After work, Owen decided to go to the gas station and buy something for Isabella who he knew was also hard at work. He thought of himself as someone that was careful when it came to money. Alas, when his girlfriend was stressed, he became something of an impulsive buyer. A really bad habit in all honesty. If only he could control it…

“Oh well. You can always make money, that's what I always say. The margins are thin and we might go into the negatives, but…” 

It was worth it to see her smile.

He pushed his bike till he reached the sidewalk near the edge of the gas station. He was about to hop on before he saw a shadow leaning on the side of the building. A shadowy figure that was crumpled up and sleeping. A homeless man. 

“Huh?”  

Owen squinted. The homeless man was handsome—or probably better described as pretty. He must have been in his twenties yet had gray hair, a scar going down his eye, and distinct crescent moon-shaped earrings. His attire was well-kept and annoyingly new: a thin blue winter coat that Owen recognized as a Japanese Hanten over a white shirt and black slacks.

“Huh?” The homeless guy stirred and locked eyes with him. 

Oh shit. Run, run, run! Owen hurried on ahead, pushing his bicycle along with him and preparing to get on. A tight grip suddenly latched onto me.

“Hey, woah! Don’t pretend you didn’t see me!”

“I didn’t see you.”

“Are you really gonna ignore your best buddy!? It's been years!”

“We're not buddies, man.”

“I would take a bullet for you!”

Owen sighed and stopped. The homeless guy finally let go of him and he was able to get a better look at him. Dammit, it was him. “Do you have a habit of pretending to be homeless, Masafumi?”

“Woah, woah, woah, I was not pretending to be homeless, I was waiting for you?”

“By sitting like a homeless person?” Owen retorted.

“Ah, whatever! Doesn't matter, I found you!” Masafumi grinned. “We gotta—”

“No.”

“I didn't even get to finish.”

“You were going to say team up, right?”

“Nope, I was going to say eat. Oh, but—”

“You're broke.”

Masafumi smiled thinly. “Yeah, sorry.”

“I'm broke too,” Owen said.

“Well, shit.”

Bunch of brokes standing in the middle of the sidewalk next to a gas station. Great.

Masafumi blinked and stared at the bag at the back of his bicycle. “Wait, then why are you carrying ice cream? You cheap ass—”

“It's not like that, it's for someone else.”

“Oh, someone else. Cool, cool.” Masafumi nodded along, crossing his arms, earrings moving from the wind. “Why not me theeeen!?”

God damn it. There was a reason he pretended not to know him.

***

“Sshooo, yeah, that's how I got here.”

Stuffing his face with a slice of pizza, Masafumi explained his life story, how he ended up at the Bay, and he was hanging around that specific gas station. To put a long story short, he had been searching for Owen and got lost. 

Arms on the table, Owen didn't lose an inch of his chagrin. “And why were you searching for me? I thought you said our deal was done.”

“The deal, huh…” Masafumi hummed. “Meh, who cares?”

“Really, dude?”

“I mean, come on! Remember the shit we do! We were like Sherlock and Watson! Goku and Vegeta! Sonic and Tails! Mario and Luigi! We were an inseparable duo that saved the world. A deal isn't what binds us!” Masafumi lifted his second and last slice of pizza and sank into his mouth from the top. “I can't believe you would limit our awesome, legendary friendship like that. A deal! Pfft, I totally forgot about that!”

Like he hell did. That deal became a focal point during a particularly heated argument. “Whatever. Tell me, what is it this time?”

Masafumi grinned. “Heh, I knew our friendship meant something.”

Owen pulled out his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “I can burn a couple hours since it's still early in the day. But nothing at night. I have to be home by then.”

“Really? Come ooon. I'll buy you a Mountain Pew if you reconsider.”

“I thought you said you were broke?”

Masafumi stood up and rummaged through the pockets of his jacket. “Ah, there it is! Hey, server, over here!” He handed the server a couple coins. “My friend here wants Mountain Pew. Fetch him one.”

The server nodded and did what he was told. The pizza place they were at was small and local. There were three tables and a small area to pick-up deliveries. No doubt, it was a location primarily for online delivery rather than dining. 

Pssssch! Pop!

“So what's the job? Better not be something crazy again,” Owen said, cracking the drink open the moment he got it. “Also, still not accepting nighttime but thanks for the free drink.”

Masafumi closed his eyes and leaned back on the seat, arms hanging down behind him. He tipped himself over, balancing on the two legs of the chair, and said, “Look, apparently, there's a creature rumoured to be a mix of a lion and an eagle down in the amusement park. Obviously, the amusement park is only available for investigation at night so that's what I wanted us to go to then. We sneak in, exorcise the damn thing, and leave before anyone notices. So what do you say? You in?”

Owen quietly sipped on his drink. He mulled over the consequences of him not participating. Specifically, what would happen to Masafumi. “Fine.”

“Nice! Team Ghostbusters, reunite!”