TADASHI MEMO

MODEL A-400 | SEGMENT END

We walk out of the house, into the pitch dark street.
Their air is barely present tonight.
Smells like cigarettes, maturity.
Immaturity to a few.

We made our way to a bar.
Neither of us drink, so it's a bit awkward.

"You smoke, but you don't drink?" The bartender asks Haru-kun.
The cigarette on Haru's mouth was a nub already, but he's still somehow squeezing shit out of it.

Neither of us knew what to say.
He's right, we both know that.
It's ironic – this is stupid. We're stupid for even leading our lives down this route.

But we don't think about it anymore.

We breathe it in,
and we breathe it out.

The same way everyone treats oxygen.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Finally, Haru gave it up and discarded it into the ashtray.

"After tonight," he suddenly spoke, the smell of tobacco emanating from his mouth after every word,
"I don't think that'd matter."

He's cleaning a glass cup.
The bartender was a kind looking man, the understanding type.
Had a pencil mustache, his eyes tired yet caring. His hair, however, has seen better days.
His bald spot's taking up most of the stage up there.

"May I ask why, sir?"
"Even when I'm already facing death in the face, I can't figure out why it visited."
"Why don't you try asking it then?"
"It's impossible. It doesn't want to listen to me."

He nods, letting the subject go. Then, he looks at me.

"How about you, ma'am?"

Not knowing what to say, I looked at the man with a blank stare.

"I suppose no one really has a good reason for any of this, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."

"You all know the long term effects of the poisons that I serve. Satisfactory it may be, the mere seconds of happiness you gain from it, it does not last."
"You do this to every patron? Doesn't seem good for business."

"No, I don't. Today's the last day this place'll be open, so I decided to spend it on helping people kick the habit."

The bar's already pretty empty. No one here besides me and Haru-kun.

"It's closing hours, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so."

"Where're you going after this?"

"Home."
"And then?"

The bartender fell silent as he let out a sigh, placing down the cup and folding the towel.
Then, he flipped the 'OPEN' sign over.

"Now's about as good a time as any for you two to leave."
Haru furrowed his eyebrows, "But we just arrived."

"Your lady friend just reminded me that it's past closing time."

Then he stops and stares at the glass entrance, into the reflection of himself.

Tension's replaced the silence.
Scratch that, the silence built the tension.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he knows why we're here.

Two shady looking people head inside of a bar right before closing time, a bar that's coincidentally about to close after tonight.

He's made preparations.

Haru's placing his thumb on his holster. Something's about to go down, only a matter of knowing when.

I'm fidgeting.
Slow, shallow breaths.