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KAI'S POV - Kyoto, Japan
As Kai Sayazaka roamed the streets of the small town in Kyoto that he had grown to call 'home', he had the same thought running through his mind over and over again.
"What would it like?" --he mumbled to himself, scanning the various signs above the shops for any one particularly eye-catching.
'Nothing here interests me...' --he turned the corner onto a new street, trying again with a new intricate array of shops, all hoping he would stop and spend his hard earned yen on their items.
Ever since he was taken in by his parents oh so long ago, he'd had a much easier time earning money. They weren't specifically wealthy, but the job he'd managed to get allowed him to earn and save some of his own money, without the need to steal.
He still felt bad about that... Maybe one day he'll find a way to make up for it.
While he was lost in thought he'd unknowingly reached the end of the street again, met with a roundabout and multiple different directions he could go in. He knew that if he went left he'd be met with an orphanage and an array of dilapidated buildings, so he went right.
Turns out in the same place the beloved old dog park used to be, now sat a fish market, lively and warm with an unmistakable odour. Kai didn't know how to feel about this, on one hand he now had a huge selection of fish to pick from to feed his furry friends, but on the other, the dog park he loved to hangout at and play with the senior dogs, was now gone, levelled, reduced to just a memory in the back of his, and all the other people who went theres heads.
Kai went there anyway, the tent surrounding the whole market tilted in the direction of the wind. Instantly, the smell of warm cod, salmon, prawns and tuna hit him in the face; the way cold winter air does the moment you open the window of your warm room.
He walked slowly, taking in his surroundings. He passed the pike, squid and prawn sellers, heading towards the more... edible fish as he liked to call them. (Jk just the ones cats are more probable to eat.)
"Octopus, oysters... Oh, salmon." --he paused infront of the display, eyes jumping around the different dead fish, before settling on the board with the price listed on it. '2000¥?!?! For ONE slice of fish?!!' --it was insane, Kai thought he'd find a bargain on fish here, turns out it was quite the opposite. The whole thing wasn't any cheaper, going for an even heftier price.
"Cats probably don't like salmon anyway." --he reassured himself as he walked away, now stopping in front of the tuna, only to continue walking once he saw the price of 10000¥ per kilogram.
Ok it was quality fish, but what right does that give it to be so expensive? He hadn't gotten his first pay as a vet yet, so all the yen he had saved was from his old minimum-wage job in the city, but he'd promised that once he got paid, he'll buy the cats any yummy fish they ask for.
He arrived at his last hope, the cod. (He's picky with food he feeds his cats, of course there were many other options though.)
Surprisingly, the cod was cheaper, still not a bargain, but he'd buy it anyway.
He handed the seller 3000¥, as the elderly man started to pick at the cod, selecting which one he'd give Kai.
Walking back through the fish market into the direction of the exit, 1kg of cod in his left hand, he examined the faces of all the people as he strolled by, thinking.
'Crazy to think that all these people have their own lives, jobs, homes, just like me...'
An old woman was lively, letting her husband know about the amazing quality of the fish, a man probably in his thirties was smiling, chatting to the seller about some ordeal, a toddler was giggling, pointing at the eye of some huge fish, no one was in a bad mood today, it seemed.
Until his eyes focused on another man, probably in his twenties, didn't look very old, he had presumably dyed lavender-ish hair pulled back into a measly ponytail, he stood staring at a rack of fish, all of them beheaded. He was quite noticibly shaking, his face scared. Kai, now invested in the life of this random colourful stranger, approached him.
The man was so lost in thought, he paid no attention to Kai.
"Uhm...." --Kai tried to initiate conversation, but he was too awkward, scared to startle the already scared man.
He failed, the man flinching and turning around to look at him, almost tripping over his own feet. That's when Kai noticed he had an eyepatch over his left eye.
"Sorry, did I startle you?!" --Kai apologised, so focused on arranging his words that he forgot his tone of voice mattered, accidentally yelling at the poor man.
"Oh- uh-..." The man tried to form a sentence, but Kai baffled him, his mind completely foggy.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to yell." Kai apologised again, bowing this time. He felt like a complete idiot.
"Uh- uhmm... Cool eyepatch. Like a pirate. Arrr." --Kai was doomed, making a complete fool of himself.
"Thanks, I got it from a costume store just on the outskirts of town." --The man smiled, revealing some sharp teeth.
It reminded Kai of his kitties, their sharp fangs ready for attack, but Kai forgot to smile back, instead continuing to embarrass himself further.
"I saw you over here, you looked weird." --Kai stated, sure that he finally made a sentence that made some form of sense.
But instead the man just grimaced at him and tilted his head, analysing his face.
That was when Kai realised how rude he just sounded....
"Shit, sorry, god! I meant- uh- you were shaking and you looked scared, I don't know. Not weird. You're cool. I mean- you looked out of place- sorta." --Kai rambled, trying to make up for his stupidness, but the man just laughed at him.
Yikes, he was an idiot.
"It's alright, I understand what you mean. It's just that my friend asked me to pick some fish up for her, she's low on money right now and said she'll pay me back the second she can." --The man explained his situation, but Kai was still confused.
"Why were you so scared?"
"Oh- uh.... Please don't laugh at me." The man asked, and he hadn't completely made a fool of Kai yet, so he nodded. "I'm scared of fish..." The man averted his gaze, clearly embarrassed by his unnecessary phobia.
Kai was caught off-guard, not expecting such a weird reason for his distress.
"So that's why you were shaking?"
"Uhm, yes. I thought that was clear, no? Sorry."
There was an awkward silence, Kai not failing to make a mess out of an already awkward situation.
"Uh.... My names Kai Sayazaka- sorry for making you uncomfortable." --he held his left hand out, a handshake, a gesture of mutual trust.
"Watatsuki Rei." --he smiled but didn't take his hand, looking down at it.
Kai followed his gaze, only to set on the plastic bag of cod in his hand.
"Oh god- sorry! I forgot I had bought cod!" --Kai quickly put his hand down by his side, feeling like a complete failure once more.
"Cod?!" --Rei exclaimed, backing away, only to back into the rack of large beheaded fish, shrieking.
"I'm sorry! Do you want to- uhm- go outside? Away from the fish." Kai gestured to the exit, in case he made no sense.
"But I still have to buy the fish..." Rei shivered, foreshadowing looking at, touching and buying all that fish.
"I can get it for you if you'd like, what fish do you need?" Kai offered, seeing the obvious distress in Rei's face.
'Maybe this is the start to making up for everything I stole, giving back.' --Kai thought, excited, but knowing he shouldn't get ahead of himself.
"Are you sure?" Rei asked, unsure, wanting confirmation but obviously excited by the idea.
"Yeah, I'll get it for you."
"Thank you so much, really." Rei smiled and sighed a sigh of relief. "She wants a bag of prawns, cheapest one. Probably 1kg instead of the half, she needs to eat more. I'll pay for it." He said, taking out a weathered black leather wallet from his jacket, covered in scratched band stickers, some just as a sticky residue left on the leather.
"Thank you again, I'm sorry for the hassle." Rei apologized, pinching the bag of prawns, holding it like a bag of dog poop, as little contact as physically possible, wincing when he accidentally touched the tail of a prawn through the plastic.
"It's ok, really, my pleasure." Kai smiled back at him, hoping he forgot the awkward encounter they had earlier.
"Do you live around here? Or are you going somewhere?"
"Uhm, my parents' house is a ten minute walk...?" --Kai was unsure on what details he should share, but so far Rei seemed nice enough. Pirates aren't the worst people you could share your address with, right?
"Is it near the pharmacy? Or more where Kikiyama's is?
"Oh, right near the pharmacy, Kikiyama's is quite far. The best supermarket in Kyoto though."
"My motel is there too, shall we go?"
"Sure" --Kai smiled, the guy was friendly.
"Is this your motel?" --Kai looked up at the sketchy motel, it was pretty nice, but the owners didn't put up with any crap, one bad thing and you're gone.
"Yeah, it's all I have right now, I share a room with the friend i was talking about earlier, Vivian. I'm visiting my hometown and she decided to tag along." --Rei explained
"So you don't live here?"
"Oh no, I live far away, but I am Japanese."
"I see..." --Kai trailed off, lost in thought-- "Goodnight then, I hope I'll see you around."
"Goodnight."
In the alley Kai sat perched on a makeshift chair he'd constructed out of the top layer of fabric on a mattress and a crate, with the bag of cod placed next to him.
Miaow.
There was a cat with a shiny black coat of fur in front of him, it's eyes glistening in the moonlight.
'Full moon tonight, pretty.' --Kai thought, looking up.
The cat's eyes followed his, looking at the moon too. They looked alike, both having one yellow eye and one blue eye, and black hair. He thought it was perfect, the cat was meant for him.
He didn't know it's gender, but Kai had named it Miyuki anyway, after 'beautiful happiness', because the cat was the most beautiful thing ever to him and made him happy, he didn't know what he would do without it.
"You hungry, Miyuki?"
The cat mewled in response, smelling the fish from miles away.
"Ok, ok. Here you go." --he reached into the bag and pulled out the packaged cod, tearing it free and ripping it apart with his hands, taking out any bones and feeding his cat.
More cats huddles around, all miaowing for a bite of fish. As he fed them, he felt a surge of happiness, a feeling of freedom. He liked doing good for the cats, he liked their company.