"The...mental pain." Shou flinched. Though he didn't want to admit it, this man, this hobo of a stranger he'd only just met for the first time today, spoke words of wisdom.
Shou never really did recover from the trauma of Alessandra's passing.
"...I hope you never have to use it. Wanted to kill myself at one point in my life, too. My fiancée died in a car accident a couple of years ago, and I was completely lost without her."
He chuckled here, inhaling and exhaling another puff of smoke into the night air, "I probably still am."
Gesturing to the $10 he'd left by the man earlier, Shou began to speak again, "Anyway. I know it isn't much, but here." He slapped down twenty more dollars. "Don't end your life tonight, kid. Maybe, just maybe, don't ever. You never know, someone out there might be driven to grief by your passing."
Letting his voice drift off, he was about to turn away, when the man looked up at him.
Shou could recognise those blue eyes anywhere. Paired with that hair...
He stiffened.
"You're that rockstar...uh. Jake Vanguard?"
The dogs at this point sat at Shou's side obediently. Neither Jinxie nor Romeo moved an inch until given the command to do so.
"Well, I'm going to the casino."
He said, under his breath. Gambling was one of his biggest vices. Alongside smoking at least one cigarette daily. "Better go before a crowd gathers, huh? You're a pretty big superstar, after all. I don't know much about you; my brother is a fan, but I don't suspect it's all too common for stars to be so alone in the middle of the night, and not living a life of excess spending and luxury."
He shuddered, as if the thought left a sour taste in his mouth, "...the rest of us don't really have money like that to spend. Myself included. I've...gotten into both smoking and gambling since Alex passed. Been bleeding my poor wallet dry, but like you said. It's an easier way to keep our 'inner demons' away, when we distract ourselves from them."
"You can come if you want." Shou called out behind him, having begun walking again with the dogs at his side, more sombre than before. "Doubt you'll find anything you like though, heh."
---
Time: ??? am
Shine City's Players' Casino"Evening, Jun." Shou gave the young man at the roulette table the same dejected smile as he always had when he came. His conscience knew very well gambling was wrong, but did he stop? Hell no!
Jun was a boy Shou had come to know better through his gambling habit. You could almost call the two 'friends'. Something about the extroverted way he conducted himself appealed to Shou, and he always ended up spending more at roulettes than anywhere else at the casino.
Alongside card games, there happened to be matches of Mahjong and Bingo as well, where older ladies and gentlemen sat and had their fun.
Shou fondly mused. Alessandra loved both Bingo and Mahjong madly.
"Am I late?" He shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle and buried his hands into his pockets.
----------------------
Aoi bowed her head in thanks to the compliment on her kimono, and was shortly led to her seat, thankfully by a window. Seats like that always made her feel less lonely. She had ordered a kind of tea, Tamaryokucha, and absently browsed the menu, with her attention elsewhere. She saw the young man in casual clothes walk in, followed by a woman who left her dog outside. Something told Aoi that she'd be expecting more of a crowd, so she made it a note not to bother the waiters and waitresses too much.
All seemed to be going fine, until...
A young woman from a nearby table, chattering away to her husband, no, probably boyfriend, and shooting glances at Aoi, finally came over. All Aoi could do was offer her sweetest smile, until the woman blurted,
"YoureAoiIwataaren'tyouyouwereintheMilkyHeartsmovieohmygodIloveditsomuchmayIpleasehaveyourautograph?"
"But of course, Miss." Aoi began with a warm smile, fetching a pen from the little purse she carried and signing the back of what the woman provided for her, "But I beg of you, please don't make too big of a fuss; I don't want to bother anyone here a-"
It was too late.
First there was one, and then two, and then four and then almost sixteen people crowded around the poor, boxed in Aoi Iwata who scooted towards the window and sat with her body stiff. It only took a second for the men in black to step in, controlling the small crowd by gentle pushing and barking orders. Even the window wasn't safe, as paparazzi from outside were soon to gather.
And poor Aoi Iwata was boxed in like a frightened white mouse.
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