memory: after the hot pot, part 1

[dwellsinthedetails]

For a bedroom, which is what Yusuke presumes this scene is taking place in, the room is rather sparsely furnished; behind the table seating himself, three other humes and a cat, he can see a work desk, a chair and a bed alongside a row of windows, as well as a wheeled suitcase and carefully wrapped canvas that he somehow instinctively knows are his – just as instinctively as he knows this isn’t his bedroom. On the table are an array of dishes that suggest a recently demolished meal, as only four teenagers can pack away food.

His company consists of a striking blonde girl who reminds him more than a little of Angua, a boy with spiky blond hair, a boy with a messy mop of dark curls and glasses, and the cat, mostly black with white paws and nose, vivid blue eyes, and a yellow collar.

The blond groans. “I can’t eat another bite…”

“That was delicious, Lady Ann!” the cat says – wait, the cat? Based on the lack of shocked reactions around the table this must be normal, but… the cat? “I’m sure you’ll make a wonderful bride some—”

The girl – Ann, presumably – utterly ignores the cat, in fact, letting out a huge yawn. “Sorry, I’m gonna have to borrow the sofa.” As she lies down across the otherwise-empty seat, the blond leans over to try to look up her short skirt (and, for some reason, the cat hops up on the table to join him); as she catches them in the act and waves them off, Yusuke hears himself sigh.

“What’s wrong, Yusuke?” the cat says.

“We haven’t finished our meal. What about the porridge, or even udon?” If the size of the pot on the table is any indication, all four of them had quite a substantial helping; at this remove he can’t tell if that’s the typical hunger of a teenage boy or if it speaks to a regretfully uneven relationship with food.

The way the blond looks at him like he just grew a second head, though, points to the latter. “Just leave it for next time, man…”

Ann begins snoring lightly, and the cat startles. “She’s asleep already?”

“It’d be weird if she wasn’t tired. We should let her sleep.”

“By the way, Ryuji, how do you know Ann?” Yusuke asks.

“Huh?” The blond looks confused by the question, but rallies quickly enough. “Oh, we went to middle school together.”

“What was Lady Ann like back then?” the cat says, in tones of hopeless infatuation.

“Not so different from now. Once we got to high school, we ended up in different classes and stopped talkin’… I don’t think she had many friends. I mean, she grew up overseas, plus there’s her looks. The popular kids hate her, the quiet ones stay away.”

“I see… So, what about you two?” Yusuke indicates the boy with dark hair, who has yet to say anything.

He doesn’t start now, either, as it’s Ryuji who blinks. “Us?”

“This is a great opportunity to get to know each other better. You know every detail of my past at this point. It’s only fair you tell me every detail of yours.”

“So you got nothin’ to lose, huh? All right, I’ll tell you. It’s just a normal story of a rotten kid, though…”

That would be the point where it fades from clear memory back into the dreamlike haze the details constantly slip away into. Yusuke can’t help but find the whole thing supremely unfair – he learned far more about everyone else in that moment than he did about himself.