Chapter 1: Welcome To 2024, Lil Bro

Damn, what the Hell is that noise?

I opened my eyes to the sound of Hiyori's alarm blaring at 6AM. Seriously, who the hell sets an alarm this early? I don't even need to sleep, but I do it because it's fun. And, well, because I can watch Hiyori snore like a chainsaw.

I turned over and peeked through the paper-thin walls of her room. There she was, tangled in her futon, hair a mess, with her phone alarm going off like a damn emergency siren.

"Hey, Hiyori, turn that thing off before I get an eraser."

Hiyori mumbled something unintelligible and swatted at her phone, eventually managing to silence it. She rolled over, still half-asleep, and pulled the covers over her head.

Cute. But not as cute as the satisfaction I get from teasing her.

"Hiyori," I whispered, "I'm hungry. Make me breakfast."

"Make it yourself," she grumbled, her voice muffled under the blankets.

"Nah, you do it better," I replied, lazily teleporting myself to the foot of her futon. I watched as she slowly emerged from her cocoon of blankets, glaring at me with one eye open.

"Do you even eat?" she muttered, her hair sticking up in all directions like a porcupine.

"I eat for the taste, not the sustenance," I said with a grin, "Plus, it's fun to see you work your magic in the kitchen."

She rolled her eyes, finally sitting up and stretching. Her kimono slipped off one shoulder. Oh yeah, the view's not bad either.

"Fine, but you owe me," she said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. I followed her, enjoying the way she moved—graceful, even when she's half-asleep.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe as she started preparing breakfast.

"Nothing," she replied flatly. "Except you owe me a new phone. You dropped mine in the river yesterday and I had to get it out, remember? Now, all it shows is a black screen and I don't even know how to put my alarm schedule off anymore."

I grinned. "That was an accident. I was just trying to show you how waterproof it was."

She shot me a glare that could probably kill a mortal, but since I'm not exactly killable, I just laughed.

Hiyori sighed, pouring rice into the cooker. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Because you love me," I said, casually dodging the wooden spoon she hurled at me with telekinesis.

"Keep dreaming," she muttered, turning her attention back to the stove.

After breakfast, I lounged around on the veranda, watching the clouds drift by. Hiyori had gone off to tend to the shrine duties—praying, cleaning, offering blessings. Y'know, all that Spiritual crap. I tried doing it once, but apparently, my 'blessings' don't count when I'm offering people good Wi-Fi and no traffic.

My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts. Who the Hell's texting me this early?

It was a group chat notification from Fukuhara, Koyasu, and Soseki. My old buddies. We hadn't talked much since… well, everything went to shit.

>Fukuhara: Yo, Y/N, you alive?

>Koyasu: Of course he's alive, idiot. The bastard's immortal.

>Soseki: You sure? He's probably faking his own death again to get out of responsibilities.

I smirked. Ah, good times. I then tapped out a quick response.

>Me: You all still look ugly in 2024?

>Koyasu: At least I look human. Fukuhara still looks like a half-dead zombie.

>Fukuhara: I'M IMMORTAL, NOT UNDEAD, ASSHOLE.

>Soseki: I live in the woods now. I'm a tree.

>Me: Good. Stay there. You belong with the bugs.

>Soseki: That's rich coming from a guy who lives in a shrine with his 'girlfriend'.

>Me: She's not my girlfriend. She's my wife. Even if she was, at least I would've had one. Unlike y'all.

>Koyasu: Suuuure, no she's not. Keep dreaming bud.

>Fukuhara: Yeah, and I'm not a Revolutionary.

>Soseki: And I'm not a Shinigami.

>Me: You're not. You're a tree. Remember?

>Koyasu: Where are we meeting up?

>Fukuhara: Kyoto. I've got business there anyway.

>Me: Fine, but we're not meeting at my place. I don't need you idiots scaring Hiyori.

>Koyasu: Sounds like you're whipped, bro.

>Me: Sounds like you wanna go byebye🥺.

>Soseki: Does anyone else find it weird that we're all still alive after all this time?

>Fukuhara: Don't overthink it. Just enjoy the ride.

>Koyasu: Spoken like a true drunkard.

>Fukuhara: I'm not the drunkard. That's you.

>Me: You're both drunkards. See you all at 3.

I put my phone down, sighing. Those guys… We've been through a lot together. Some of it was fun, some of it was downright shitty. But hey, that's what friends are for, right?

"Who were you talking to?" Hiyori asked as she returned, her ears twitching with curiosity.

"Just the idiots," I replied, waving my hand dismissively. "We're meeting up later in the city."

"You're not bringing them here, are you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course not," I said, feigning offense. "I wouldn't subject you to that."

"Good," she said, sitting down next to me. "They're more trouble than you."

"True, but I'm the most charming," I grinned, leaning closer.

"Charming my ass," she muttered, pushing me away with a flick of her tails.

Later that day, I headed into the city to meet up with the guys. Kyoto was still a blend of the old and new—temples and shrines nestled among modern buildings and streets filled with people glued to their phones.

Humans… they've changed a lot, but not really.

I spotted the gang waiting at a small, traditional tea house. Koyasu was already sipping on something that looked suspiciously alcoholic, while Fukuhara leaned against the wall, arms crossed, trying to look cool. Soseki… well, Soseki was just standing there, looking like he didn't belong anywhere.

"Yo," I called out as I approached.

"Well, well, look who decided to show up," Koyasu smirked, raising his cup in a mock toast.

"I had to make sure you weren't pissing on the shrine or something," I shot back.

"Me? Never. I have class," Koyasu said, taking another sip.

"Class, my ass," Fukuhara grunted. "You're just a functioning alcoholic."

"And you're just functioning," Koyasu retorted.

"Stop flirting, you two," I said, sitting down at the table. "We've got catching up to do."

Soseki, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke. "Do you guys ever think about… you know, how long we've been around?"

"Don't get all philosophical on us, Soseki," I said, waving him off. "We're here to have fun."

"Yeah, lighten up," Koyasu added, pouring another drink. "Let's not think about how we're all freaks of nature today."

"Besides," Fukuhara said, cracking his knuckles, "if anyone starts whining, I'll just punch them."

"Always the diplomat," I muttered, taking a sip of tea. "So, what's new with everyone? I already know but it's fun hearing you tell me."

"Not much," Fukuhara said with a shrug. "Still fighting the good fight. Revolutionaries gotta revolt, y'know."

"Still living in your fantasy world, huh?" I teased.

"Says the guy who literally rewrites reality when he's bored," Fukuhara shot back.

"Touché."

"Anyway," Koyasu said, leaning back in his chair, "we're not here to talk about work. We're here to drink, reminisce, and maybe get into a bar fight if we're lucky."

"Or unlucky," Soseki muttered.

The hours flew by as we drank, joked, and reminisced about the good old days—back when we were still naïve kids training under Sensei Oyokawa. We didn't bring up the serious stuff, the things that drove us apart after Sensei's death. That was ancient history, buried deep under layers of sarcasm and alcohol.

Eventually, the conversation turned to more mundane topics—sports, current events, and the latest gossip.

"So, what's up with you and Hiyori?" Fukuhara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "We're just roommates."

"Roommates my ass," Koyasu snickered. "You've been living together for how long now?"

"Doesn't mean anything," I insisted. "We're just… coexisting."

"Coexisting, huh?" Soseki said, a rare smirk tugging at his lips.

After a few more drinks and a lot of trash talk, we decided to hit up a karaoke bar nearby. Why? Because nothing says "let's relive the past" like embarrassing ourselves in front of strangers by belting out off-key songs.

The karaoke bar was your typical joint—dim lighting, neon signs, and a weird mix of people who were either too sober or too drunk. We grabbed a private room, and Koyasu immediately started flipping through the song list, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"We should do some classic white girl music," he said, grinning like an idiot.

"Oh Gods, not that shit," Fukuhara groaned, but you could tell he was already on board.

"I'm in," I said, because honestly, why the hell not? We were already too far gone to care.

Soseki just shrugged. "Fine by me."

Koyasu found a song and hit play. The screen lit up with the lyrics, and the beat started—a cheesy pop tune that had us all laughing even before we started singing.

Let's get this shitshow started.

The first song was something Koyasu picked out, a terrible knockoff of a pop anthem with lyrics so generic they hurt.

🎤 "I'm a wild child, living free, drinking iced tea under a cherry tree~" 🎤

We all chimed in, half-assed harmonizing and laughing too hard to get the words right.

🎤 "You can't stop me, I'm on fire, hotter than the sun, I'm taking you higher~" 🎤

Fukuhara took the mic next, his voice deep and completely out of tune.

🎤 "I'm a bad boy, but I'm good inside, driving fast cars, living my life~" 🎤

"That was fucking terrible," I laughed, grabbing the mic from him.

"My turn, assholes." I scrolled through the song list and picked something even worse, if that was possible.

🎤 "She wears high heels, I wear sneakers, she's at the club while I'm on bleachers~" 🎤

🎤 "But she don't see, I'm all she needs, I'll be the prince to her queen, yeah~" 🎤

Koyasu was already doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down his face. Fukuhara tried to keep up with the lyrics, but he was too busy gasping for air between laughs.

"Alright, alright, I've got one more," I said, wiping tears from my eyes as I picked another song. This one was a slow, sappy number that was probably meant to be a love ballad, but we butchered it beyond recognition.

🎤 "In the moonlight, we'll dance all night, you're my everything, my shining light~" 🎤

Soseki leaned in, deadpan as ever.

🎤 "But you're gone, and I'm alone, crying over you on my phone~" 🎤

The whole room was in hysterics by the time we were done, and honestly, my stomach hurt from laughing so much. We were a mess—singing off-key, making up lyrics, and just having a blast like the old days.

We ended up singing for hours, doing everything from ridiculous pop songs to exaggerated ballads. At some point, I'm pretty sure we even made up an entirely new song about fried chicken and whiskey, but it's all a blur now.

By the time we stumbled out of the karaoke bar, it was late, and the streets were quiet. We were all still laughing, our voices hoarse and our spirits high.

"That was the most fun I've had in years," Fukuhara said, wiping his eyes.

"Who knew you could sing so badly?" Koyasu teased, slapping me on the back.

"Shut up," I muttered, but I was grinning too. It was good to hang out with these idiots again.

"Same time next century?" Soseki deadpanned, and we all laughed again.

"Yeah, definitely," I said, knowing that no matter how much time passed, we'd always find our way back to each other.

As we headed our separate ways, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia mixed with relief. The world had changed, and so had we, but some things would always stay the same.

When I got back to the shrine, it was quiet, the moon casting long shadows across the courtyard. I tiptoed inside, careful not to wake Hiyori, but of course, she was already up, sitting on the veranda with her arms crossed.

"Did you have fun?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I admitted, sitting down next to her. "You should've come. It was a riot."

"I'll pass," she said, but there was a small smile on her face. "Next time, try not to come back at dawn, okay?"

"No promises," I said, leaning back and looking up at the stars.

We sat there in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the quiet night.

"Y/N," Hiyori said after a long pause. "You're an idiot."

"I know," I replied, smiling. "But you still love me."

She didn't respond, but the soft flick of her tails against my shoulder was all the answer I needed.

And with that, the night ended on a peaceful note, the chaos of the day fading into the calm of the shrine, where everything felt just a little more right with the world.