Make No War

On a road between Kamakura and Enoshima in the far off coastal prefecture of Kanagawa lies a tiny American-styled diner, Pepper’s Drive-In. A small shack with a broken down Cadillac Coupe DeVille left parked outside in a constant state of disrepair, a tribute to faded 50s Americana.

Inside were an unlikely duo, brought there on a whim by highway bus, seeking a brief vacation from school life.

“An espresso martini this early, my dear?” teased the bunny-tailed Takajou.

“Just enough spirits so I can put up with you, fly boy.” dithered Elegy, sipping her drink by straw.

Takajou was on his twentieth hamburger, as Elegy was eating premium golden curry with a side of fries. They were seated opposite in a booth with red leather interiors, with every pink wall adorned with kitschy ads for soda pop, plush toys of Curious George and teddy bears, and a wide arrangement of toy cars.

At 7:30pm it wasn’t so late that Tsubomi would be wondering why her sometimes delinquent daughter wasn’t home by now, and Takajou’s tiny travelling circus was itself active only at the strangest times of day. Though circumstances had brought the two together for the rare occasion.

Takajou shrugged off the closest thing he’d get to a complement. “I hoped you’d be able to make time to talk about something that’s been worrying me.”

“Bullshit.” Elegy swirled a french fry in a puddle of ketchup for her own mild amusement. “Nothing gets to you, bébite.”

“Would you believe me if I told you it was about Nagahisa?”

“You don’t give a shit about Nagahisa. You hate Nagahisa.” Elegy took a long, drawn out sip of the martini.

“Okay, that is true!” Takajou smiled ear to ear. “Would you believe me then if I told you it was about Mirai?”

“Maybe.” Elegy paused before considering another gulp. “What crap did you pull this time?”

Takajou looked side to side over his small remaining pile of burgers. “I… might have turned a household item into a portal to Makai.”

“She can’t get out?” Elegy raised an eyebrow.

“No, she can come back just fine.” Takajou twiddled his thumbs, looking down at the tablecloth. “But… it doesn’t seem like she wants to.”

“So what exactly were you expecting to happen?” Elegy’s arms were crossed, as she stared down at Takajou’s absent mindedness.

Takajou breathed in, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. “…just a small adventure, in and out, come back to Harajuku and everything’s just fine, you know?” Takajou raised his elbow to the sky, one hand behind his head, in a shameful posture. “Thing is… it’s like Makai is changing with her, somehow.”

“I’m not going to Makai, Takajou.” Elegy waved down the waitress passing by their table. “Refill, please. The boy’s paying.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Takajou looked down sheepishly. “I just hope that… Nagahisa can get her out.”

“Why are you so interested in Nagahisa all the sudden?” Elegy sneered. “Did you throw him into your portal, too?”

“No no no, a pair of night demons did that!” Takajou threw his hands up to get ahead of any sudden violence. “You gotta believe me.”

Elegy blinked twice, and calmly took a few bites of her curry with rice as she was contemplating the situation.

“Nagahisa can handle himself.” Elegy declared. “So can Mirai. You really don’t need to be there for them.”

Takajou stretched out, as though relieved of a self-imposed burden. “I suppose you’re right.”

“That’s your problem, Takajou. You never leave.”

“Well…” Takajou raised a finger to his cheek and looked up to the sky, as though to say something.

“We broke up two years ago, and still you’re always there. At a lamppost. On a cliff side. At a windowsill. Just outside of my class room. You. Never. Leave.”

Takajou sighed at his side of the table. “You missed doing this, though?” Takajou raised his arms at the diner itself. “It was quite a trip for us to be having a date like this again.”

“Fuck off.” Elegy dismissed Takajou with a hand gesture. “Aren’t you supposed to be with my brother?”

“Can’t forget about the good times.” smiled Takajou.

“I am going to turn this french fry into an eye injury if you can’t take at least two minutes to stop being Takajou.”

“Fine.” Takajou put his hands around the burger, munching quietly to himself as the sound of the Flamin’ Groovies “Shake Some Action” blared from the jukebox. Elegy switched from drinking to eating more solid foods.

“You care about them both, though?” inquired Elegy.

“Mirai, yeah. Nagahisa… maybe a little!” proclaimed Takajou with a light smile.

Elegy flipped out her fold out fan and proceeded to cool herself. “They’ll be fine without you, like I’ve been.”

“I miss them, though.” Takajou wistfully declared.

“Yeah… I missed being with you too, sometimes.”

Elegy paused to give Takajou a moment to make an ass of himself, though Takajou fell silent. Whether the complement took him off guard or the burgers were catching up with his not quite limitless digestive system, nobody was certain.

Elegy’s fan snapped shut. “You tell anybody you heard that, I’m throttling you through a concrete wall.”

“Heard what?” Takajou looked out the window, searching for a small animal that was never there.

Elegy took the last sip of her martini. “Merci. Je t'aime bien.”

Takajou sighed. “Look, I don’t know what any of those words mean. So, I’m gonna assume you're saying you won’t kill me.”

“Good enough.” grinned Elegy. “I brought my competition swimsuit this time. Assuming you can behave yourself for the rest of the night, I’ll terminate your evil spirits at the private hot spring in Tenzan Onsen.”

A twinkle appeared in Takajou’s eye at the thought, curiosity swirling about his head. “Wait, I thought Mirai’s family did the exorcising?”

“Oh, I’ve learned a few things myself.” She slammed her fan down on the table with a loud open-palm strike.

Elegy stood up slowly from her seat, leaning over the table towards an unexpectedly doe eyed Takajou.

“Wouldn’t you like to find out?”