling awkward too, Alex was inside the restaurant already waiting for both and then he came back “Are you planning on enter the restaurant or what?” “I completely forgot about that” Greg was in shock after seeing that and Megumi said “Let’s go inside, is getting cold outside” We all know that when things are not meant to happen is better to not keep pushing them to happen, that night it was the same, Greg got into a fight inside the bar and Alex and him had to leave and Megumi was caught in the middle of it. Life was turning really the opposite of what Megumi was looking for, Greg and Alex left and Megumi was walking alone to Ayase home, it was really cold and then someone approached her and gave her something to cover from the cold and guess who was it. She turned and it was a police man who noticed that she was freezing, she then felt worse because she thought for a second that her hero finally appeared but to be honest that’s how life works, even in books, not everything goes the way you want on your first try so you have to keep trying until you get what you want. Megumi was determined to escape again, but this time she was not planning on get help of anyone, she wanted to taste that feeling. Meanwhile at Greg and Alex home, Greg was ready to punch Josh and then he noticed that Josh belongings were not there anymore, Josh had already moved, he was filling the last details of his moving during the morning and that’s why he decided to go with Ayase that afternoon, it was his goodbye… well not necessarily his goodbye because he was not planning to move alone. Two weeks passed and Megumi decide to make her move and told Ayase “I’m moving next week to Tokyo” “really? That’s cool” Ayase was not so worried or excited about that because Megumi was being a jerk since the day that Ayase went out with Josh “I hope that you don’t tell Josh where I’m going” “Don’t worry” Ayase words were really blunt that made Megumi felt that she didn’t care, and it was true, Ayase was worried about herself because she was moving too, with Josh that’s it, but she didn’t tell Megumi about it. Megumi moved to Tokyo, near Gakushuinshita Station, north of Shinjuku, on her first day she meets someone who looked really handsome “Hello, are you new on the neighborhood?” “Yea, I just moved today” “I live on the next door, let me know if you need any help” She fell in love with him at first sight and when he was about to enter his apartment she asked him “Do you have any friend with the name Josh by any chance?” “Not that I know, Oh I forgot to tell you my name, my name is Chris” “Nice to meet you Chris, my name is Megumi” Megumi asked that question because she didn’t want to meet Josh ever again, which seemed to be the case because Josh and Ayase moved to Fukuoka, south west of Tokyo, there is no way they will get any close for a while.
Chapter 7 – The delayed story “You were not joking when you said that they won’t get any closer for a while huh?” “Sorry, I have been busy lately and could not complete the chapter of last week” Josh stopped writing and then Keita asked “Is everything ok?” “Yea. It just feels like I have lived this before” “Are you writing about your life?” “No, not really, its just that the idea of the story just came but somehow it feels like is getting mixed with my memories” Keita didn’t ask Josh about his memories because is way too early for him to reveal the truth to Josh “Did the client said something about the delay?” “Not at all, we use a lot of fillers on our Anime so is not like we are not used to delays, the only bad thing about delays is that it can turn into a good thing or a bad thing” “You may lose readers and your popularity will drop right?” “I could not have said it better but if your story is interesting people will be happy to read your work again” Josh knew about how the process of making novels worked because he used to be an amateur writer in the past but he was never recognized The client then arrived and Keita had to leave Josh “The client is here, when do you think you will have the chapter done this week?” “By the end of the day” “Cool” Keita left and Josh continued with the story Megumi started dating Chris after a couple of weeks, she got a job at 7 at the end of the Detective Hill, Chris was always there for her at the end of her shift. Chris was always carrying light novels and Megumi noticed that he liked to read them a lot but she never tried reading them. Reading books always reminded her of her school days. Megumi stopped going to University since she escaped from home, University life was not something that she missed, she was way too busy to worry about it. There were times when Chris didn’t pick her up because he was too busy with University activities, those days she had to walk alone to home. She could hear when Chris came back to his apartment, sometime he brought friends and she remembered those days with Ayase and how she ended up here, next to Chris. She had mixed feelings about meeting with other people, Chris was not the person who would push you to do stuff you don’t like, it was nice from him to be able to read that feeling in Megumi so one day he came with the idea. “Want to go out this weekend?” “Sure, where do you want to go?” “I want to take you to the most beautiful place, we will go to Hokkaido” It was that time on the year, just before the snow started to fall, they went to Hakodate at night. The place was crowded but Megumi and Chris were on their own world, it was the first time in ages that Megumi had a smile on her face, well, she usually smiles at work but is part of her Job as customer service. Chris was hugging Megumi from the back, the weather was really cold but the warm of Chris arm was making Megumi feel comfortable. I’m going to be honest, they looked pretty well together, but they never moved forward on their relationship, neither Chris or Megumi wanted to give the next step because their current state was all they needed at that time, they were support to each other. They went to Noboribetsu onsen on the next day, it was not a smart move from Chris because the city was a very unusual place, several statues of demons were all around, even when they were walking during the day the face of the demons were really scary, Megumi started to have flash backs of her child days, Christ noticed that Megumi was feeling really uncomfortable, she even grabbed Chris arm tighter than usual. There is a reason why that place had so many demons around, the place is called the Hell Valley, even when the demons look like chibbi figures Megumi was remembering her days at Akita, Megumi felt like a demon was coming for her after looking at the wasteland filled of steam and then the hand of Chris touched her shoulder and she screamed. “Calm down, are you ok?” “Don’t do that! It’s your own fault!” “Are you feeling ok? You have been acting weird the whole day” Of course, she is feeling weird after being in heaven the previous day at Hakodate and now in the middle of Hell Valley. “Please take me out of here” Megumi saw how a mother was pulling her daughter who was panicking after seeing the steam coming from the wasteland and she remembered her Mother and then Chris could not stop her, she started going back. Megumi stopped (finally) at the train station, Chris reached her and bought her a coffee “Sorry, I should not have run away” “Is ok” “Look, I just had really bad memories from the past going---” “Look, if they are bad memories it may be better to not remember them, right?” Megumi had mixed feelings about what Chris said, she thought that it was nice from Chris to not dig on her past but on the other hand she felt like he didn’t want to get closer to Megumi. They went back to Tokyo, it was a nice weekend at the countryside of Japan, Megumi was staring at the window inside the train while going back to Tokyo, Chris was holding Megumi hand tightly, she was remembering the journey that she had to go through to get her freedom, she made her dream come true. A couple of weeks passed and Chris was really excited and came to Megumi apartment and when she opened the door he suddenly hugged her “What’s gotten to you?” “I’M SO HAPPY!!!!” “What happened?” “One of my novels was accepted and is going to be published” “Really?” The reason why Chris was always carrying novels was because he as an amateur writer and he kept submitting novels and he finally got one that was pretty interesting, the next step was getting his novel made into a Manga but he was just happy that his Novel was going to be published. Even when Chris made a big deal of his novel Megumi was not attracted to read novels herself, she kept working and supporting Chris as a girlfriend, however her time with Chris started to reduce, his novel became famous really quick and was something unexpected, he kept reading the reviews to Megumi when he had the chances, he was not trying to hunt her with his work, it just happened that Megumi was the closest person to him, it was just natural to tell her about his achievements, he became the number one writer that season. Megumi started to feel that Chris was the only person going forward on his life, while she was stuck and this was the reason why their relationship didn’t move. One day Megumi was so tired and Chris was not there to pick her up at work so she sat on the bench outside of the shop and fell asleep, couple of minutes later Chris arrived and found her sleeping and freezing so he covered her and didn’t woke her up. A few minutes passed and she woke up on Chris lap and then he said “Good Morning” “What time is it?” “it’s 10pm” “Is not morning at all….” Megumi was still half asleep “Sorry I could not come earlier” “Is ok, it’s my fault for staying at the bench after this long day” Megumi was being rude by default, it was not like she wanted to hurt Chris but she noticed that Chris went silent “Look, is not your fault, I was just too tired and sat on the bench and didn’t notice when I fell asleep” It felt really awkward because it was true “I’m sorry, I have been really busy with my novel lately” “I told you is not your fault” In fact, Chris was being nice and this was his payment, Megumi really made him feel bad and she felt bad as well because Chris was being way to awesome for her and the only thing that she could give him back was this treatment, she was not ready to move forward….
Chapter 8 – Destiny goes in a straight line If you consider that Megumi was a countryside girl you can understand that the way she acted was pretty normal, someone who is not used to have a boyfriend tend to do this type of things. Megumi was not like Ayase who at this point was on her fourth relationship, but this was a different relationship than the ones that she had before, this one was the type of relation that we all have experienced at least once. One sided relationships tend to hurt more than regular relationships of boyfriends and girlfriends, even when Ayase moved with Josh to Fukuoka, their relationship remained the same, they lived together but Josh was not the type of person who would get advantage of this situation, besides he got used to have Ayase play the Ero game every day, it was pretty normal for Ayase to come naked out the bath meanwhile Josh kept working. “You are going to get a cold if you don’t dress” said Josh while looking at the computer Ayase noted that she may have made a mistake when she thought that she would get Josh attention doing the same crap over and over, she was not bad looking and had pretty nice figure, pretty decent measures compared to Megumi but then again, her attempts to get Josh attention kept being futile so after a couple of months she just decided to play the sister role with Josh. This change of attitude made Josh pay more attention to her which made her happy, it was not like he didn’t want sexual contact with her, his goal was still on his sight, get the residence and get his dream done which was write a novel and become a recognized writer. He was planning to get a girlfriend once those goal were complete so his current goal towards that secondary goal was to examine Japanese girl’s behavior silent and Ayase was his research material. So, to accomplish two goals in one, Josh decided to take Ayase on a date, she got really excited for the idea of going out as in a date, they usually go out during the nights but they were not considered dates as they use to have dinner outside, they didn’t like to cook after work “Thank you for sharing you time with me today” Josh was looking at Ayase while she was saying those words “I also want to apologize for being so boring, I know you used to go out for drinks with Greg at Sendai very often” “That’s ok, I needed a change of pace” They were walking during the sunset and Ayase wanted to grab his hand but she could not get the courage to grab his hand and then she saw a guy who participated on the Hadaka Matsuri festival, he was almost naked and then she stumbled and Josh grabbed her hand “Are you ok? Don’t let go my hand ok?” Ayase felt how her heart started racing when Josh grabbed her hand, she didn’t grab Josh hand alone, she decided to grab his arm and Josh didn’t stopped her “You know? Even if I’m just research material….” Wait, Josh haven’t told Ayase that she was research material at all, it was supposed to be a secret “You will need to research about this sooner or later” Ayase pulled Josh to a wall, her back was against the wall and Josh was really close to her, Josh was able to stop by putting his hands on the wall but then ““Uhnn, uhnn…” Ayase tongue was inside Josh mouth who didn’t stop her, unfortunately for Ayase, Josh didn’t feel that the moment was special, the kiss was not long enough to make Josh go wild on her, it had the opposite effect. She stopped kissing him and lowered her head “Let’s go back” Josh felt a bit of guilt after what happened because it looked like Ayase was expecting something else to happen. It was true that Josh was using her as research material but he didn’t want to use her any further after that, he didn’t want to hurt her anymore after realizing that she wanted more from him. Josh was able to finish the book he was writing and sent it to an editorial in Tokyo, he didn’t get a positive feedback about it and he got depressed, Ayase noticed that he was struggling, he had to realize that getting good feedback as writer is not that simple, he was not a genius, he was not meant to success on the first attempt. After a couple of days, he wrote another story, this time the story was a sci fi story, he showed Ayase his work and she told him that it was a bit boring, this was not something Japanese people would like. He started to get frustrated after his second attempt. “I don’t want to be rude Josh, but you are a bit arrogant if you think your job will get good reviews on just two attempts” Josh knew that what Ayase was saying was correct “Do you think that all the writers in Japan have it easy? They are so competitive and never give up, it may take several years for them to be recognized” Josh lowered his head as if he didn’t want to listen what Ayase was saying “You don’t have to give up but you don’t have to expect too much if you are an amateur writer” And then the words that reached the deepest ego of Josh were spoken “Japanese will never accept the work of a foreigner to be published as Light Novel” Josh grabbed his coat and went outside, what Ayase said was just reality, Josh was not used to hear the truth from another person than him. He went for a walk, he tried to rearrange his thoughts and overcome this situation, he was so frustrated at this point and needed some fresh air. He went back home after a couple of hours walking around and when he came back Ayase was already sleep. He knew that Ayase was not trying to hurt him and he knew she was right, he then placed his hand on her forehead and then kissed her forehead. “Thank you….” “…. You are back” “Yea” She sat on the bed “I’m sorry for….” “You don’t have to apology” “look, I’m Sagitarius and that…….” Josh placed his finger on Ayase lips trying to make her stop talking “You are right, I was just being arrogant” She then stopped trying to speak “You opened my eyes, I won’t give up writing until my dream become true, even if I accomplish it in the afterlife” Josh looked at Ayase and then “Sorry I woke you up” “That’s ok, you can buy me an ice cream tomorrow as apology”
Chapter 9 – The gatekeeper My name is Kyosuke Nagayama, I’m the head of the Nagayama Family, I have six sons and I’m a priest at Shinzan Shrine and I have yet to find a successor for the Nagayama Family, I’m waiting for my next son which I hope will inherit the Nagayama fate on his shoulders. The path of the Nagayama is not an easy path, I have made seven attempts to find a successor but I have failed “We are not your tools dad” “Fate has chosen you to follow the Nagayama path Ryotaro” “I can’t just sit here to open door to visitor’s dad, I was born to be a pop star and I won’t make that dream come true here in Akita” One by one I tried to convince them “You are not going to get Shinta as the Nagamaya Successor Kyosuke” Shinta was the favorite son of Yoriko, she didn’t want Shinta to leave after seeing how Ryotaro left after my failed attempt of making him the Sucessor of Nagayama family Minoru was the third son of the family, he accepted to be the Successor but when he was on the age for the ritual he got scared after seeing who was the person running the ritual, even though he was his uncle “Time is running Kyosuke” “I know Mikami” “if we wait any further, the lineage of Nagayama will suffer the consequences” “I’m doing what I can” “We don’t want to lose control of the gate; this place is not meant for other people than us” The fourth son, Karasu, he accepted to be the successor but when we were running the ritual, Mikami felt a dark aura coming from Karasu and stopped the ritual, Karasu left home after that and we never heard about him after that Montaro was our fifth attempt on getting the successor but when we were running the ritual, after he got tied up and Mikami was about to complete the ritual, Montaro panicked, broke the ties and ran away, he left home after that “I think you should tell them what does it mean to be the successor Kyosuke” “I already explained them, maybe you should not use that mask while running the ritual” “are you retard?” “You are not a zombie Mikami” “But I’m not their uncle anymore” “As long as they remember you, you are still Mikami” “But if we delay this any longer I won’t be Mikami anymore” The sixth attempt was a tragedy, Ennosuke, who was also my favorite son, he brought so many happy moments to my life “Ennosuke, you will be the Nagayama Successor” “You know I will do my best for you dad” “You will be able to open the door of heaven and hell” “That sounds amazing dad!” Ennosuke thought this was some type of super power but in reality, it was Nagayama family fate. The day of the ritual came, Mikami tied up Ennosuke who was crying “Will I be ok dad?” “Yes Ennosuke” I placed my hands on Ennosuke eyes while Mikami started the ritual. Ennosuke started to scream as Mikami started to open Ennosuke chest “IT HURTS DAD!!!” “Be strong Ennosuke” “DAAAADDD” Mikami was holding Ennosuke because he was moving too much “I LOOOOOVVVEEEEE YOUUU DAAAD” Mikami extracted Ennosuke heart and then “Is over Ennosuke” “Dad, it really hurt” We untied him and were hoping that he could resist “You have to resist my son” “I love you da……” Ennosuke eyes lost the signal of life and his hand dropped from the altar, my dear son died on the attempt of being the successor “I’m sorry Kyosuke” I was crying because watching Ennosuke die on my arms was really shocking, it was until then when I understood what Mikami had to go through, we were 5 brothers, different from my case our three other brothers died during the ritual, I was meant to take Mikami place but I got the chance to give our family successors, and the one who gave me that chance was Mikami, if Mikami or I died back then we wouldn’t have been able to have children and therefore a successor, Mikami offered himself and he passed the ritual. Our seventh child was a girl, we named her Megumi, she was a blessing from god, Yoriko found peace when Megumi was born, so Shinta and Megumi were left out of the ritual, they were the hope of the next generation of the Nagayama Family. Our last son was born and we named him Keita, Yoriko, Shinta and Megumi moved from the shrine when Keita was three years old, the reason behind it was because Mikami thought that the ritual succeeded in our case because we were the last two sons on our family so making Keita feel like he was the last son of our family could help the ritual to succeed. Mikami was hoping that this time we could complete the ritual because if we fail we would lose control of the gate because we were meant to replace the gatekeeper every 50 years, otherwise the gate will consume the gatekeeper and make Mikami wander in the hades for the eternity. Keita was 10 years old, he got used to see Mikami at the shrine without the mask, Mikami skin looked different from Kyosuke skin, Mikami skin color was soft purple while Kyosuke skin was between Yellow and white, same as Keita. The day of the ritual finally came and we tied Keita, for some reason he was not panicked, Mikami started the ritual and Keita said “It hurts dad” “Please resist Keita” Keita felt asleep when Mikami finished the ritual and Kyosuke panicked “Calm down Kyosuke!!” Kyosuke tried to wake up Keita but then Mikami slapped him “Look at his chest” Keita was still breathing “It looks like he was the chosen one” The heart of Keita was not inside Keita chest but he was still alive “It looks like my journey ends here Kyosuke” Kyosuke looked at Mikami who had a smile on his face “Thanks for taking my place Mikami” “Tell Keita to visit me when he wakes up” “I will” Mikami and Keita heart disappeared in front of me and Keita woke up “Where is uncle Mikami dad?” “He had to go” “I had a dream dad” Kyosuke then looked at Kieta face “He was waving from far away, he told me to visit him, where did he go dad?” “Keita, you will see now the fate of the Nagayama family” “It took you awhile to write this part huh?” “I have been really busy man” “How far are we now?” “I would say that we are about to see how every path will join in one place now” “Someone is at the door, I’ll go check” The person who was at the door was Megumi, Keita sister, she always brings food for Keita at the shrine and when she was still there, another person came as well “Hello there” “Hello, oh sorry, let me introduce you my sister, her name is Megumi, she has the same name as you”