Chapter Text
There are birds tweeting distantly, their song is supposed to be soothing for the man who chose to spend the penniless night away on one of the benches at Yoyogi park but right now, he wishes he just spent it on a certain Novelist's warm futon. Rubbing his eyes to clear away the remaining sleep, Arisugawa Dice squints his phone displaying the most recent email he received.
It came from a recipient who shares the same family name as him, a name he never thought would read anywhere aside from the newspapers he used as a makeshift blanket. Dice turns his attention towards the subject line next. 'Come and watch the rerun of our play' it says. He clicks on the attachments next and realizes it's theater play tickets for 3 people.
"So he joined a theater troupe this time now?" The gambler scratches his cheek. He remembers how those crimson eyes, although in a deeper shade of red than his eyes, reflected the same intensity of loneliness as the one he carried. "Maybe I should check out how he's doing."
Where most people go, Yumeno Gentaro would likely be there, watching them. The premise sounds vaguely threatening but if the man with brunette locks would be the one to do a self introduction, he would make it a hundred times more ominous.
A notebook on hand and a pen on another, he stands elegantly as those emerald eyes chase after anyone. He's so absorbed in creating short stories right in the middle of the crowd that he doesn't care how they view him.
Dice can never understand how the Novelist picks his subject but there's always a promise of a great story after he goes through his usual musings. (Although pretty, he sometimes cannot understand a thing about his stories, just like that person's poems)
"Hey, Gentaro!" Dice calls him. A few glances spared in their direction didn't faze the man from running towards the brunette beauty.
"And this man with a goofy smile walking is Dice Arisugawa. On the night before, he suddenly left the great Novelist, Yumeno Gentaro, hanging. perhaps, he is in great need for a capital that he finally reappears." Dice gulps at Gentaro's jab, clearly displaying his anger in the form he's comfortable the most (even if it weirds him out at first, now it feels endearing). "So, are you just going to stare at me and forget to convey the reason why you seeked the counsel of this Novelist?"
"For suddenly disappearing on you, my bad!" Easily melting his cold anger with his simple apologies, Gentaro finally smiles. He makes sure to indulge the other with his company as an extension of his apologies. After all, he likes carrying the other man's haul of second hand books as much as twisting the knob of the pachinko machine. He doesn't mind anything, really, especially whenever Gentaro's smile isn't hidden behind his sleeve.
"Right! A relative sent me these." On the cracked screen of his phone, he shows the Novelist the tickets for a play rerun he received earlier. "Want to watch the play with Ramuda and I?"
"MANKAI company huh..." Gentaro mulls over, scrolling through the play's specifics and plot. The story revolves around Shiki and his butler Sagishima and the handkerchief left on the roadside which the young master picks up. Opting to deliver it themselves instead of letting another servant do it, the next scenes that will unfold promises the audience a thrilling experience. Not exactly the type of story Dice thought Gentaro would love but the sparkle of curiosity in his eyes is more than enough to tell him that he's into it. "I am quite interested in the story. Let's ask Ramuda out."
Minding to knock on the door this time or he'll get another of those stinging hand marks on his face, Dice turns the knob when he hears a grunt for a response from the other side. Gentaro closely follows behind him.
Once an office filled with (too much) colors, the whole room has turned into a giant lair of a fabric-hoarding dragon. Fabric hung almost on any surface, crumpled sketches lay discarded before a pink sole. Right in the middle of the mound, there is a pink haired man and a mannequin.
Catching his leader stabbing his mannequin with a pin like he imagines it to be a certain doctor from Shinjuku, they consider turning back and running away. That is until Amemura Ramuda snaps out of it and catches one of them by placing his arms around Dice's middle.
"Hewwo Dice and Gentaro, what's up?" He asks in his upbeat voice, unmindful of the panic the Gambler is in as he notices the pin is still on his Leader's hand.
"I-I got some tickets for a stage play! Would you like to watch it with me and Gentaro?" To his relief, Ramuda unlatches himself (before he can make anyone bleed) to look at Dice's phone he managed to retrieve from his pockets. The webpage Gentaro has been looking at has been scrolled towards the page of the cast in full costume. "I know you're in the middle of designing for your new collection so it's fine if you don't want to go with us."
As he's about to retract his hand, Ramuda once again catches his wrist. Once lifeless, his eyes are now gleaming with renewed vigor. "These costumes... THEY'RE SO CUTE! DAISU, I WANNA GO AND SEE THESE IN PERSON!"
"Is it alright though?" Gentaro speaks next, gently prying Ramuda off Dice. "Aren't you supposed to submit your artwork at the end of the week?"
The fashion Designer pouts, gesturing at the mess of fabric and papers around him. "I'm uninspired! I can't force out y'know? Maybe I can get some when I watch that play!" He goes back into furiously pinching and spreading his fingers on the screen, looking too close to it as he tries to look more into the details of the costume, rather than on the cast themselves. "And the play is set in the Taisho era too — my theme for the next collection!" Seeing the excitement seep from their small bundle of joy and chaos, the Novelist finally feels convinced.
"If you say so then we're all-clear." Gentaro turns towards Dice. "When will the show start?"
"Tomorrow night, if we ride the train today then we'll arrive tomorrow morning." He snatches his phone back from Ramuda and checks the dates again before typing a reply to his relative's email. "I will ask if there's a place for us to stay there."
"Yay!" Ramuda jumps and smiles so excitedly that the bags under his eyes seem to fade. "To Veludo way, let's go!"