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One would assume that suddenly having a rich dad in the picture would mean they no longer had to get a part-time job. This was not the case for Josuke. Even though Mr. Joestar did regularly wire money to him, that ended up in a savings account for when he got older.
And so, Josuke found himself working the counter of the VHS rental store in Morioh to get some extra cash. He’d really prefer to just scam himself into having money, but his mom pushed him to do this, saying it would be good to have the experience.
There were a few perks that came with his job. The VHS rental shop was usually pretty slow during Josuke’s shifts, meaning that he could just spend time watching movies or fighting through his homework assignments. His boss was pretty relaxed, so he never noticed when Josuke ‘forgot’ to stock certain items, only to rent them out to himself later on. The best part of his job happened to be when his friends stopped by. Josuke often found himself longing for the freedom he had before his job, even though the shit that he and his friends went through together was pretty traumatizing. Just getting to see them for a few minutes during his shift almost made up for it.
*
The bell chimed above the door, freeing Josuke from his daze. “Hi, welcome to Morioh Movie Market. Let me know if you need anything,” came the rehearsed speech as he stood up straight. Once it registered to Josuke that the customer was merely Tamami Kobayashi, he relaxed and went back to staring out the window. Josuke felt confident that the con artist wouldn’t try anything, solely out of fear that Josuke would tell Koichi.
“What do you think about DVDs?” The question was directed at Josuke, but Tamami kept his focus on the small end cap of discs.
“What do you mean?”
“Do ya’ think they’ll catch on? Will they replace VHS?” Tamami picked up a DVD and a nearby VHS to emphasize his point.
Josuke shrugged. It wasn’t part of his job to know. “As long as this place stays in business, I don’t care.”
“You should care,” Tamami insisted, placing the DVD back before making his way to the counter with the tape. “If they stop making VHS tapes and VCRs, won’t we lose things? Plus, getting copies in the new formats would be a waste of money.”
“I guess you’re right,” Josuke replied, opening the box to verify the tape. “You got a member card?”
Tamami threw the card onto the counter instead of handing it to him like a decent human being. “All I’m saying is that the push for DVDs is gonna make a lot of people unhappy.”
“I don’t control what gets stocked,” Josuke said, entering the rental information into the computer.
“You should go to the library. Learn about the preservation of history,” Tamami suggested.
“Mhm,” Josuke responded, trying not to roll his eyes. He tore the receipt off the machine and took a pen to it before turning his attention back to Tamami. “Alright, here is your receipt. If you look at the date that I circled, that’s when you have to have these items checked back in. You can either bring them here to the counter, or leave them in the drop box. Have a great day.”
*
Ding
“Hi, welcome to Morioh Mo—”
“Oi Josuke, do ya’ got the new Pokémon movie in yet?” Okuyasu interrupted, walking right up to the counter.
Josuke rested his head on his elbows on the counter, ignoring how fucked up he had to stand to accomplish the maneuver. “Nah, that’s still in theaters. We won’t get it in for a few months.”
“Man, that’s dumb,” Okuyasu complained. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his uniform and glanced around the store, not making eye contact. Looking up at his best friend, it almost seemed to Josuke like Okuyasu had something else to say.
“Any other movie you’re interested in?”
“Nothin’ else specific,” he answered with a shrug, moving to browse the shelves. “I should get something that my dad and the cat might like to watch.”
Josuke stood back up straight. “I could help pick something out if you aren’t sure.”
“My dad seems to really like happy movies, but the happy movies that make chicks cry, you know?”
Josuke smiled, amused by his friend’s choice of words. Okuyasu had cried watching more movies than any girl Josuke had ever been friends with. “Yeah, yeah, we got a lot of girls coming to pick up Disney tapes. Those are more for little kids, but I guess anyone could like ‘em.”
Okuyasu ended up bringing a few tapes to the counter. “You like romance movies, yeah? Is this one any good?”
Josuke looked over the case, trying to remember if he’d seen it before. It seemed to be a standard story about a guy and a girl getting together despite the odds against them. “Looks like it would be good. It could probably make your dad cry, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
The other teen nodded. “Cool. Yeah, I’ll get that one then.”
Josuke began processing Okuyasu’s rental. “I hope these work out. Let me know what you think when you bring ‘em back.”
“Of course, man. I always do!”
He handed the stack of tapes and the receipt over the counter. “You know where the return date is.”
The return date didn’t matter when it came to Okuyasu though. Josuke would simply extend the rental if his friend forgot to drop by.
*
After spending time browsing the store, a nervous Toshikazu Hazamada made his way to the counter. Josuke figured the stand user was afraid of pissing him off, so it came as a surprise when the shorter boy presented a broken tape to him. “Do I have to pay for this? I swear it was an accident.”
Josuke sighed. “If you brought it to anyone except me, probably.” He brought out Crazy Diamond who punched the tape apart and reformed it with everything back inside the casing, good as new.
The other brightened immediately. “I really owe you for this, Josuke.”
“Yeah, it’s whatever,” Josuke answered, checking his hair with his hands. “Anything else I can get you?”
*
At the busiest hour of the day, Josuke nearly forgot to give his rehearsed greeting when the bell chimed. “Hi, welcome to Morioh Movie Market. Let me know if you need anything,” he called out before returning to the short line at the counter. “Alright, will this be all for you?”
Despite the fact that the store was busy, nearly every customer felt the need to engage in small talk about their day. A girl in the year above him told him about how she was renting something to watch with a boy that had confessed to her. One of his neighbors asked how his mom is doing. A classmate reminded him of an upcoming party. An employee from the shop next door asked to borrow receipt paper.
Eventually Yukako made her way to the front of the line. She placed a single VHS tape down on the counter without a word.
“Hey Yukako. Will this be all for you?”
“Can we talk, Josuke?”
Josuke froze, caught off guard by the intimidating girl. “Uh, yeah, as long as no other customers show up.”
“I changed the sign to closed when you weren’t looking,” Yukako said, pushing herself up onto the counter.
Josuke reflexively took a step back. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You’re Koichi’s friend, and I’m Koichi’s girlfriend. I know you’re not the best at math,” she prefaced, examining her fingernails. “But by the transitive property, your problems are my problems, so I’m here to help you help yourself.”
“Right,” Josuke acknowledged, not fully following her logic.
“Okuyasu is bisexual.”
“Huh?” Josuke blanched, thankful that the other customers had already left. “Did he tell you that?”
“No, he didn’t need to. It just takes a bisexual to know one,” Yukako explained. Josuke chose to ignore the relief that flooded his chest at the knowledge that Okuyasu didn’t trust Yukako more than him.
“You’re, uh, you’re that too? Bisexual?” Josuke deflected.
Yukako laughed. “Yes, I’m fully committed to Koichi, but girls are hot. Though, I guess you wouldn’t know that.”
“What are you talking about? I know that!” Josuke cringed at his own reaction.
“Right, anyway. You should ask Okuyasu out. Stop dancing around each other. Koichi’s concerned about you. Make your move or I’ll make it for you.”
Josuke narrowed his eyes. “I’m not into Okuyasu. Where did you get that idea?”
“Bros don’t blush when they share water, nor do they go on dinner dates.”
“Going to Tonio’s isn’t a date,” Josuke argued, placing his hands on the counter.
Yukako shook her head. “Just think about it. You might realize something about yourself.”
*
“Hi, welcome to Morioh Movie Market. Let me know if you need anything,” Josuke called out in response to the chime. He didn’t take notice of who entered as he rewound a tape that had just been returned. Once the film was back to the start, Josuke ejected it and boxed it up for restocking.
Unfortunately when he turned his attention back to the counter, Josuke was able to spot Rohan meandering about the store with a sketch pad in hand. He braced himself for the most unpleasant customer service experience as he kept an eye on the manga artist.
“Are you working on your manga?” Josuke asked, even though he already knew the answer. Perhaps unwanted conversation would get Rohan to leave sooner than later.
“Not that you’d care,” Rohan began, having seen through Josuke’s polite facade, “but yes, I am.”
Josuke had nothing better to do than to press him further. “How does the VHS rental shop factor into your manga?”
Rohan exhaled sharply from his nose. “I have always said that reality is the best foundation for a manga. In reality, we have fiction. I’m sure you’re aware of this, despite your lack of interest in culture.”
“Mhm.”
“Well, it is likely that fiction exists within fictional worlds. Some artists use this inner fiction to represent things within the story. I’m sure you’re familiar with Shakespeare?”
“Romeo and Juliet?” Josuke offered, though he wasn’t sure what the connection was.
“Right, I don’t know why I expected you to be familiar with his better works. Anyway, I’m interested in how fiction can be used within an artistic work.”
“Okay.”
“Some artists include their own work as fiction within their art, creating their own universe. Others will tie in fiction from the real world. I’ve even heard of manga artists spoiling the ending to real works in their art.”
Rohan continued to walk around the store, picking up tapes seemingly at random.
“Well, I hope you figure out what you want. If you need any recommendations for rentals, let me know,” Josuke said, trying to end the conversation. He let out a breath of relief at the next chime of the bell, knowing he wouldn’t be alone with Rohan any longer.
*
“Josuke, it is so nice to see you amico!” Tonio Trussardi greeted, placing some tapes on the counter.
Josuke beamed. “It’s great to see you too. Maybe I’ll have to stop by your restaurant once I get my next paycheck.”
He began ringing up the chef’s rentals. It wasn’t any of his business, but Josuke found himself confused by the selection. An old Italian movie made sense, though he wasn’t sure why the store carried it. Standing out among the instructional cooking tapes was a documentary on local ocean life. He didn’t know Tonio was into anything like that.
“Come to think of it,” Tonio mused, tapping his cheek thoughtfully. “I haven’t seen you and Okuyasu stop by in a while. Is money the problem? I have to run my business, but I’d never let my dear friends go without.”
Josuke let out a nervous laugh. “No, nothing like that. I think we’ve just been busy is all. We really appreciate your kindness though. I’ll have to get in touch with Okuyasu about heading over soon!”
“Ah, it’s very good to hear my favorite pair of customers is doing alright,” the chef smiled. “You’re always welcome!”
He tore Tonio’s receipt out of the machine and circled the return date with haste, not wanting to dwell on the use of ‘pair’ to describe him and Okuyasu. “Alright, here you go. Just have these back at the counter or in the drop box by the date I circled for you!”
Tonio took the stack into his arms. “Grazie, Josuke,” he said on his way out of the store, leaving Josuke alone with his thoughts.
*
“Hey man, what are you doing here? Your rentals aren’t due back ‘til the end of the week,” Josuke greeted as Okuyasu entered the store.
“I was bored at home,” he shrugged, walking to the small selection of video games. “I miss hanging out with you after school.”
“I miss that too,” Josuke agreed. He meant it, though he had been avoiding Okuyasu ever since he had that conversation with Yukako. Josuke really did consider himself to be a true love kind of guy, but maybe that was just an excuse for him to not think critically about his interests, specifically how he felt around his best friend.
“Hey, uh, did you hear they’re making a new Nintendo console?” Okuyasu asked as he browsed the N64 titles.
“Yeah, I heard the graphics are gonna be realistic. Almost like Mario is there with you.”
Okuyasu visibly shivered. “Man, that sounds creepy. I dunno, I miss arcade machines. Back when I lived in Tokyo, Keicho would take me to the arcade sometimes. Mario was just flat back then.”
“I wish Morioh had an arcade,” Josuke mused, picking up the large stack of tapes that needed to be restocked. “Or maybe an Internet cafe.”
“That would be fun,” Okuyasu agreed, turning to face him. “Do you need help with that?”
“Nah, I’ve got it.” Josuke managed to take two more steps before tripping over his own feet. The sound of tapes clattering against each other as they fell rang through his ears. Instead of the rough carpet and sharp plastic that he expected to feel, Josuke found himself being held up by a pair of strong arms.
“You should be more careful,” Okuyasu said, helping Josuke stabilize himself. “I know Crazy Diamond can fix the tapes, but if you got hurt I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Josuke fought back the blush on his face, as well as the memories of the conversation he had with Yukako. “Thanks. You’re right, I shouldn’t have tried to carry it all at once.”
He set down the tapes he still had in his arms before bringing his stand out to examine and repair any that broke.
“Are you okay, Josuke? You’ve been acting weird lately. You know I’m not smart, I prefer it when people tell me things directly.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Josuke didn’t really know if it was a lie or not. Clearly something must not be fine if he felt like he had to avoid Okuyasu, but on the other hand, nothing had changed. “You ought to stop putting yourself down though. You’re smarter than me sometimes.”
After a moment, Okuyasu crouched down beside him. “D’you think the new console will have a new ‘Oh That’s a Baseball!!’ game?”
Josuke welcomed the change of subject as he sorted the tapes into smaller stacks based on section. “It better. If it does, we gotta invite Jotaro back into town. I heard a rumor he once bet his soul to a stand user over a game of that.”
“Your nephew really got into some crazy shit,” Okuyasu said with a grin.
“Must be a Joestar thing,” Josuke shrugged.
*
“Koichi! How was your date with Yukako?” Josuke greeted upon seeing his friend enter the store.
Koichi froze. “How did you know I had a date with her recently?”
“She came in here to rent a movie and threaten me,” Josuke answered with a shrug.
The shorter boy relaxed and nodded. “It was nice. So, what did she threaten you about?”
Josuke checked his hair nervously. “Ah, I don’t really wanna talk about it. It was embarrassing.” Koichi’s face lit up like he knew something. Great. Josuke didn’t get paid to confront his own issues, he got paid to rent out VHS tapes. “Why did you ask if she already told you about it?”
“I was trying to be polite. Is it true that you really didn’t know before?”
“I just never let myself think about it. I guess I wasn’t ready to confront any of it.” Josuke answered. He still hadn’t managed to admit anything to himself in more concrete words.
“Do you still feel that way? I can tell Yukako to lay off.” Koichi made his way to the counter.
Josuke groaned and pressed his palms to his eyes. “Ugh, it doesn’t matter. I had to get a clue at some point.”
“Have you tried talking to Okuyasu?”
“No. I’ve only seen him once outside of school since. I could tell he knew something was up, but I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. I don’t even know what the right thing to say is.”
“Just be honest with him. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
Josuke sighed. “I lose one of my best friends because he thinks I’m weird.”
“And what’s the best thing that could happen?”
“I dunno,” Josuke felt the heat rise on his face. “Maybe we could hold hands or something.”
“Uh huh. Have you ever thought about kissing him? Or having him help you take down your hair after a long day?”
Josuke couldn’t even look Koichi in the eyes anymore. “Dude stop, this is serious.”
Koichi held up his hands defensively. “I know, I know. Maybe this is selfish of me, but I want to go on at least one double date with you two before I head out to Italy.”
Josuke whipped his face back to Koichi. “Hold on! You can’t just drop that out of nowhere. The Italy thing is actually happening?”
“Yeah, apparently I’m the only one Jotaro trusts for this mission.” Koichi shrugged, though Josuke knew his friend took a lot of pride in being seen as reliable.
“When are you leaving?”
“I don’t know. I’ve gotta get things settled with my family and with the school first. Plus, the plane trip still has to get arranged.”
“You’re gonna bring back a souvenir for me, right?”
The other boy snorted. “Yeah, as long as none of the potentially dangerous stand users make me forget.”
*
Today was the day. Okuyasu’s rentals were due back, so Josuke had the perfect chance to confess his feelings. The only problem with this plan was that he still wasn’t sure what to say.
‘You’re my best bro’ was too friendly.
‘I want to hold your hand’ was both too forward and too vague.
‘I want everyone in Morioh to know that you’re mine’ was too… Yukako-ish.
Josuke needed to get his feelings across in a way that was both honest and easily understood. Between customers, he spent his time rehearsing lines and trying to come up with something clever.
Ding
“Hi, welcome to Morioh Movie Market. Let me know if you need anything.” At the sight of his best friend walking through the door, Josuke felt like he might throw up. He bit his lip reflexively as Okuyasu walked up to the counter.
“Josuke, I'm here to return those tapes.”
“Great timing. Let me get that started for you.” He took the stack from Okuyasu and focused on the process of returning them to the store. When he got to the romance movie, he held it up. “How was it?”
Okuyasu looked off to the side. “Oh, it was really cheesy. I think my dad liked it. You would definitely like it. They even play a Prince song during one of the scenes.”
“No way?” Josuke scanned the case and placed it on the cart for restock.
Okuyasu shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. If you ever wanna watch it, I’d be up for seeing it again. I’ll try not to spoil it.”
Josuke nodded. They were nearing the end of the interaction and his heart pounded quickly. “So, uh, Okuyasu…”
“Yeah?”
“Is there anything you wanted to rent today?” Shit. That wasn’t what he meant to say.
“Oh, uh, not really.”
“No problem,” Josuke replied awkwardly. In what world would it have been a problem? “Hey, uh, after my shift do you wanna hang out? We haven’t in a while.”
Okuyasu brightened. “Yeah, that would be great! What do you wanna do?”
“I was thinking we could go see the new Pokémon? You brought it up a little while back. If it’s still in theaters, I could buy us tickets.” Josuke tried to prepare himself for rejection as Okuyasu considered his proposal. He hadn’t even added the word date to it, but he felt like something was crushing him.
“Hm, I guess that’s a perk of you having a job. Wouldn’t it be more fun to sneak in though?” Okuyasu suggested.
He was right. Sneaking into a movie always felt better than paying for one. “Sounds good to me, but if we get dessert after, I’m buying.”
“And then you’ll walk me home under the light of the moon?” Okuyasu joked with hands clasped.
With a newfound surge of confidence Josuke leaned over the counter. “Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?”
Okuyasu grinned. “I guess I’d have to kiss you goodnight.”
Not to be outdone by his surprisingly smooth best friend, Josuke leaned back in mock shock. “On the first date? I didn’t expect that of you.”
Okuyasu threw his hands up in defeat. “You got me, I move too fast. That’s the real reason I can’t get a date, not my face, or my grades, or my massive crush on my best friend.”
Okuyasu and Josuke both stopped and stared at each other for a few seconds. Josuke noticed his friend’s face becoming gradually more red, and he could only imagine the heat on his own face matched.
Ding
Josuke turned to the entrance and greeted the customer quickly, stumbling over his word, before bringing his attention back to Okuyasu.
“So, uh, Okuyasu…”
“Josuke…”
“I’ll see you later, yeah? After my shift?”
Okuyasu pointed at himself with a confused look on his face. “You… We? We’re still catching that movie?”
Josuke brought his best friend into a headlock over the counter. “Of course we are, you moron. Now get outta here so I can prepare myself for that kiss later. It’ll be my first, so it’s gotta be right.” He gently pushed Okuyasu out of his embrace towards the door. “Oh, by the way, Koichi wants a double date before he leaves the country.”
Okuyasu’s eyes went even wider somehow. “Italy’s really happening? Screw a double date, we should throw him a going away party! Maybe we can throw it at Rohan’s house.”
Josuke only smiled to himself as Okuyasu left the store, wondering if tomorrow he’d wake up thinking about his boyfriend rather than his best friend.