Heaven's Senses

XVIII

"Hey, where's your dad been, Soma? I haven't seen him around." Aki asked.

"Well, he was back in town a while ago." I answered, "I think he went back overseas again, or something."

"Seriously, Soma? Did you forget already?" Hikari shouted from the kitchen, "Dad said was going to Jamaica this time. Mentioned something about visiting an old friend for a cooking battle."

"Hey, Soma, can I get a side of fried sprouts?" One of the customers asked.

"Coming!" I shouted back, getting into the kitchen with Hikari to help out with the cooking.

"So, what friend is Dad gonna meet up with?" I asked.

"One of his old Jamaican buddies from his earlier days as a wandering chef. Think his name is Ajani, but he sometimes goes by the nickname Aja." Hikari answered.

I shrugged and continued cooking, wondering about dad's adventures and if I should ask him more about them.

~~~~

Soon, the sun began to set and everyone started to go home for the evening, but as Hikari and I began to clean up and say goodbye to the leaving customers, we finally started to notice the quietness of the streets.

"Huh. Normally it's busy here around this time of day." Hikari said.

"Yeah, wonder what happened while we were gone." I added my thoughts.

We turned around to the sound of a man sighing at one of the tables. He was very depressed about something and all the other customers began to just stare at him sulking in his depression. It was Mr. Tomita of the boxed lunch stand nearby.

"Is everything okay with you, Mr. Tomita?"

"Does big businesses really have that much power!?" Mr. Tomita shouted.

"Tomi, you need to calm down." One of the other men said.

"What's going on, Mr. Tomita?" Hikari asked as the man sighed.

"The truth is, one month ago the station's commercial area finally reopened after some major renovations." Mr. Tomita explained, "Well, they beefed up their station shopping experience. They've got clothing stores, book stores, and all sort of different boutiques. But what's getting the most buzz is this fried chicken place. Word is it's really something."

"Yeah?" We asked, now more curious about the chicken place.

"So have you guys tried it out already?" I asked out old classmates.

"Uh-huh." Aki answered, "Yeah, my parents just bought some the other day."

"Us, too. Saw that commercial on the internet."

"Yeah, I hear it's been getting a lot of views."

"We keep losing customers all because they're going over there for their fancy juicy fried chicken!" Mr. Tomita sobbed, "People coming from work or school, they just pass on by. My boxed lunch shop's in trouble. At this rate, who knows how long I can stay in business."

Hikari sighed, looking back out at the empty streets and getting an idea. She looked over at me and I could she was thinking the exact same thing I was.

"All right then, we're gonna try something." I said.

"Try what?" One of the customers asked.

"Their main thing is fried chicken, right?" Hikari asked, "So, we'll just have to fight fire with fire. It'll out juicy their juiciest."

"What? That's crazy." Mr. Tomita said standing up from his chair, "We are totally out classed here. In funds and customer appeal. Those guys are villains."