Link's POV
We reach the bar at 7:21 PM. Shit, we're so late.
"Is this the place?" Zelda asks me.
I nod and we head inside. Ruto is sitting at one of the tables and sees us enter the bar. She smiles and waves us over.
"Hey I'm sorry we're late," is the first thing I say. "My boss didn't leave until 7PM."
She waives her hand and says, "No worries. You'll make up for it, right? The first round is on you?"
"Yeah. Sure," I smile. Before we sit down, I go to the restroom to change into casual clothes. I hate wearing suits. The best part about being an athlete is that I can wear athletic wear and still look dressed up for the job hehe.
I wash my hands and take a quick look into the mirror to fix my hair. Ruto is really chill. I'm not used to her being so understanding and patient.
Zelda and I sit down across from Ruto and look at the menu. Zelda uses her phone to translate some of the options but that's taking forever so I just order her the same drink as for me. We're lucky that nobody is asking for IDs because we're not even 20 yet. I think it's because Ruto is friends with the owner.
"So," Ruto grins at me. "How is America?"
"It's fine."
"Just fine? You left Japan for 'just fine'?"
"It's cool. I like the weather and the people," I tell Ruto. I feel bad for Zelda. She doesn't understand anything we're saying and can't really talk to Ruto either. "Do you speak any English by the way?"
"Mh..." Ruto takes a sip from her sake. "Just what I remember from high school."
I remember her almost failing English class. She was good at other subjects but she never really cared about foreign languages. She knew she was always going to stay in Japan. I was kinda the opposite. I knew I wanted to leave. I knew I had to eventually.
The drinks arrive and we clink our glasses. "Kanpai!"
I look at Zelda. "Do you like the sake?" I ask her in English to make sure she doesn't feel left out.
"I'm not a big fan of beer," she says but drinks it anyways.
"It's not beer. It's rice wine."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'm just not used to it yet," she say.
"You don't ever have to get used to it. I can order you something else. I kinda forgot that you don't drink alcohol."
"No it's fine," she quickly replies. "I want to."
"You sure?"
"Yes. It's normal in Japan, right?"
"What is?"
"Drinking with friends at this age, and hanging out at a bar after work."
"I guess, yeah. Sometimes we just drink at home though."
"What are you guys talking about?" Ruto asks me. "I understood beer and bar." I switch to Japanese and tell her what Zelda and I just talked about.
"What did she say?" Zelda asks me, so I tell her that I told Ruto what I told her. Ugh–This is going to be harder than I thought.
I rub my sore neck. I've been translating reports at work all day and now I have to translate for Zelda and Ruto. Just great.
The night goes on and the bill gets bigger. The more we drink, the less I function as a translator but surprisingly, the conversations get easier. Ruto and Zelda start talking to each other, not with words but by pointing at stuff and basically playing charade. Both are tipsy and giggly now and I am just listening and watching their poor but very amusing communication.
Ruto makes a motion with her hands that looks like she's climbing a ladder. "And then he had to hide in the barrel and crawl around to pass the guards!" Ruto tells Zelda and laughs. I don't think Zelda got any of that but she's laughing too.
"Last year, when he woke up from a surgery, he was still high on anesthesia and thought his hands were on fire," Zelda kackles. Again, Ruto isn't getting any of that but she laughs along.
We're the last customers in the bar and I notice that the employees are starting to clean up. We shouldn't be rude by staying past their open hours.
"Are you ready to leave?" I ask Ruto.
She laughs, and tells me in Japanese that I am talking English with her and that she doesn't understand what I'm saying.
"Oops", I chuckle. I didn't even realize I said it in English. I repeat my sentence in Japanese and she gives me a puppy face.
"I don't want to go home yet," she pouts.
"The bar is closing," I tell her.
"Let's go back to your house for a few more hours," Ruto suggests.
Hm... I'm pretty exhausted but I guess it could be fun to hang out for a bit longer. I still haven't had the chance to talk to her about the way I handled our break up. I should find a private moment to properly apologize to her.
"Sure, you can come over for a little bit," I say.
A big smile appears on her face and she gets up to grab her purse. Zelda gets up too. She nearly falls over and I'm ready to catch her but she finds her balance. She pulls out a bunch of cash from her wallet! There must be at least 40 thousand Yen in there!
"Jeez, what's with all the cash?" I ask her.
"I'm paying for our drinks," she says confused.
"You don't have to."
"I want to," she hiccups. Cute.
I'm the last to get up. Nobody notices it but I actually lose my balance a little. Shit–I'm tipsy too, huh? I've become such a light-weight over the years.
"I'll pay," I tell Zelda coolly.
"Nuh-uh," she shakes her head. "My dad hired you to save up for tuition, not to spend your earnings on booze."
"What did you just call it?" I laugh. "Please say that again."
"What? Booze?"
I laugh. "Booze?"
"Boooooze," she giggles.
"Oy! You guys ready?" Ruto asks us in Japanese.
Ruto and I thank Zelda for taking care of the bill, then we leave the bar and start heading to the bus station.
When we get to my house, all the lights are off. Guess everyone went to bed already. I hear the girls giggle behind me at the entrance. I hope we don't wake up mom and Obachan. Or worse: Aryll.
"When I first arrived, I didn't take my shoes off," Zelda tells Ruto in a whisper and almost loses her shit laughing to herself. Ruto seems to actually get this one and gasps with a shocked expression before she giggles at Zelda.
I feel like I'm babysitting. I'm glad I'm not as drunk as them.
"You got something to drink?" Ruto asks me and walks toward the kitchen. "Wow I haven't been here in forever."
"Water or tea?" I ask her.
"I meant alcohol," she rolls her eyes with a smile.
"I think we've had enough. You're already tipsy," I say.
"Are you tipsy?"
"Nah."
"Then you haven't had enough," she giggles. I've never seen her in such a good mood.
While I get her some water, Zelda staggers towards the couch. She's a lightweight too. She lays down on the couch and shuts her eyes. Looks like she's definitely done for the night. I don't blame her, she had a lot of drinks and she's not even used to alcohol. I hope she won't be sick in the morning like last time.
I hand Ruto the water. "You can take a seat in the living room." When we walk to the couch, Zelda's phone starts ringing. I pick it up from the coffee table to see who it is.
"Zelda, your dad's calling," I say to her.
"Put'm on," she cheers, eyes closed.
"Maybe not the best idea to talk to him while you're drunk," I say.
"You answer it," she mumbles into the cushion.
"Me?" I ask surprised.
"Go ahead," she laughs.
"I don't think–"
"Coul' be impooor-tant."
I'm not drunk but I had a couple of drinks myself and don't think it's the best idea to talk to her dad right now. Especially if he starts talking business to me. The phone stops ringing and when I put it down, it vibrates again. I check the notification to see if it's a voicemail from her dad but it's just an Instagram notification. Weird, I thought she doesn't really use social media.
"I'll take our stuff to the room," I say to Zelda and head toward the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Ruto asks me full of energy.
"I have to hang up my suit before it gets wrinkly."
"I'll come with you," she chirps and follows me upstairs.
We get to the hallway. I leave the lights off and whisper to Ruto that I'll only take a second and that she can wait outside. But instead of staying in the hallway, she asks me if she can see my room.
"Has it changed since I was here last?" She asks.
"No," I say quietly. My family is sleeping next door. I don't want them to wake up and find Ruto here. That'd be awkward to explain.
"Can I see it?"
"Why?" I ask.
"Why not?"
"Just give me a second and we can go back downstairs."
"Show me your room, Miya-kun," she chuckles and tries to open the door but I block her. I don't really want her to go into my room, especially at night. We should go back to be with Zelda.
"You've changed," she notes thoughtful.
"What do you mean?"
"You're acting differently."
"So are you," I say.
"Why don't you want me to see your room? Are you hiding something?" She's still smiling. Is she teasing me?
"I'm not hiding anything. I just don't want my family to wake up."
"We'll be quiet," she giggles and passes by me to enter my room.
I don't stop her. I don't want to argue with her in the hallway when my family is inches away, trying to rest. I follow her inside my room, and close the door behind us when she turns the lights on because I don't want to risk waking mom and the others.
Now we're alone in my room with the doors shut while Zelda is downstairs by herself. It doesn't feel right to leave Zelda alone while she's drunk but maybe this is a good opportunity to talk to Ruto about our past and how things ended.