A piece of cheesecake for sky_fish7 (2/7)

[futurepm_mod]

"So?"

"Hmm?"

"You are really not going to that group date I told you about?"

Sho swivelled around in his bar chair to look at his colleague, whose sharp eyes glinted playfully beneath a silver mask that was decorated tastefully with white and purple gems. Matsumoto Jun was probably one of those people whose personality shines through every mask. Heck, the government could send him a full-faced Volto mask and Jun could still have it decorated in such a way that suits his nature to a tee.

"No, Jun-kun. It hasn't been long since I last broke up with my ex-girlfriend," Sho explained as he sipped on his martini, "I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Well I understand that it hurts after she cheated on you and I know you have your own trust issues," Jun said, "I just thought that maybe a bit of socialisation might help to keep your mind off it. No pressure."

"Thanks for the thought, though," Sho said as he gulped down the rest of his drink and asked for another refill.

He had trusted her. He had believed that they would have been happy together.

At least until he realised that she had been coming back home later than his workaholic ass did.

And then there was that day when he returned from his business trip to see his girlfriend in bed with another guy.

Her mask was off, and for the first time ever he saw her face.

Sho gulped down his drink as he felt his heart sink as much as it did at that moment when he realised that he never really knew her after all. Perhaps he knew her voice and her witty personality. But that bewildered, guilty face with smeared lipstick and in the arms of another guy?

It took him a long while to reconcile the fact that they were the same person before he civilly asked her for a separation. Permanently.

"Anyhow, I'm going to be visiting a mask craftsman tomorrow. Follow me? You could use a makeover yourself," Jun suggested as he asked for a refill.

"My plain white one is just fine. It's functional and adheres to the government's legislated standards in the handbook. That's all that is necessary."

" ' Functional' is by far one of the kindest words for ' boring'," Jun jabbed as he stood up, "besides... new house.. new life.. why not get a new mask while you are at it?"

Sho chuckled at his suggestion.

Well, at least it would be his day off tomorrow.

!!!!!!!!!

Sho blinked at the rare sight before him.

The mask craftsman sat in his little workshop in the quieter corners of the bustling city, his face completely unmasked. He bent quietly over the mask in his hand, brushing careful strokes of paint on a small Columbina mask.

"Ohno-san!" Jun called, and the craftsman looked up with a warm smile."Ah, Matsumoto-san! Your mask is ready."

"Let me introduce my friend. He is here to get a mask made as well."Ohno placed his paintbrush carefully on the table before giving Sho a firm handshake.

"What a surprise- you work without a mask?" Sho asked.

Ohno nodded with a shrug. "I mean, I do wear it when I go out and all but I don't like working with it. It gets in the way somehow. When I prefer to work closely with my works."

Sho nodded as he looked at the masks displayed around the shop. Many of them are painted in simple, metallic colours and decorated with gems and feathers that add a graceful accent to it. In a way, Sho thought that they reflected the careful, dedicated skill of their creator.

"Well, what kind of a mask would you like?" Ohno asked with a smile as he took out a small file, "I have a wide variety you can choose from."

"Just the simple Columbina mask like the government-issued one is alri-OUCH!" Sho yelped as Jun smacked him on the shoulder.

"If that were the case you might as well paint your own mask yourself," Jun teased as he looked at the craftsman, "I think giving the Columbina mask some bright colours and gems would be great."

"Well if Sakurai-san likes things simple, I think the use of two colours would bring out just enough personality," Ohno said as he flipped the booklet over to various duo-colour designs that range from simple blocked halves to checkered squares. Sho peered over the pages thoughtfully before looking up at him.

"Maybe the blocked design would be okay. What do you think of red and gold paint?"

Ohno smiled. "Exactly my sentiments. Additionally, I think a black trimming on the edges would accent it perfectly."

"Let's go with it then," Jun said, "when will it be done?" Ohno thought for a while as he took an Arlecchino mask-in-progress in his hand.

"I'm currently in the middle of a very complex order right now," Ohno said as he looked at it, "I guess you can come back in about three days' time to try it out?"

Sho looked at the mask in Ohno's hand- a full-faced mask with a huge headpiece on top like a medieval jester's hat. A wide collar fanned out beneath it, with some poker cards attached to it. The white base of the mask has already been painted, with the area around the eyes painted in a striking shade of gold.

"The person who requested that mask must be one interesting person," Sho remarked. Ohno laughed.

"Oh he is. Would you believe it if I told you he showed me an awesome magic trick to get me to give him a discount?"

"Seriously?!" Jun said with a laugh, "do you think you can do the same for Sho-kun here if he showed any tricks?"

"O-oi! Stop spouting nonsense! I don't know any!"

!!!!!!!!!

Sho shivered amidst the cool evening air as he stepped into his favourite bookshop. His shoes thumped pleasantly on the parquet floor as he made his way over to the self-help section.

"168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think..." Sho mouthed the title as he gently pried the book off the shelf, looking thoughtfully at the title.

Yeah. He could use some extra tips on how to make his time even more manageable for everything he needed to do. Somewhere beside it, he found another new instalment of a series of sudoku puzzles and took the small book in his arms.

He ambled slowly to the cashier counter, where there was already a line ahead of him. He quietly joined the queue, looking around the book cafe. Tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and he could see some people enjoying a leisurely afternoon with a drink, some desserts and a good book.

"Well, with this new book, I will probably be able to schedule in some time to read here," Sho thought as he took a small step forward, accidentally stepping on the foot of the man in front of him.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Sho apologised. The man in front of him simply glanced at him through his gold and yellow mask and moved ahead as well before holding up his Nintendo 3DS to continue his game.

Before long, the man closed his gaming console and walked towards the cashier where two masked women stood and handed over the books in his hand. The main cashier behind the register smiled as she scanned them and handed them over to her colleague, who packed them inside a beautifully decorated paper bag and placing it in a holding bin.

"That will come up to about 143,000 yen, thank you very much," the cashier chirped and the man fumbled in his bag for his wallet. He looked up at Sho and the queue behind him before graciously moving closer to the holding bin to find his wallet, allowing the queue to move forward. The cashier simply smiled as she tapped a few buttons and ushered Sho towards her. Sho handed over his book to be packed in another bag and took out some cash. Just then, the man returned beside him, handing over his money to the cashier before heading for the holding bin and grabbing one of the paper bags off and heading out of the store.

"Sir?"

Sho looked at the cashier who called him and handed over his money.

Minutes later, he stepped out of the book cafe with a happy sigh, satisfied with the fact that he had bought another new title to add to his collection. Excited, he took out the book.

And frowned at the title.

"Super Mario Maker: Perfect Game Guide Book...?" Sho read incredulously as he looked in the bag and took out another book that read "The Beginner's guide to Wildlife Photography."

Sho then remembered the man who stood in front of him with a gaming console in hand.

"URGH. He took my books by mistake!" Sho grunted under his breath as he placed the books inside the bag and looked around anxiously.

There he saw the man walking pretty far ahead down the street to his left. Sho broke into a sprint as he chased after him. He followed him around a turn, only to find that he had lost him amidst the evening crowd. Refusing to give up, he jogged slowly around the streets, looking for signs of that gold and black mask. Just then, from outside a cafe, he caught sight of the man leaving the game shop on the other side of the street, making a turn towards the underpass towards the subway station. Sho hurriedly bolted across the road to the underpass, only to come face-first against a huge crowd of masked passengers walking up the stairs.

"Excuse me!" he tried to get through the crowd politely but it was too difficult- at that point of time in the evening rush hour, crowds everywhere are too huge to face. When he finally got down to the station, the man with his black and gold mask had long gone, disappearing untraced into the depths of the city.

(3/7)