"Let me guess, we're not following what the strange guy said."
"We will," Mr. Watanabe replied. "But we'll apply precautions to be safe."
"By 'we,' you mean you." I pointed at him.
"You."
He sighed.
"I'm enjoying my retirement. It's great. I don't know if I should say this, but I just had the best sleep last night without jammies for the first time."
"You really didn't have to say that," Yuta said.
"I know. It sounded terrifying."
"You had a choice not to say that, but alright,"
Mr. Watanabe cleared his throat.
"I'll leave you the broadcast and some time. In case you have a change of heart."
As he left, the broadcast continued playing.
***
"Sir! Sir! Sir!"
A servant came running into the room.
"You called me to do something?"
"Yes," the entity spoke. "I want you to gather the location of the device... immediately."
"Working on it, sir!"
The servant hurried away.
"As for the rest..." The entity leaned back slightly. "Bring me Bendadivida... and his three-eyed pet."
"Yes, sir."
The servant left once more.
A few moments later, a short six-eyed creature entered the room.
"You called me, my lord?"
"I did."
"..."
"And where is your pet with three eyestalks? Doo-Poo is it?
"It's Doo-Pu, my lord. He has a slight fever. You know him, always messing around leftover food carts." Bendadivida chuckled.
"I see."
"Why did you call me exactly?... My lord?"
"It's about your friend, Tenesaurus. I assume you haven't given even the slightest care about his death."
"I haven't, my lord. He despised everything about my appearance. Now, I'll never have to hear those comments again."
"Good."
A brief silence followed.
"He's nothing but a convict, after all."
Bendadivida nodded.
"Now, continue doing what you're doing."
"Yes, my lord."
He backed away respectfully before turning around and suddenly sprinting toward a storage room.
Once inside, he slipped through a hidden passageway.
"Doo-Pu? Doo-Pu, are you here?" Bendadivida whispered.
From the shadows emerged a snail-like creature with three eyestalks, the middle being the tallest than the other two.
"Doo Pu." Doo-Pu whispered back.
"Great. Let's get started, shall we?"
Bendadivida switched on the lights.
The room lit up, revealing dozens of computer screens, keyboards, cables, and enough blinking lights. Classic sci-fi alien tech.
Detailed files and camera footage appeared across the screens as Doo-Pu immediately started typing.
"Have you found the new host?"
"Doo Pu."
"That's alright. No need to rush. Related sources might help for now. What do you think, Doo-Pu?"
"Doo Pu!"
"Hmmm. Brilliant. That will do."
***
Two days passed.
For some reason, time had been moving unusually slowly.
Pretty weird.
Usually, it takes me exactly thirty minutes and one second to write an entire script.
This time, it took twenty-nine seconds longer.
The worst part?
The script was trash.
Absolute trash.
I put down my pen and stared at the ceiling.
"Hmmmph."
"Hmmmph."
"Hmmmmmph."
I buried my face in a pillow and collapsed onto the mat.
Mom was carrying groceries into the kitchen when she spotted me lying in the living room, looking like I was attempting to suffocate myself.
"Are you alright, sweetie?"
"No, Mom. Not alright."
"Why?"
"..."
"You can't write a script?"
"I did. It's just trash."
I sighed.
"Like, there's no such thing as a cockroach saving its friend from drowning in a bowl of egg soup."
"There is such a thing, son."
"What?"
I removed the pillow from my face and took a deep breath.
"With your mind, everything is a thing. That's your power."
"It's not pepper spray, super speed, or teleportation."
She sat down beside me and gently patted my shoulder.
"It's your capability and courage. Costume comes last."
"So... the cockroach rescue, then?"
"How about you lessen the action a bit?"
"Alright."
Suddenly, my stomach growled.
Of course, I did what every hungry kid does.
I asked Mom.
"Mom, do we have food?"
"Yes. I bought watermelons. One for you and one for your dad."
I froze.
"Watermelon?"
"Yes, hon."
"Watermelon?"
"Yes, hon. Watermelon."
"Water... melon?"
"Yes, hon... watermelon."
Inside my head, the word started replaying in slow motion.
Watermelon.
Watermelon.
Watermelon.
Then Mom's sentence replayed too. Also in slow motion.
"I bought watermelons."
Bought watermelons.
Bought watermelons.
Watermelons.
Watermelons.
Watermelons.
My brain suddenly connected several dots that probably shouldn't have been connected.
I snapped back to reality.
"I gotta go."
**"
Meanwhile, in a much larger bedroom, Saitou grunted through another sit-up.
Twenty-three.
Twenty-four.
Twenty-five.
Somehow, the room smelled surprisingly normal despite the amount of sweating inside.
Out of nowhere, his phone rang.
Figuring twenty-five continuous reps was enough, he grabbed it.
"What is it, bro?"
"Grab a notebook, a pen, a backpack, a blackboard, and a shirt. A. S. A. P."
"Stop hanging upside down from my ceiling fan. A. S. A. P."
"That's not fair."
"Just do it."
"You're not supposed to see the divider between us like in the movies."
"Well, I see you. So get down."
"And wipe your sweat. You look like an overpolished museum sculpture-"
Saitou hung up.
Meanwhile, I was still hanging upside down from his ceiling fan with my mouth open.
"Naoki."
"What?"
"Get out of my ceiling fan."
"What? You're gonna turn it on?"
He reached for the switch.
Almost did.
"Alright! Alright!"
He grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed downstairs.
"I'm gonna take a shower."
"Alright-"
"And don't peek."
"Alright, alright. It's just that we used to shower together, you know?"
"We were six!"