Chapter 10
Arriving at what seemed to be an Akihabara video game store, I was greeted by a sight that felt as big as ten trucks. Rows of shelves filled to the brim with games stretched out before me. I saw people of different kinds, from locals to international visitors, browsing through the catalog of games. The older generation of gamers held onto old games, looking at them with nostalgia, while the newer generation gazed curiously at the older titles, all the while clutching their freshly purchased games.
They are also selling consoles form different brands like Nintendo ,Sega and Sony. I approach one of the shelves that display Playstation 5 and Nintendo Switch. While picking up the consoles that I want ,I notice a rare breed of gamer here in japan picking a Xbox console. I look at him with a smile on my face but he did not notice it so whatever.
As I proceeded to look for the fighting games I wanted, I noticed they were selling TVs and speakers to accompany your lonely console, and you could even buy a mini-fridge so gamers didn't need to walk to get water or drinks. Just seeing this made me remember that Akihabara was not actually an Otaku Haven; it was originally an Electronic Town for, you know, electronic things. No maid cafes, no anime stuff, no idol fans walking around, no cosplayers—the horror for otakus. But enough about me.
I walked around for a while until I found what I was looking for. I picked up Tekken, Street Fighter, and Smash Bros. Then, I tried to find games for myself. I specifically like single-player games, so I looked for Zelda and Final Fantasy games. I grabbed Breath of the Wild, which I hadn't played yet, and for Final Fantasy, I got the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
I then headed in the direction of the store cashier. The cashier was a man in his late twenties, of average height, with curly black hair. He wore a blue cap, which must have been part of the uniform, as he was also clad in a blue and white long-sleeve shirt. He had a goatee and his eyes were black.
"I want to buy this," I said, looking at him and then at his name tag, feeling a bit confused.
"Clark?" I remarked, noting the name on his tag.
"Don't ask why," Clark replied with a sigh.
Okay, now I'm definitely going to ask. "Why?" I smiled while propping my head up with my hand on the counter.
"My parents are fans of American manga" Clark said not wanting to talk anymore.
"Ah, Superman," I said with a nod. "At least they didn't name you after Batman," I followed up.
Clark laughed lightly. "Yeah, but thanks to them, I started reading and liking American manga because, you know, Japanese manga is quite lacking in variety. There are too many subpar shounen manga getting serialized by publishers," he ranted.
"I see, I see. But we do have One Piece and Dragon Ball Z," I countered. And now that I think about it, I should introduce the manga that this world is missing. But that's for the future; right now, I need to be a Music Man first.
"True, but you can't help but compare them to ours, though," Clark sighed in disappointment.
Looking at him, I advised, "Don't sweat it, dude. Just enjoy what you enjoy; it's as simple as that."
"Yeah, you're right," Clark smiled.
"But there will be a time when you will enjoy Japanese manga in the future," I said, looking at him while smiling.
"I hope so," Clark said.
"How much do I owe you?" I said smugly, and he told me the price, to which I gave him the money.
"Do you know any music shops near this area?" I asked, because instead of teleporting, I wanted to walk around.
"Sorry, I don't," Clark said apologetically.
"Don't mind," I said while picking up the things I bought.
"Thank you for the patronage," Clark bowed gratefully.
"Then I'll be..." I paused for a bit and said this with a smile, "Up, up, and away!"
Clark laughed and waved, saying, "Goodbye, come again."
I waved back and walked out of the store.
---
While Oreki was buying consoles and games for Tom and Jerry...
Inside a moving delivery van...
In the driver's seat, there was an old man driving in his late forties, with black and a bit of white hair. He wore a white shirt with black pants and glasses. Despite his age, he had a good body. In the passenger seat sat a young man in his thirties with black hair. He wore a black shirt and blue pants, and dark circles under his eyes indicated lack of sleep.
While driving, the two talked about their respective lives.
"How is your wife and newly born son, Taki?" the old man asked the young man named Taki.
"It's good. It's not that hard to take care of a baby," Taki said with a smile.
"Haha, don't lie to me, Taki. I can see it in your eyes," the old man laughed.
"I will admit it's hard, but I'm happy seeing my son grow," Taki sighed and then smiled.
"You'll get past it eventually, just like with my son," the old man said while stopping the van at a stoplight and then checking Google Maps to see if they were going in the right direction.
"He's going to graduate high school soon, right?" Taki asked while fiddling with the radio.
"Yes, he is," said the old man proudly.
Taki looked at the old man and asked, "What university is he going to?"
"He said he plans to try going to Tokyo University, and I don't know what he's going to study," said the old man as he started driving again.
"Tell him good luck then," Taki said with genuine thought.
The old man nodded, and silence descended between them until they reached a familiar street.
"We're here," the old man said to Taki.
Taki nodded and exited the vehicle, trying to find the address they were delivering to on this street.
After looking for about five minutes, Taki still couldn't find the address.
He approached the old man, saying in a confused tone, "Old man, I can't find the address."
"What do you mean you can't find the address?" the old man asked.
"I mean, I can't find it," Taki said with an embarrassed tone.
"Then look again; maybe you missed it," the old man said to Taki with a commanding tone.
Taki left and checked each house on the street again, making sure not to miss any.
The old man watched Taki walking back dejectedly. He exited the van and asked, "You didn't find it?"
"Sorry, old man. I really can't find the house," Taki kept on bowing while apologizing.
The old man snatched the white paper containing the address and looked at it. 'Infinity 69.'
He then proceeded to look at each house on the street again, but he too couldn't find it. Taki saw the old man walking with a confused look.
"You didn't find it either?" Taki asked with a smile.
"Don't be smug, kid," the old man grumbled.
Taki questioned the old man, "Are you sure we're on the right street?" Taki opened his Google Maps.
"Of course, we are. Who do you think I am?" the said old man, who was getting annoyed.
"I'm going to call the sender and ask if the address is real or not," the old man took out his phone.
After calling the sender, the old man said to Taki, "Come, let's eat the onigiri my wife made. Maybe we're just hungry."
---
Back to Oreki's POV...
While I was walking, my phone rang, and I looked at it to see that it was Nana calling.
"Hello, Nana-san. Why did you call?" I answered.
"Kamisato-san, is the address you gave me correct?" Nana asked on the other side of the phone.
"Of course, it is. Why?" I questioned, and then I realized something, don't tell.
"They said they can't find your house," Nana said in a confused tone.
Yup, I knew I forgot to unseal the house. Only I can allow people to enter and see it.
I unsealed my house at will and told Nana to let them look again.
I hung up my phone and started walking again in the direction of Cafe Stile.
.
-
Back to the Street to where the Old Man and Taki are.
Inside the Van Taki and Old man are eating there onigiri while waiting for the sender to call.
But unbeknown to them the two house in front of the truck started moved like they are tying to separate from each other even the residence of the two don't notice that their house is moving like sliding door. After moving their is a big gap in between then without anyone noticing a house emerge like it suddenly remove it's cloaking device.
The old man received a call from the sender confirming that the house address was indeed real.
"Come on, let's check again. If it's not here, then we'll take it back to the sender," the old man said to Taki, and they both exited the van. They arrived at the house in front of them, and to their relief, the address was correct.
Both of them looked at each other wide-eyed.
" Maybe we did need to eat first" both of said
This will be known as an urban legend inthis area call "The Missing House"