Chapter Text
Sasara Nurude, age 22, was a sobbing heartbroken fool.
Nevermind that he was heartbroken, just know that he was a fool.
The very day that his partner had "left him" (He was dumped. Of all the things that could possibly be done to their partnership by fate, he was the one who was dumped.), he literally cried himself to sleep—- and the moment he woke-up, he then proceeded to pack his things as he silently made his way from Osaka to Tokyo.
He didn't know what possessed him to do it after his short nap which resulted in a wet pillow and broken promises (and broken dreams, because he dreams about him too), he went with it anyway, without really thinking much about it.
He hadn't told anyone at all where he was going, what he was doing and why he was going. Just that he up and left one day; disappeared from the face of the earth. Leaving behind a stage he'd worked 4 years to finally perform on. A worried ex-partner who- probably tried to find him but decided to stay away. And an old apartment lady who will probably wait for his rent for a month before storming in his room. (He'll have to call her, make sure to tell her his problem and… throw away the stuff in his room, maybe- old textbooks and papers from school…)
Yes, Sasara Nurude was a fool indeed. A fool for leaving like a coward, he thinks to himself.
"Shit, I forgot my toothbrush." He says as he realizes he'd forgotten to grab it before he'd left his old apartment. Just another item he'd have to buy at the convenience store. Easy to forget, quick to replace. (Like him.)
The former comedian had found himself a residence in Ikebukuro. Nothing fancy at such short notice, but it was enough for one man to live in. One, single, young man alone in the world. He sighs to himself.
He thought distance would make it better, but that wasn't the cure at all. Fresh wounds just need more time (and marijuana) to heal.
Anyway, after the H Law was passed, Sasara noticed the increasing number of rappers on the street. Particularly, just outside his door.
In the 5 hours Sasara had settled in the apartment, 3 battles had already passed and the last one was just about wrapping up.
Where they get those Hypnosis Mics (because those are definitely Hypnosis Microphones and not just toys because people don't faint after hearing terrible singing- at least Sasara thinks they don't), Sasara hasn't got a clue.
Just that their annoying raps don't do a single thing to his mind, not like he'd succumb to such tacky lyrics and verses. If anything, their raps just annoy him. It was repetitive and unoriginal. Nothing special…. (Just like their relationship.)
Sasara snaps himself out of it. "Get it together Sasara! First things first, you need to find a job." Until his stomach growls in hunger. Oh, when was the last time he ate again? Right, dinner, a day ago. He'd been living off energy drinks and rice crackers for the trip.
Repeat. He slaps his cheeks with both hands. "Get it together Sasara! First things first, FOOD." With the initial plan finalized and the annoying battle outside just about to end, Sasara takes a hand full of cash, his key, two copies of his resume, his phone and a pen, and makes his way out of the apartment.
He isn't sure how long he'd have before his savings are up, so his best course of action is to go to the closest grocer and shop there. Then maybe submit his resume there if there's an opening, or maybe a convenience store. Or maybe a cafe. Sasara isn't being picky, but he is turning more and more optimistic when he thinks about starting a new.
First stop in the grocer, and they were already looking to hire new young staff. Sasara applies. Gets accepted after he cracks a joke about Fresh Produce, and his immediate future is secured.
This goes on for some time until he decides to get another part-time job doing skits in comedy bars some nights.
The difference between Osaka and Tokyo, is that there are a lot more foreigners in Tokyo. Some of them from Europe, Australia and America who feel more at home in bars. The different thing he has to do is perform some jokes in English- stand up comedy. A good time to practice.
This goes on for quite some time as well, eventually getting his reputation known and performing in schedules in different bars, paid of course. Soon enough, he was earning twice as much on comedy than the grocer, and decided to stick to what he was good at. Making skits for a one-man show. (Despite it being more fun if there were two.)
Sasara Nurude, age 23, was a lucky idiot in a bad place at the wrong time.
On the autumn of Sasara's birthday. He finds himself in an unfamiliar alleyway, going home from his gig at a new bar.
Sasara was actually pleased by the audience and the stage. The other stand-up comedians were good too— they have their own charm, even the foreign ones in English he could easily understand now. The club was good over-all, but the location was far from his usual gigs, the bar was bording Kanagawa. Oh well, expansion is part of getting a reputation after all, and Sasara would consider going again.
It was a cold autumn night, and there are no more trains. Not to bother though, he'll just wait for a taxi.
With no one to celebrate his birthday with, Sasara figures not to celebrate it at all. Well, maybe a small trip to the convenience store would be good. A cup of ramen, a serving of pudding, a melon soda in can, and ice-cream. Definitely. What better way to celebrate his birthday!
"What'cha smiling for punk?" There seems to be a thug beside him now. Squatting down against a wall near the lamp post. He was a gangly thing, nothing appealing at all. The usual thug, now also apparently a rapper, like everyone else in Ikekuburo. Nothing Sasara couldn't handle or talk out of.
"Hehe, Nothing. Just the weather." Sasara follows up, "Yo Cool Hama?" Because he was practically a few blocks away from that city, what's a little pun to brighten up the autumn day/night?
However, that wasn't the effect he was aiming for. "Ya' Makin' fun of me punk?!" He yells as he gets up from his position and whips out a Hypnosis Mic (Illegally obtained, probably). He turns it on, speakers pop out and he dishes out a verse. Full of crap.
Sasara may not have a Hypnosis mic, technically he was a civilian, but man! Did that verse suck. Made no sense at all. Maybe it was supposed to hurt more, but how much damage could a duddy little microphone do? (He's joking, he's seen the broadcast from the Party of Words. He knows they're lethal… sorta. Can't really be sure if he hasn't experienced it, right?)
Well, it's his birthday, so just this once. He makes his way to the rapper. "Uhhh, Uhhh, I understand. So, Hey, it's my birthday today. So I hope you don't mind but…" Once he was in range, he knees the person in the gut, and follows up with an attack on the back, near the spine. (He wasn't heartless!)
The person goes down with not much a fight, and Sasara moves to take-up the mic to turn it off. "Well, I was only planning to borrow it, but on second thought, this can be your birthday gift for me instead! Thanks a lot kid!" Sasara beams as he makes his way to the other side of the street, to wait for a taxi, get his meal and then go home.
:3 Sasara was excited to use the mic, but not tonight,,, maybe the next time he's in a pinch. Or maybe, he can try picking-up girls with this.
Sasara Nurude, age 24, was having an overdue rebound relationship- with a Yakuza.
Honestly, he should be wiser than this.
Every person is different! No one is the same! 'You should know this Sasara!' He tells himself as he signs another piece of paper. Wait. It's a contract. Yep, it's a contract. Huh, he signed his name in a piece of contract he forgot to remember the contents of… crap.
'It's been 2 years Sasara!' He mentally slaps himself. 'You are over this! It's not a rebound if it's 2 years too late, right?'
He says that to himself repeatedly, but honestly, he feels like it is an overdue rebound.
Samatoki Aohitsugi, his current partner.
Huh, just the thought of saying partner makes him think of Rosho. (It hurts just remembering his name!) Are rebounds supposed to hurt like this?
"Sasara, you look like you haven't slept in ages." Samatoki points out from his place on the couch across the desk. Of course, neither of them wanted anything to do with desk work, but Sasara had a neater hand and a better talent for this sort of thing. It's been half a year since they started this— this thing, and already they have half of Ikebukuro under their territory. As it turns out, he had the talent for rapping as well, but Samatoki's rap was brutal compared to his. All Sasara could do was match his style and support him.
If it were Rosho… Well, Rosho may look like a punk, but he's actually different.
Samatoki was kind though. He looks like a punk, but he's nice.
He gets angry, easily. He yells, a lot.
The way he thinks is — violent.
Well, Rosho is also kinda violent, but that's his charm!
They both look good in dark colors. They have great style! Slicked back hair and piercing glare aside. -Definitely Sasara's type.
They're both good people inside. Just… misunderstood. And they both have their own morals. Very different from the way Sasara deals with things.
'Maybe that's why I end up with guys like them as my partners?' He thinks to himself, another thought… 'Maybe that's how I know this isn't gonna last for long.'
"Hoi! You know what, get outta my sight. Yer' annoying me." Samatoki says as he walks over to the desk and pushes Sasara's rolling chair away from his work along with Sasara himself.
"Hey, hey, hey, I was working on something good for the kids you know." Sasara (tries) to flirt. Samatoki just grumbles something along with the likes of 'stupid comedian' and 'boring jokes'.
"Nurude, don't make me say it again. Get outta here, get some rest and don't come back until you've slept on a bed and actually ate something decent."
"Oh, how about my bed and your cock?"
"YOU PERVERTED IDIOT!"
Sasara was chased out of the office. A lot of things are broken, a lot more were thrown at him. (He'll get a bruise from that one good throw of the stapler to his thigh.)
He'd ended up eating tori katsu rice bowl and sleeping in a love hotel with a soft white-haired bed warmer though. ;3
Sasara Nurude, age 25, was learning to live for himself… Again.
He knew it! Sasara knew it!
It was too good to be true! Now it's all back to step 1 for him.
Instead of crying it out in sadness and heartbreak, he broke stuff in anger and resentment instead. (Real Mature Sasara!) He just can't help but feel angry at everything. Angry at Samatoki, at Ichiro, Even Kuko! Especially to Sasara! 'Stupid! Why are you like this Sasara! Three years and you still act like a 22 year-old! JUST!-' He rips out his hair when he thinks about it… (Fuck, I don't wanna go bald.) So he stops ripping his hair out.
And just like the first time, he packed-up and ran.
HE RAN FUCKING' AWAY!
AGAIN!
He did it again. After his rampage, he packed-up the important things (this time he didn't forget the toothbrush), and just took a train from Tokyo to Nagoya.
And when he arrived, the first thing he thought was. "Stupid! Why Nagoya?!" Fuckin' Kuko is from Nagoya. He'll be back at his home town if he's as pissed off as Sasara was. So No. He can't stay.
He buys a train ticket to Osaka.
Very tempted to stay there and catch-up with Rosh-
No. That's… No good.
Sasara torments himself the entire train ride from Nagoya to Osaka. To see or not to see (Rosho), that is the question.
When he arrived at Osaka, he immediately booked a bus to Kobe. (Not to see then…) No use stirring up the dirt when he's like this.
When he arrived at Kobe, he finds an inn. He's got money saved-up now, he can spoil himself a little. He books two nights with food to be delivered to his room, and locks himself there for good measure.
He sleeps. So tired of everything… but 10 hours of travel and layovers did get him thinking… 'What were they fighting about again?'
~~~ 0 ~~~
Sasara looks himself-up and down in the mirror after a long bath. Thinking to himself, what had changed since the last time he's done this? He almost wants to make a skit about it… but man, it fucking hurts.
"Is this how you're going to be forever Sasara?" He asks himself. Really looking at himself in the mirror. Asking himself the questions he only wishes he knew the answers to. "What happened Sasara? Why do you always do this?" He asks the reflection…. He expects no answer.
"It's not you, it's me." He jokes. Because both sides are him. He laughs at it once, forced. He doesn't laugh again. He doesn't make a continuation.
He won't cry. That much he tells himself. He's too angry to cry… Too confused to cry.
"This isn't the last you'll see of him." He tells the reflection.
"I know." He says…. And he would dread that day, and he felt hope.
After two days at Kobe, he decides to return to Osaka.
~~~ 0 ~~~
He's trying to quit smoking. -He hates himself for the pain in the ass withdrawals. But he pushes through. Smoking reminds him too much of him. The smell, the taste… The sensation.
He called up old stages and performs by himself again- new and different skits. Garnering fame pretty quickly as a solo comedian, even all the way to Tokyo where he'd been invited once to do a television show. Sasara declined. He's Osaka bound, it seems, avoiding Tokyo at all cost. Avoiding Yokohama and Tokyo at all cost.
He picks-up eating candy… because…. His mouth misses sweetness. He won't admit he's the kind of guy that likes to be sweetly kissed. But he'll make a skit about it, just to pass the time… He won't perform it.
He's tried seeing other guys. Different guys- not his type of guys. (Meaning, guys who aren't Samatoki and Rosho). They really aren't his type. It's disgusting to kiss them… They stay as friends instead, because Sasara was a funny guy. They liked his performances on stage, but not in their beds. It's pretty tragic.
He's doing fine.
He didn't cry… And maybe that's what it means to grow-up a little.
Sasara Nurude, age (almost) 26, relapses. -Oh crap.
Just shy of his birthday, Sasara receives a box from Chuuoku with 3 Hypnosis Mics and a formal note (cough*order*cough) to make a team of three for himself.
Well, this is a shitty birthday present. (To think he was excited about this when he was given (cough*stole*cough) a mic on his 23rd birthday.)
Well, it's too late to join the upcoming division battle in a month. So that means they'll be included for next year's ARB. So the question for now is… WHO.
He has one person he wants to perform with. (STOP! STOP IT SASARA!) It's been a few years, but he's still in Osaka. (NO! BAD SASARA!) Maybe if he asks nicely. (NO! FUCK! SASARA! YOU ARE THROWING AWAY A FUCK LOAD OF-) But I miss him.
He finally admits: To himself, To the world, To fate and To no one specifically.
"I miss Rosho." He voices out. "I wonder how he's doing…" Sasara asks the world.
Days later, Sasara sees him again. Takes the old key from that time (good old days), and makes himself comfortable in the darkness of the familiar living room. Sasara breathes it all in. The room smells so much like Rosho, after all these years, Sasara couldn't really forget it. (Pervert. He calls himself in his mind.) Well, since he's a pervert anyway, maybe he should take his time and sniff Rosho's pillow. (He meant it as a joke, but… it's a very tempting idea.)
Rosho walks in. The only word that comes out of his mind when he sees him "Yo!"
Followed by pain on his temple and a face full of Rosho. Ah, how nice… It's like nothing's changed. He's still himself, and Sasara is… Just a friend. Well, this pudding head has gotten himself in some trouble. Better I warn him about his fishy part-time job.
"How can I trust someone so irresponsible?!" Rosho ends up saying. Ouch. Sasara thinks he isn't as irresponsible anymore. Not after 4 years. A lot has happened… He would like to think he's changed, even just a little.
"Won't you team-up with me?" Sasara Pitches. Pulls out the Hypnosis Mic.
"I'll pass…" Rosho says. "I don't want to team-up with you anymore." It hurts. His heart twitches, the way Rosho said it so curly, effortlessly. Like it were a line he's practiced until it was perfectly- made to break Sasara's heart.
"Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why?!" He tries, to get back the momentum. Hide the pain, hide the pain of rejection. Hide it Sasara.
"I have to meet someone in a while." Sasara's heart is hit. It stings. Who is he meeting?— A partner? A friend? A lover? Ouch. Ahhh, it's…. It's been years. He's moved on… (You are pathetic Sasara.) He reels it all in. No. Hide the pain Sasara. Smile.
After an explanation. Sasara's heart! Can Rosho get any more adorable?! He's doing this for his student! He's such a sweetheart! Honestly, this man! -But back to the real topic. "It's obvious she's getting duped." He says, "Let me tag along! Let's meet your fishy guy!"
This and That Happens.
Fishy guy is a fisher man. Rosho is still violent. (Good to see nothing's changed.) And Hypnosis Mics a plenty are all out!
Rosho challenges Rei to a rap battle. Sasara joins in because, Rosho. Rei admits defeat.
And that's how Dotsuitare Hompo was created.
The end.
Not.