Strange things and nostalgia

In early spring, March, as the weather warms up, cherry blossoms in Tokyo are budding on the branches.

Far from the bustling city center, this old residential area is dilapidated and old. Apart from the elderly who have stayed behind, the majority of the tenants are young people who have just come to Tokyo to find work or have just graduated from university.

Near the residential area is an abandoned park overgrown with weeds. The lush, tall grasses cover the rusty swings and exercise equipment. Occasionally, stray cats will stop there, and residents can often hear them meowing in the middle of the night.

But recently they have rarely heard the calls of wild cats.

In a corner of an abandoned park, the brightly colored mushroom-shaped houses have peeling paint, and three or four stray cats are lying on the connected slides.

They basked contentedly in the early spring sun, their tails occasionally swishing, which tempted a short-tailed tabby cat to pounce on them.

"I'm so hungry—" A faint voice suddenly came from the mushroom house, and then a black-haired, golden-eyed boy emerged from it.

After he appeared, the cats that were sunbathing on the slide came over to his legs and rubbed against him, meowing sweetly.

The boy, who was suddenly introduced as Tsurumi Nagare, rubbed his rumbling stomach, squatted down to pet the cat for a while, and muttered to himself, "I wonder if Dazai will keep my piggy bank safe. I haven't said goodbye to Mori-sensei yet..."

He arrived in this world three days ago, landing right in this park, where he encountered these cats fighting over territory.

He appeared right next to them, startling the cats who were fiercely fighting. They then united and hissed at him in unison.

However, Tsurumi Kawakami's ability to attract furry creatures came in handy at this time. He has always been good with animals, and after settling in the park, he gradually became familiar with these cats.

However, his change of location happened suddenly, and he had nothing on him except a cell phone and a wallet.

Moreover, since all the money was in the piggy bank, Tsurumi Kawakami had spent all the small amount of pocket money in his wallet over the past three days, and his phone also shut down yesterday because it ran out of battery.

Tsurumi Kawakami, who had ended up in an abandoned park, was keeping company with these stray cats. At this moment, he was petting a cat, his expression slightly serious, as he carefully considered what to do next.

His first priority was still finding food and lodging; filling his stomach was the most important issue. Tsurumi Ryu thought of the high school student who worked at the convenience store during his vacation, whom he had met with Dazai earlier.

Perhaps he could go to the convenience store. Tsurumi Nagare put the cats down, said goodbye to them, and left the park.

-

Although the residential area was old, there were still quite a few shops and convenience stores nearby. Tsurumi Kawakami looked at several and found a convenience store that urgently needed someone.

Grandma Sonoko, the shop manager, was getting a bit tired running the shop alone, so she decided to hire someone to help her.

An elderly woman with silver hair and a kind smile chuckled as she handed Tsurumi Kawaru a work apron and began teaching him how to work as a cashier at a convenience store.

"You can take your time when you're checking out. After scanning, the amount will be displayed here. Just enter the amount the customer paid, and the change will be automatically given."

The black-haired, golden-eyed boy stood obediently beside her, listening attentively and watching her operate the system. After a few times, Tsurumi Kawaru was already very familiar with the entire checkout process.

He was eager to try it out.

Seeing this, Grandma Sonoko gave up her seat and watched him work at the cashier: "You're doing very well, you learn very quickly. I'll be relying on you from now on."

Upon receiving praise and encouragement, Tsurumi Kawakami was energized, nodding vigorously and responding with a bright smile.

The convenience store's customer traffic is at a reasonable level, with the busiest times being noon, 3 pm, and evening. When it's crowded, Tsurumi Kawakami can only help out, standing by and packing things for customers.

When the crowd thinned out, Tsurumi Kawakami volunteered to replace Grandma Sonoko.

"Could you please settle the bill for me?" A man in a blue suit, looking tired and like a corporate slave, walked over with a bento box, a few rice balls, and a carton of milk.

Tsurumi Nagare responded, quickly grabbed a plastic bag from the side, and began scanning it for him: "The total is 1789 yen."

He glanced at the total amount on the display screen, then looked up at the customer in front of him and said...

With just a glance, Tsurumi Kawaru was stunned. He stared at the thing that looked like a magnified fly perched on the other man's shoulder for a few seconds, looking at the man in front of him with a strange expression, and began to mutter to himself.

The young office worker didn't notice Tsurumi Kawa's expression, nodded numbly, and took out some banknotes from his wallet and handed them to him.

After giving him his change, Tsurumi helped him pack his purchases into a bag. Before he left, she couldn't help but whisper, "Your pet is really unique."

The young office worker sluggishly raised his head, gave Tsurumi Kawakami a strange look, and then muttered as he left the convenience store.

Tsurumi Kawakami, with his keen hearing, heard what he was saying in a low voice and immediately froze on the spot.

He recalled the oversized fly he'd seen on the other man's shoulder, blinked, and realized: "So that wasn't his pet."

Even as he rushed to the park after get off work, Tsurumi Kawakami was still thinking about this question.

He noticed that the man seemed unable to see the strange thing on his shoulder, and Grandma Sonoko in the shop also seemed unable to see it.

Thinking of this, Tsurumi Kawakami scratched his cheek in frustration. "So that strange thing is a specialty of this world?"

Thinking of local specialties, he recalled the Mafia and superhumans of Yokohama from his previous world. However, compared to these two, the strange creatures of this world were somewhat unique; ordinary people seemed unable to see them.

Over the next two days, in order to figure out what the strange thing was, Tsurumi Kawakami searched carefully on his way to the convenience store and found that the strange thing, which looked like an enlarged fly, liked to pester office workers.

Furthermore, Tsurumi Kawakami unexpectedly discovered that the manager of the sushi restaurant next door also had one perched on his shoulder, and to satisfy his curiosity, he even went closer to take a look.

His action seemed to have caught the attention of the strange creature, whose translucent wings fluttered before it pounced directly at his face.

Startled by the sudden attack on his face, Tsurumi Kawakami tilted his head back and reached out to dodge.

The next second, the strange thing that pounced on him suddenly shattered into fine powder after hitting his arm, and then disappeared into the air.

Noticing his panicked expression, Grandma Sonoko turned to him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tsurumi Kawa blinked, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes. He touched the tip of his nose, avoiding her gaze, and whispered, "It's nothing, I just saw a bug."

Grandma Sonoko said, "Insects? There are indeed flying insects at this time of year."

Tsurumi Kawakami gave a soft "hmm," not daring to tell her the truth.

However, what he just witnessed made Tsurumi Nagare realize that the strange things in this world must be similar to the monsters he had seen, creatures composed of something like abyssal demonic energy.

With this realization, Tsurumi Kawakami breathed a sigh of relief and immediately felt at ease, as he was very skilled at dealing with monsters.

So in the following days, whenever Tsurumi Kawaru saw people with strange things on their shoulders at convenience stores, he would intentionally or unintentionally help them solve the problem.

-

"I don't know why, but my neck, which had been sore for a while, suddenly feels better."

"Really? Maybe you've been getting enough rest lately."

"Probably, are you going to see the cherry blossoms this weekend?"

"Sure, bring some bento boxes too."

When Tsurumi Kawakami casually handed something over, he successfully helped someone get rid of a strange creature. Listening to the conversation between the two people walking away, he subconsciously looked outside.

The cherry blossoms on both sides of the street are in full bloom, with layers of pink and white blossoms. A spring breeze blows by, and a shower of cherry blossoms falls with a rustling sound.

After work in the evening, Tsurumi Kawaru returned to the park with a discounted bento box from the convenience store. As soon as he got there, several stray cats emerged from a corner, habitually surrounding him, rubbing against his trouser legs, and meowing sweetly.

Tsurumi Kawaki ran his fingers through each of the bento boxes, then opened the bento and picked out a few pieces of fried chicken, placing them on the ground.

When convenience stores are about to close, bento boxes become very cheap, and at that time, Tsurumi Kawakami often buys the remaining bento boxes.

After finishing his lunchbox, Tsurumi Kawaru cleaned up the trash and prepared to throw it away. The cats he had fed followed him, and after leaving the abandoned amusement park, they threw away their trash and walked back, stepping on their own shadows.

Suddenly, the black cat at the front arched its back and began hissing incessantly. Influenced by this, the other cats began to act aggressively, their cries becoming increasingly shrill.

Tsurumi stopped in his tracks, his feet casting a long shadow under the streetlights. At the end of the shadow, a strange-looking, multi-legged creature, seemingly haphazardly assembled, was coiled on the amusement park's spiral slide.

"..."

Tsurumi Kawakami blinked, staring at the strange-looking thing with some curiosity.

He had seen many monsters, and because they were creatures made of abyssal demonic energy, their appearances were mostly strange and bizarre. Now, seeing this strange thing for the first time, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Tsurumi Kawa's eyes.

"However, are you planning to take over my place?" the black-haired, golden-eyed boy asked politely.

The strange thing in front of him—no, it should be called a level two cursed spirit, a cursed spirit that hunts without reason and only repeats one sentence—suddenly seemed to be activated the moment it met Tsurumi Kawa's gaze.

It raised its head, its many legs swaying like a centipede, and suddenly launched itself towards Tsurumi River.

On the path behind Tsurumi Kawa, the assistant director who rushed over saw this scene before he could even react. Before he could even shout "Be careful!", the black-haired boy who was standing with his back to him did not back down but instead went straight to meet him.

Next, the assistant supervisor, whose spell power was so weak that he only had time to set up the tent, saw the other party tear apart a level two spell spirit with ease.

————————

Sliding on knees. (jpg)