Behind the Palm Trees

[1] Desperately Lost

"Come on in. It's good to see you guys!" Joe said as he motioned for the group waiting outside of his restaurant to come in. Cherry, Shadow, Miya, Reki and Langa walked in, taking a seat at a large round table.

Joe had invited them in so he could treat them. In truth Joe was feeling a bit lonely lately so he could use the company.

Joe placed a coloring sheet and crayons in front of Miya and let out a soft chuckle.

Miya's antennas shot up immediately. "How old do you think I am?!" He hissed.

"If you don't want it I'll take it," Reki chimed in.

"But this stuff if for kids," Miya scoffed.

"But it looks fun," Reki said, snatching the paper. He flipped it over to the blank side and began sketching with a blue crayon.

"So has it been busy around here, Kojiro?" Cherry asked.

"Nah not really. I'm glad you guys could come, I could use the company," He replied.

"Anytime," Cherry replied with a gentle smile.

"Yeah I'll stop by anywhere with free food," Miya giggled which gave Joe a chuckle. Miya continued on rambling, "Hey Cherry, why aren't you ever hanging out with girls like Joe. I mean you have plenty of people calling you 'Lord Cherry,' right?"

Cherry paused for a second to think of a clever answer. "Well I'm not a wild animal that's seeks female attention like Kojiro over here," He rolled his eyes at Joe.

"In other words he's a homosexual," Joe smirked. Cherry gasped and looked around to see if anyone else heard.

"Relax man, we already knew, it was obvious enough," Shadow reassured Cherry.

"You already knew?" Cherry exclaimed.

"Joe can't keep his mouth shut," Miya said. Joe shrugged from behind the counter.

"My bad," He said. Cherry pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a hefty sigh. 

"Done!" Reki exclaimed as he held up the piece of paper. On it was a very detailed portrait, sketched solely with a crayon. "It's Langa!" He said.

What many of them had forgotten was that Reki is a skilled artist. They admired his work. "Can you do me next?" Miya asked. Reki nodded and grabbed the black and green crayon, and began scribbling away.

The group continued on laughing and chatting as the night went on. They hung out like this often. It had been about a month since Langa had won that last beef against Adam. They had all continued hanging out at 'S' and nobody had seen Adam in weeks.

Weeks ago it appeared that Detective Kiriko was off the Adam case, but it wasn't as it seemed. Tadashi was a double agent working against Ainosuke. Yes, he did care for Ainosuke but not enough to forgive him and his crimes. Throughout the past months, Tadashi would laugh and smile at anything Shindō said to convince him of his loyalty.

Tadashi was their alibi and it worked well in court. Ainsoke Shindō also known as "ADAM" was sentenced to 25 years in jail. Although no one knew it yet except for Kiriko and Tadashi.

Now back to the present with our friends sitting in Joe's restaurant, Sia La Luce. Joe slapped down a newspaper in front of Cherry.

"Kojiro who the hell actually reads the paper anymore," Cherry said as he gave Joe a side eye. It was pretty well known that Cherry used Carla for all of his local news updates. 

"Just pick it up, pinky," Joe said. Cherry scoffed at the nickname and then picked up the paper. The front cover caught his eye. "Local Business Man, Ainosuke Shindō Arrested and Charged for Multiple Counts of Assault."