Chapter Text
APRIL 1998
Aki crushed his finished cigarette under his shoe, breathing out.
“ … toothpaste, tooth brush for Power… actually make it three toothbrushes for her… coffee, more toast, milk… more cigarettes…” he repeated in his head, rehearsing his weekly checklist of essentials. Ever since the twins came into his care his weekly errand runs have grown exponentially, and so has the toll on his paycheck. Today, instead of stopping by the grocers on his walk home from work, he decided to run into the nearest Family Mart convenience store from his apartment. He found out, after shopping there instead for the past month or so, that the prices for his basic necessities were slightly cheaper. Caring for two growing teens was no easy feat.
The bright, blue-tinted fluorescent lights of the convenience store wash out its surroundings; A bright, blue aquarium in the midst of a sea of office buildings and high rise apartments, like beacon in the dark night, blinding Aki as he stepped towards the automatic doors. He was greeted by the tinkling chime of the store’s alarm. As he grabbed the nearest plastic shopping basket, a young woman restocking a nearby product display greeted him.
“Irrashaimase!”, the pig-tailed girl chimed. Aki nodded politely at her before continuing with his mission.
Toothpaste. Check.
Toothbrushes. Check.
Shit, he almost forgot about Meowy’s cat food. Check.
Coffee, toast, pre-made bentos for lunch. Check, check, and check.
Now came the milk. For some unexplainable reason, Power and Denji went through cartons of milk like nothing. The minute he brought it home, it seemed like they inhaled every last drop, and within a matter of seconds, the once fresh carton was now sucked dry. They were on their fourth carton this week. And he had made sure to buy the extra large family size jug last time. And if they didn’t get their milk he was sure they would riot, and that was the last thing he wanted.
But he didn’t feel like coming back again tomorrow.
So, Aki decided to save time and trips to the store and dumped five gallons of milk into the shopping basket, his arm straining from the weight. Well, hopefully this would last them a week, at least. They were growing kids after all, or whatever.
Milk. Check.
And with the last of his list complete, Aki hobbled over to the checkout.
Angel finished ringing up an old lady who, for some reason, was more interested in buying 50 of the plain paper bags used to pack sanitary items than anything else, when he caught sight of
him
. Normally, Angel doesn’t give two shits about any of the customers that enter the store. They all blended in together, and he felt as though he didn’t get paid well enough to go above and beyond and memorize any of the regulars. But this one guy stood out to him the most. It was the same man with a top-knot, always wearing a suit and tie and, at least lately, a probably-too-thin-for-this-weather jacket, who came to the store about twice a week. Every week, he always bought the same. Fucking. Thing. And sure enough, as the man placed the heavy basket on the counter, Angel saw it. Five gallons of… milk. Four gallons of regular and one gallon of chocolate, to be exact.
Huh. He’s stocking up this time. Usually it’s just two gallons (one regular and one chocolate, to be exact.)
The man pointed at the shelf behind Angel. “Could you also throw in a pack of Menthol Light cigarettes while you’re at it, please?”
“Sure.”
After observing the man’s unusual buying habits for well over a month, Angel was convinced that the man must have some sort of freaky fetish, or dietary issues. Who in their right mind would buy that much fucking milk, especially at this frequency?
He finished bagging the items [in addition to the five gallons of milk], and handed the man his receipt. “Thank you for your purchase. Please come again soon.”, he says, devoid of any emotion.
“Thank you.”, the man replies, grabbing his bags and milk. He made his way to the door and stepped into the night. Angel stood watching as the man’s figure faded into the crowd outside. It wouldn’t be long before the man came back. Angel looks up at the CCTV screen above him, watching the now empty store with half-lidded eyes. Well, nearly empty aside for a few other employees.
“Yo. Mitaka.”
The girl with the pigtails looks up from the onigiri display she was carefully organizing at the sound of her name. “Hm?”
“Who’s that guy that’s always buying all that milk?” Angel asks, still dully observing the screen.
His co-worker shrugs. “I don’t know, but he does show up pretty often, at least on some of the days I work- Ah! Irasshaimasé!” She greets the next customer that enters the store and immediately resumes her work restocking the Tuna Mayo flavored onigiri. Those were always the top sellers.
Angel watched her from the counter. “Do you think he has some sort of milk fetish? If that’s a thing?”
Mitaka pauses, clearly aghast at what he just said. “I-“, she sputters, “I don't think that’s our business… besides he could just be a cafe owner or something… less freaky.” She resumed shelving the onigiri with more haste, wanting to get away from this conversation. Angel glanced back blankly at the CCTV screen.
I should ask him next time.”
Aki balanced the grocery bags in one hand as he fumbled for his keys, cursing under his breath as he struggled to locate them in the vastness of his work bag. As he struggled to open the door he felt the bags slipping from his grasp. The violent jangling of the keys echoes through the hallway. He pushes the door open with his shoulder with all his might, one of the bags falling right out of his hands and onto the floor of the apartment with a loud bang.
He hisses, “Goddamnit-“
“Fuck you, Power! You fucking cheater!”
“I did not cheat! Have you considered that you simply suck!”
“Fuck you!”
“Fuck you!”
Aki groaned as he heard another thud on the floor and yelling coming from the two of them. He swore to god, getting them that gaming console was a mistake. He winced as he heard more objects falling to the ground as the struggle continued. He quickly shuts the door behind him before anyone outside could think that there was a violent murder occurring, scooping all the bags into his arms.
“I’m home!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. He could hear them immediately stopping their banter, scrambling to get up off the floor. He placed all the groceries on the counter and peered over at the teens in the living room. Denji and Power stood there, arms behind their backs and grinning “innocently” at him. The glow of the game’s loading screen on the T.V. illuminated their figures in the dark room.
Aki flipped on the light.
“Hey Aki!”
“Hello.”
They chimed in unison.
He could clearly see the giant mess they made behind them. Cans of soda and chip bags littered the floor, not to mention the knocked over dirty glasses on the table. He sighed, pinching his nose bridge.
“I’m not even going to ask what happened. Have you guys started preparing dinner yet, at least?”
They stared at him blankly. Power pointed accusingly at Denji.
“I told him to start making dinner earlier, but he refused. And now we’re starving.”
“HUH?! NO YOU FUCKING DIDN’T! Stop lying, you liar!”
“I’m not lying, you’re the LIAR!
“HUH?!-“
“Ok just stop it! Please, you guys.” Aki groaned. “Did you at least do some homework?”
They stared back at him blankly, false smiles still remaining. Power tilted her head to the side. “We had homework?”
Aki felt like screaming. He took a deep breath before resuming. “Look you guys, I know you two want to have fun and take a break from school and everything, but you have to remember that you also have responsibilities to attend to.”
He pointed at them, preparing his usual responsible adult speech. “We have to work together to make the best of this situation. I want you guys to not rely on me forever, you all got to start facing the responsibilities that being adults bring. And that includes finishing your assignments, doing well in school, and remembering to eat actual meals instead of junk food!”
Power and Denji looked off to the side, pouting. They’ve heard this speech probably close to a million times, but it always seems to go one ear out the other. It only works for a few minutes before they relapse and return to their usual habits.
“You always complain that I always treat you guys like kids, but that’s because you act like kids. You’re 16, not 6. So if you want me to start treating you like your age-“
“We gotta start being responsible.” They droned in unison, rolling their eyes.
“Right”, Aki nodded, “So turn off your video game and start getting ready for dinner. Power,” he pointed at her, “You’re going to grab a trash bag and cleaning supplies from the closet and you’re going to start cleaning the living room.” He enunciated every word clearly, emphasizing his point. “And Denji,” he gestured to the other blonde, “You’re going to start putting the groceries away while I start cooking dinner. After you’re done, go help Power clean up. Understood?”
The twins saluted their legal guardian, “Yes sir.”, and began their assigned tasks. As Denji made his way into the kitchen to unload the groceries, he looked at the plastic bags on the counter up and down.
“Yo, bro. Did you get the good kush? We ran out again.”
Aki shook his head, “Yes, I did. I don’t get how you guys manage to go through those gallons of milk in only a few days.”
Power called out from the storage closet. “We’re growing children! I need strong bones to succeed in my plans for world domination!”
Well, Aki guessed he couldn’t argue with that. At least they were getting their nutrients somehow.
Midnight.
It was time for Angel to clock out. His manager was always on his ass about keeping his locker tidy, especially since he shared it with another co-worker whom he had never even met since they worked the day shift. But honestly, at this point, all he really wanted was just to go back to his shitty apartment and fall asleep. So who cared if he didn’t neatly fold his uniform and made it all wrinkly, or what his locker buddy thought of him. All he cared about was getting his lousy paycheck and sleeping off the stress. He slammed his locker shut.
“Bye, Kobeni. See ya later.”, he waved to his other coworker who had taken over the registers for him.
Angel didn’t mind working the night shift. In fact, something about the night comforted him in a weird way. The way the nearly empty streets made his footsteps echo, the fluorescent lights of the street lamps lighting his path, the bright lights of Tokyo’s nightlife acting like beacons in the dark: it was magical. He never felt more alive. He guessed that’s why he came to the city, to make something of himself. Yet here he was, stuck in a shitty convenience store job with no means of escape anywhere in sight. The more time he spent at that store, the more his dreams began to slip out from his grasp. C’est la vie, he supposed.
As he sat with his head against the window of the train, he began to mull over the day’s events. Especially the milk guy. Angel didn’t know why he was thinking about that dude in the first place. He’s had weirder customers, especially on the night shift, but something stood out about this guy. Yeah, he had to admit, he was pretty good looking, but with how much milk he was inexplicably buying… that guy was for sure a major weirdo. Oh well, what a shame.
But he still wanted to know why he bought so much milk.