Link's POV
Another email translated and forwarded. I push myself away from the desk and spin around in my office chair. God I'm bored. I pull myself towards the desk again and tap my pen against my cheek.
I look at my boss' office door. He's still in there. Clock out already so I can go home.
I pick up the bottle of water on my desk and down what's left inside. The trash is at the other corner of the office space. I could get up and drop it in the bin or I could toss it from here. I pretend to aim the bottle at the trash and imagine the trajectory line from my hand to the bin. My legs and back may be defective but my aim is still on point. I could totally make it from here. But I'd get my ass fired if I tried.
I look at the clock. It's 6:30 PM. Why's my boss still here? Doesn't he have a wife waiting for him at home? Or maybe that's exactly why he's staying longer. Either way, I can't leave until he's gone. And if he doesn't leave soon, I'll definitely be late to the bar.
I secretly check my phone under the desk. I have a couple of new messages. One from Ruto, one from Zelda, a couple from the fraternity group chat and a lot more from random people on Twitter and Instagram. I open Ruto's text first.
Ruto: *See you soon!! Don't be late!*
I answer: *Okay*
Zelda: *Casual or formal wear?*
I answer: *Casual*
I shoot her another text: *Could you meet me at the Gion bus stop after work? We'll be late if I come home to pick you up first*
Zelda: *I can't read or speak Japanese. Do you think I'll be fine on my own?*
She sends another text before I get a chance to reply to the previous one: *Never mind, I want to try! Just send me the details and I'll meet you there.*
She's so cool. I send her the route and tell her to start walking to the bus stop when I leave work.
I think Zelda is a bit nervous about tonight. Ruto doesn't seem nervous at all. And I... I have no idea how I feel about any of this.
I open the fraternity group chat. I don't even know if I'm still in the fraternity after getting expelled but I haven't been removed from the chat yet so...
Wow there's a lot of unread messages since I got to Japan. I scroll up to where it starts. Kafei sent a picture of a onesie that has the Greek letters of our fraternity on it. Not gonna lie, that's kinda cute.
Hmm.. If I get kicked out of the fraternity, I have to find a new place to live. Definitely don't have the money for my own place so I'd probably have to crash at Kafei's apartment or Zelda's house if her dad lets me.
I read through the chat to kill some time.
Kafei: Look at this onesie Anju ordered!
Teli: *It's a boy???*
Kafei: *Bro I hope so! Idk jack shit about girls!*
Same.
Prissen: *I do. Just leave it to me.*
Kafei: *Stay away from my daughter, pervert*
Teli: *Lmao*
Prissen: *I meant I have experience with kids! I used to babysit my neighbors' kids!*
Ravioli: *Stop spamming the chat, I'm trying to study!*
Kafei: *Let's all spam the chat guys*
I skip a whole section of memes and TikToks sent by Kafei, Teli, and some other members.
Kafei: *Anyways, baby stuff is fucking expensive. Moving from student debt to father debt. Yay.*
Ravioli: *I'll mute the chat if you keep sending messages.*
Teli: *Why are you even studying? It's summer break.*
Prissen: *He's studying how to talk to girls*
Kafei: *He's dating someone tho*
Prissen: *PFP*
Teli: *Wait he is? Since when bro? Who's the unlucky one?*
Ravioli: *I'm studying because I'm taking summer classes. Now shut it.*
Kafei: *Bro why are you taking classes in the summer? Did you fail a class or something?*
Ravioli: *My grades are fine. I'm trying to graduate early so I can transfer the hell out of this shit hole.*
Kafei: *Does this sudden wish to graduate early have anything to do with Mipha graduating soon?*
Wow, sometimes I forget that Mipha is older than me.
Teli: *IS MIPHA THE ONE YOU'RE DATING?*
Teli: *Congrats man*
Teli: *I thought you lied about her being your gf*
Kafei: *He did but then they actually started dating fr.*
Ravioli: *I never said she was my girlfriend*
Prissen: *Does anyone have proof of this very unlikely relationship?*
Ravioli: *I'm muting the chat. Bye.*
The next text is a picture sent by Kafei. It's a selfie that shows him with Mipha and Ravioli carrying cardboard boxes into an empty apartment. I guess they helped Kafei and Anju move into their new apartment. It's kinda weird to see my childhood friend dating my rival but I'm happy for them.
I zoom in on Mipha. I definitely messed up with her too. Besides the fact that I dated her cousin in high school, I should've taken the hint and handled things better at the lodge last year. I guess I knew we could've been more but I always avoided addressing it. I just didn't want anything to change between us.
I scroll down further.
Pipit: *Are we having a fourth of July party at the frat house?*
Groose: *Fuck yeah*
Ledo: *I'm so down*
Kafei: *Can I come? lol?*
Teli: *Wouldn't be a party without you*
Mils: *Kafei's the guest of honor*
Kafei: *I miss you guys.*
Teli: *We'll always be your brothers.*
Kafei: *Bro I miss living in the frat house*
Ravioli: *Wanna switch?*
Prissen: *I'll be there*
Fyson: "Count me in*
Teli: *I'll make a playlist for the party so send me requests for songs*
Granté: *I'm with the fam on July 4th. But I would've loved to be there.*
Pipit: *Ravioli, you coming?*
Ravioli: *I'm allergic to 4th of July parties sorry*
Kafei: *Link's coming though right?*
Ravioli: *Pfft, that's rich.*
Teli: *I think he went to Japan with his girlfriend right?*
Kafei: *lol I forgot about that*
Teli: *Zoom call and I'll put you guys up on the projector*
Granté: *Oh yes baby*
I hear a door open and hide my phone. It's my boss, leaving the office! Yess! He's finally going home. I wish him a good evening when he passes by and as soon as he's out the doors, I grab my stuff and get up.
I bow to my coworkers and apologize for leaving before them. "Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu," I say respectfully.
I'm out the doors and on my way to the train station. It's cloudy but the sky is still bright. Hopefully it's not going to rain, I didn't pack an umbrella.
I text Zelda on the train: *Omw*
She sends me a thumb up and a selfie of her on the bus. Looks like she'll be just fine. I'm proud of her. I check the time: 7:05. Oof. Ruto's gonna kill me.
I open LINE and text her: *Running late, sorry*
Then I put my phone back into my pocket and look out of the window. I used to oversleep all the time and Ruto would get mad at me for having her wait. She'd claim that I stood her up on purpose but I never meant to be a shitty friend. I'm just a heavy sleeper...
The train is crowded and more people are getting in. I close my eyes while I stand, holding on to the grab handle. Man, I'm beat. I'm just translating shit all day but doing that for 10 hours straight gets really old after a week.
I start to fall asleep standing up until someone nudges me.
"Oy," the guy next to me says. I'm not in the mood to talk right now or apologize for being tired. I want to keep my eyes closed but the guy grabs my shoulder and my first instinct is self-defense. My eyes fly open and I look to my right.
Holy shit–I know this guy. We used to play on the same team, he played defense. What was his name?
"Huh? Have we met?" He asks me. I can't tell if he's angry or happy. So I just give him a nod. "I'm Brigo, who are you?"
"Miyamoto Rinku," I say.
"I thought you looked familiar! Haven't seen you in ages." He's smiling now. What a relief. "It's good to see you in one piece. I heard what happened in America. Are you back or are you just visiting?"
"Just visiting."
"Ah. Lucky. California must be so cool."
"It's alright."
"I'm jealous," he smiles. "My life's pretty boring. After I graduated, I became an officer. Just patrolling. The Keihan Line is an important route. I keep really busy making sure the passengers are safe."
"That's nice," I say.
"Why so gloomy? Not having a good day?"
"Just tired."
"I see... Long day?"
"Long week. Long year," I say honestly. He looks worried.
"Talk to me," he offers.
"It's nothing," I say but he just continues staring at me, waiting for me to say more. "I don't know," I shrug. "Everyone commenting on my coma, my career, and my failed attempt to change the world with my 'gift' is just getting old, you know?"
"Oh..."
"I wasn't referring to you. Just in general, you know?"
"Uh-huh..." Why does he look so concerned all of a sudden? "Is there someone at home you can be with and talk to?" He asks me.
"I don't really talk about these things."
"Sometimes it's good to talk. When you get home tonight, you should talk to someone you're close to."
"I'm not going home. This is my stop."
His face changes and worry transforms to downright panic. "Wait a minute!" He yells. "Please think about what you're doing! You won't change the world by jumping carelessly to your doom, don't ya know!"
"What?"
"That would only do one thing... And that's... Drive me batty! Seriously! Think of the shock I'd suffer, seeing something like that!"
"Brigo, calm d–"
"Don't be so careless. There are too many enjoyable things in the world to gamble with your life!"
I grab him by his shoulders to force him to listen to me. "I'm not jumping in front of the train!"
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, really."
He rips himself loose. "Man! Don't ever do something like that again, got it? You almost gave me a heart attack. Seriously! I'll stay with you and chat for a bit, if you'd like."
"I'm not suicidal, just tired. Physically. That's all. I need sleep, not a therapy session. When I said this is my stop, I meant literally. I'm getting off at the next stop." I point at the Gion-Shijo Station that is coming up next.
"But you said you're not going home..."
"I'm meeting with some friends tonight."
"So you're really just exhausted then?" He asks.
"I mean... Sure, I'm a bit tired of being an athlete and having to prove myself over and over again but I'm not going to throw myself off a bridge or anything like that."
"Well," he's finally calming down a bit. "I see now why you would feel gloomy. Being an athlete must be very draining. But you don't have to prove anything to anyone."
"When you're me, you do have to prove yourself."
"Doesn't matter who you are, really. Just be a good person," he pats my shoulder as the train comes to a halt. "People always set impossible expectations and even if you meet them all, humans are seldom satisfied. My advice? Try to reach your own expectations rather than those of others."
I nod. "Thanks Brigo."
"Of course," He takes a step to the side so I can exit the train. "Let's wish each other good luck, eh? We'll need it. Have a good night and stay safe."
I give him another nod before I get off the train. It's weird seeing people that I haven't seen in years but it can't really be avoided when I visit my hometown. I did know a shit ton of people even if I didn't talk to half of them.
I walk to the bus stop where Zelda is waiting. Brigo's words are running through my head now. Easy for him to say all those things... When you have so many eyes on you, it's hard to just do whatever you want. I see his point but I can't just focus on my own expectations when there are a million other expectations I have to meet. What even are my own expectations? I don't think I've ever set goals for myself that didn't involve pleasing someone else.
Wow, now Brugo really got me thinking about what I want to achieve for myself. For starters, I want to do right by Ruto. But being late won't help my case so I better hurry.
Zelda smiles when she spots me. I'm glad she got here safely and didn't get lost. She looks cute. I like the top she's wearing. Blue suits her.
"Hey," she says when I reach her. I give her a hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Mh, you smell good," I compliment her. "Did you bring my clothes?"
She hands me a plastic bag. "Where are you going to change?"
"At the bar. We should hurry, we're already late."
---
Who remembers this gem?