“How are you holding up in there?” Black Jack asks, watching with concern as Em tries to flip a pancake only for it to land and hang on the side of the pan.
“… could be better,” Em says frowning as e tried to salvage it with a spatula.
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” he asks again.
“I’m fine,” Em replies, trying to flatten the poor pancake only for it to break in half. “Just sit back and relax!”
Black Jack sighs and turns his attention back to the living room. Joseph and Hyo are both sitting on the couch, waiting for breakfast to be served. Joseph is trying to show off some clacker volley tricks to Hyo, who continues to look unimpressed.
The doorbell rings.
“Who could that be?” Em thinks. E didn’t have anything scheduled for delivery that day…
“I’ll get it,” Black Jack says, passing by Joseph who gets his fingers all tangled in his volley’s thread with a bemused Hyo holding back a smirk.
Upon opening the front door, Black Jack is greeted by the sight of a roughed up man with scraggly black hair. The doctor takes in the familiar ruffled green plaid shirt, ripped dirty jeans, and muddy shoes with the sole of the right one about to fall off.
“Hi, doc,” Kaiji squeaks, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Mind if I come in?”
Black Jack looks him up and down. “Leave your shoes by the door,” he says, going back inside. Kaiji bows his head and gratefully follows.
“Em, you have a guest,” the doctor says matter-of-factly as he passes er by before entering the bathroom.
“What?” Em furrows er brow and leans back to try and catch a glimpse of said visitor. “I wasn’t expecting anyone to come over today--Kaiji!” Em gasps mid-pancake-flip, causing the poor thing to fall flat on the counter.
“Hey,” Kaiji smiles shyly.
“Yo, Kaiji!” Joseph greets, waving a hand. “I haven’t seen you in a while—ow!”
Hyo shakes his head as Joseph socks himself in the temple with a clacker.
Kaiji laughs uncertainly as he looks around the apartment, taking in the newness of it all. “Nice place you have here…”
Em hurries over, wiping er hands on er apron in a panic. “Oh, gosh, Kaiji, where have you been? How did you find us? Oh, my god, I’m so sorry I forgot to send you an invite, everything’s just been so busy, I feel so bad—“
“Don’t worry about it,” Kaiji says, waving it off. “I’m just glad you all seem to be doing well.”
Black Jack emerges from the bathroom with a first aid kit in hand. “Sit,” he orders to Kaiji, who obediently complies, slowly sitting himself down on a free sofa chair.
“So what have you been up to since the last time we saw you?” Joseph asks, leaning forward. “Man, you look like you’ve had a rough day.”
“Tell me about it,” Kaiji laughs. “It’s a long story…”
“You stayin’ here too?” Joseph asks.
“Ah…” Kaiji fumbles, holding his hands up. “No, no, I just thought I’d drop in and see how everybody is doing… besides, I don’t really have the money to afford to move in…”
Joseph snorts. Black Jack can’t help but smirk as he bandages Kaiji’s arm up.
“You don’t have to rub it in, you guys, “ Em says, frowning, although truth be told e just felt a bit called out for being a bit on the broke side erself.
“Oh, shit, sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” Joseph says, spinning a clacker around on his finger like a mini Olympian athlete. “It’s just that between ol’ renegade doc here and myself, you’re pretty much set here for life if you stick with us, y’know? Not to mention Mr. Wet Blanket over here…”
Hyo raises a brow at Joseph.
“What?” Joseph asks, raising a brow in turn. “You mean to tell me Mr. Student Council President in the Military Suit as School Uniform Every Day doesn’t have some kind of fancy-ass family estate?”
Hyo shakes his head and crosses his arms, leaning back against the couch. “… that’s fair,” he mumbles.
“I appreciate it,” Kaiji says, wincing as Black Jack presses a cotton bud soaked with disinfectant against a gash on his cheek. “I really do. I just don’t want to have to depend on other people for my needs, you know?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Joseph asks before thinking.
“… it just feels weird for me to do,” Kaiji confesses, scratching his cheek with a finger.
Black Jack swats the finger away. “Disinfecting, here.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Kaiji says, contenting himself to scratching at his pants instead. “Honestly, all I really need is to find a decent job, and I’ll be okay, I think…”
“You lookin’ for a job?” Joseph asks, sitting up straight. “I’ve got a ton of openings at the new company my buddy and I put up. You want in?”
“What!” Kaiji bolts upright like he’s just won the lottery and yelps in pain when Black Jack pulls out a stray bullet (“Ohshitwheredidthatcomefrom!?” Em frets) from Kaiji’s leg.
“Sit still,” Black Jack orders.
Hyo seems surprised by all the medical procedures Black Jack has to conduct on the man.
“Ah, that’s right, you haven’t met, have you?” Joseph says. “Hyo, this is Kaiji. I’ve only gotten to talk to him a few times, but he’s a cool guy. Good at gambling. Like yours truly!”
“The last time you tried to gamble, Joseph, you nearly lost your other arm,” said Black Jack. "And remember who had to patch that up for you?"
“Well, the fate of the world calls for big stakes, you know?” Joseph laughs. Black Jack and Hyo shake their heads in unison. “What? What?”
“You know, you could stay here with us, too, if you’d like…” Em whispers, picking at the hem of er apron.
Kaiji stammers, raising his hands in front of himself. “I couldn’t possibly…”
Joseph swings an arm around Kaiji’s shoulder and squeezes the poor lanky man toward him, grinning. “You can start at our company tomorrow!”
Kaiji wheezes, feeling the air knocked out of his chest. “But this is all so much, there’s no way I can repay…”
“You don’t have to, Kaiji!” Em pipes up. “Really! We just want to help you out. And we’d love to have you around here.”
“But I…” Kaiji tries to stand up to object, but falls back down once searing pain shoots through his leg. “Yowch!”
“Are you going to let me help you or not?” Black Jack says.
“I…” Kaiji swallows, looking at everybody around him before finally letting a crack of a smile show on his face. “O… okay. I can give it a shot.”
“Yes!” Joseph pumps his fist in the air triumphantly. A stray clacker swings and smacks him in the other temple. “Ow! Fucking hell—!”
“Great!” Em chirps, clapping er hands. “I’ll just need to set up your room, and then…”
“Sorry to be a wet blanket again,” says Hyo, smirking at poor Joseph who’s rubbing both temples and whimpering like a puppy, “but I take it I’m not the only one who can smell that…”
“Hm? What… ah! My pancakes!” Em cries, rushing to the kitchen to try and save er meal. “Ohhh, nooo, it’s smoking…! What do I do…!”
Hyo shakes his head and stands up, walking over to join Em in the kitchen. He takes the burnt pancake and throws it into the trash before dousing the pan with water from the faucet.
Em sniffles. “I ruined them… I’m so sorry… I fucked up...”
“It’s okay,” says Hyo. “We can start over. Go and take a break. I’ll take over for now, if that’s fine with you.”
“But you’re my guests…”
“Oops, Student Council President Orders,” Joseph says, taking Em by the shoulders and steering em toward the couch. “Now why don’t you sit here and chat with your old friend while us big burly men make you some pancakes?”
Black Jack looks at both of his own arms and chuckles.
“Where do you keep the aprons…” Joseph mutters to himself, digging through the kitchen.
“You are not going to wear only an apron when we cook, Joseph,” scolds Hyo.
“Awww, you’re no fun! We should be showing off our guns, buddy.”
“No.”
July 30, 2018