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“So… ya really ain’t giving up?”
“I assure you that I am a formidable opponent, Owada.” Taka responds with a weakening smirk. Oh yeah, the heat is really getting to him now.
“Ya look like ya could pass out at any moment, man.”
Insulted, Taka straightened his back and looked to me with determined crimson eyes, completely different than the exhausted man he was a moment ago. “Hah! As if!”
He must’ve really taken that to heart. Oh well, looks like this won’t be ending anytime soon.
The silence began to sit heavily.
“So, what’s your deal?”
“Hmm? My ‘deal’?”
“Yeah, why are you such a fuckin’ stick in the mud.”
“First of all, that is quite rude. Second, I simply find it important to always do my best. The least I can do is expect that others do as well, yes?” He looked pointedly at me as he spoke that last sentence.
Too exhausted to take offense, I scoffed instead. “I guess, but that turns people off, man...”
“Hmm, I suppose so.” He hummed thoughtfully.
“Look, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not saying yer a bad guy or anything, just... I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
“I-I believe we did as well… In truth, I am not blind to your lifestyle. I understand the hardships that must have led to where you are today. Your efforts are... admirable. Even if different than my own.”
“Wow, I… I appreciate that.” I nervously scratched the back of my neck and broke our suddenly oppressive eye contact. No one has really ever acknowledged me in that way before. Everyone I’ve ever met assumed I decided this life. That this is ultimately what I wanted. That I didn’t, I don’t know, have fuckin’ dreams like everyone else. I just… had my cards dealt wrong or something. That I… I was the one who was wrong. That I couldn’t be anything else but what the world saw me as.
“So, what’s yours like?”
“My what?” Taka seemed to be really losing focus. Not that I could say I was immune or nothin’, fuck… The effect of the heat must be returning to my head.
“Your ‘lifestyle’ er whatever.”
He laughed. “Oh, yes, that. I am working to correct my grandfathers wrongdoings. The repercussions have been immense... physically, financially, mentally.” He stared into the floor. “I will succeed with honest work. I will.” His eyes drifted back to mine drearily.
For a moment, I could have sworn I saw a glint of something familiar in his eyes.
His eyes…
The heat is gettin’ to me now, huh?
“Taka, that’s sorta amazin’. ‘M sorry for ya though. Takin’ on all that cause of some geezer’s bullshit? Shit, man...”
He moved his body to face mine and dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand.
“Don’t be. This is what I work for. I am determined to prove myself and help everyone.” He smiled.
His smile.
Why? Why the hell is it so familiar?
The man I was speaking with moments ago is basically a complete stranger to me, but...
It’s like I’ve met him before.
Fuck… it’s actually gettin’ kinda cold in here now. I found myself closing in on the space between us.
“That’s real selfless of ya. I guess jus’ keep yerself in mind once in a while, yeah? Can’t fix fuckin’ everything on yer own.”
Taka nodded lazily and slumped his head to the side to rest on my shoulder. “You as well. You have a significant responsibility being the leader of such a large body of people. I can’t imagine the pressure you are under each and every day.”
I hummed in acknowledgement. “Thanks, man. I-I will. Promise.”
I ran my hand up and down his back, resting my head lazily on his.
“It feels like we’ve met before, ya know? That’s uh... a weird thing to say, huh?”
I felt a small shake of his head against my body.
“No… it makes sense. This whole situation is so strange, I find myself with quite a few confusing thoughts like that.”
Yeah, confusing thoughts like that.
It was a few more minutes of haze and silence between us as we both sat in the overwhelming heat of the sauna. Damn, we should really get the hell out of here.
As I turned my head downward to ask him what he thought about calling a truce, barely remembering this was a competition in the first place, I caught a glimpse of his eyelids laying heavily closed. The subtle rise and fall of his chest assured me that he wasn’t… you know, dead.
Once my eyes stilled on the slightly parted lips breathing slowly in and out I felt a familiar rush. N-nothin’ fuckin’ weird! Like… like it’s in my head?
Maybe it was this fuckin’ heat, or maybe it was some other force I couldn’t understand, but...
“I-I… want to kiss you again. Can I... Can I do that?”
Taka immediately stirred, his eyes widening in surprise, but unable to move from his current position to look at me.
“Ah, hah… but we’ve never kissed before...?”
In the haze, my hand met his hip and trailed his waist. The expanse of his smooth skin. It’s all… so familiar.
“Huh... yeah...” I could only manage to mutter. “I don’t know, it just feels like we have.”
“It... does.”
Suddenly, he was moving. Every moment felt like an eternity and immediate all at the same time. My brain was officially fried. The world around me clear, yet I’ve never been more confused in my life.
Our fingers interlocked on the bench below us, his face finally meeting mine and our lips connected. The kiss stinging in the steam of the sauna.
To Taka, I hoped it felt like a dream.
To me, it felt like a memory.