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Kazunari Ninomiya had been sleeping here and there for quite a while now. He left home after his parent’s divorce to never go back. He was slightly less than eighteen when it happened and he had learned to charm his way in life, to be flexible and adapt, and a bunch of skills to survive, from pick pocketing to street performing, from being a handyman to a waiter. He sometimes was a Host, and if the times turned out difficult enough he was also a whore. It wasn’t that he couldn’t keep a steady job, in fact he had tried it a couple of years back.
At that time he got himself a good position in a delivery company, not too shabby for someone who had barely finished high school, a little house in the suburban part of town, and a girlfriend to go with all that. She was a slightly older, broad, autumn beauty with dingy golden hair and little wrinkles around the corner her eyes when she smiled. They had lived together for a little over a year but before the year was due he had started to feel restless, and wanted to hit the road again. It wasn’t that he didn’t love her, because he did, and it wasn’t that having a home to go back to with a soft bed and a beautiful body to warm his nights wasn’t good enough, it was just the streets seemed more alluring at the time, and they still felt that way.
They had parted from each other, both broken hearted but with understanding, he couldn’t stay still and she couldn’t leave the comfortable life. She was married now, to a good working man, and it made him a little less guilty to know she was happy. And whenever he was in town he would call her and she would invite him to dinner, at her house if her hubby wasn’t around, or at a diner if he was. They would catch up and smile foolishly, trying to not recreate what had brought the two of them together in the first place. Bittersweet moments, they were. He had cared for her, probably more than he would admit he had, he had just loved his freedom to roam more than her.
Right now he was a little over his mid-twenties, his entire possessions would fit in a trunk and Christmas was approaching. This time of the year was a good season to play the street performer role, since people felt more generous around this time.
He arrived at Buena Ventura City towards the end of November, and it was his first time there, he usually liked White Christmases but last year he had almost frozen to death in a park and this year he wanted to avoid that situation. So he ended here, in this city by the sea.
“Behold Ninomiya Great Magician extaordinaire!!!!” He said drawing the attention of the potential donors passing by.
Sho looked at the street performer from the opposite side walk and clicked his tongue when he heard the familiar voice. This was the fucking fourth day in a row he had to endure the stupid magic show in front of his building. The first time he ran into it he thought it was cute, and put a bill or two in the hat. The second time he told security to ask him to leave while the third time he asked them to call the police. This time he would take matters into his own hands.
Sho’s full name was Sho Sakurai IV son of Sho Sakurai III, Second in command of Baron Corp. the company that ruled this town. The Sakurai household was a loving warm home… when his parents were around, which didn’t happen often. He, his brother and sister were raised by a bunch of butlers and nannys whose names he didn’t even bothered to know anymore since they were many. He had never had any materialistic needs of any kind; whatever he needed or wanted he got easily.
He thought he had turned out all right, if he was compared to his classmates in all the private schools, all those who underwent this kind of upbringing. He had managed to stay away from drugs enough to get close to thirty without having to get into rehab, unlike his “friends” who had died of overdose, one of them even before finishing high school. And right now at least one of them was in rehab.
A few of his childhood friends had married or were thinking of getting married so they could take over their parent’s companies. Sho wasn’t interested in either finding a wife or taking over the Sakurai’s share of Baron Corp. Sho didn’t feel the need of taking over anything, first of all because of the lack of interest, and second for the lack of drive. His sister was more than willing to take his place so he had opted for education. He had finished a bachelor degree in economics and started a diploma in languages before abandoning it in order to pursue a Masters degree program in international finances which was close to completion, after he would submit his dissertation.
And this is why he was in such a foul mood and couldn’t stand the third world performance in front of the apartment building his father had given him in order to support himself instead of being a burden to his family. His fucking laptop got stolen and he lost all his work and he had to start from scratch again and finish it before Christmas. And watching the fucking girl-charming smile of the magician was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He crossed the street to confront the performer. The magician was smiling brightly to the bystanders who clapped their hands at the trick he’s just done. A couple of catholic school girls giggled madly when he winked at them. The guy looked young almost like a teenager himself.
A bunch of housewives smiled like five years old on a Christmas morning and the guys clapped their hands trying to look cool and still gaping at the magic tricks. The magician took a bow before passing his hat to the audience so they would throw in some coins and a few bills. Sho almost felt compelled to throw some notes into it too but instead put his dealing with idiots face before tapping his shoulder.