Ah, So in Japan Even Cousins Are Allowed
I stood on the road in front of our house, waiting for a car so I could have dinner with Aris FitzGerald. She had insisted on driving over herself. Before I possessed this body I used to drive, so not having a car felt incredibly frustrating. I really needed to get my license.
I had a vague memory of watching an adult video before the possession—one set at a driving-license training camp where the female lead got gang-raped. I wondered if this world had similar training camps. If a pretty girl showed up, we could share a beer, the mood would turn nice, and we could just enjoy ourselves.
“Yat-ho! Ryuta, over here!”
Aris pulled up in a bright red Porsche 911, flung the door open, and waved at me with a brilliant smile. It felt like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. After all, she was a stunning blonde beauty behind the wheel of a scarlet sports car.
I smiled back and waved, then slid into the passenger seat beside her. The moment I sat down, a faint trace of perfume mixed with that indescribable warm scent of a woman brushed against me.
“Let’s have fun today.”
“Sure. What do you want to do?”
I had already sketched out a date itinerary, but I asked anyway in case she had something specific in mind.
“I want to hang out in Shin-Okubo! You know a lot about Korea, so you can explain everything, right?”
Hmm. I had been planning to hit up Shibuya, but Shin-Okubo sounded good too.
“I just got back from Korea a few days ago, so I can give you the freshest details. Oh, speaking of my trip—that reminds me. Here, this is for you.”
I handed Aris a shopping bag. Inside were cosmetics I had bought while traveling. It was the brand currently most popular among Japanese girls. Aris was a rich model, so she probably used even higher-end products, but I figured she would like the face masks.
“Whoa, cosmetics? Is this the brand all the college girls are into right now?”
“Probably. I spotted the store while I was in Korea and immediately thought of you. So I only grabbed some masks and a couple of lipsticks. I figured you already had the rest of the stuff you usually use.”
Aris smiled, clearly pleased with the gift.
Thanks to the recent Korean Wave, Shin-Okubo was once again packed with female students and fans. It was a weekday, so it wasn’t overwhelmingly crowded, but there were still plenty of people.
The first place we went was a cheese dakgalbi restaurant. The dish had caused a small stir in Korea but never really exploded there. In Japan right now, however, it was insanely popular. Normally on weekends or evenings the line stretched for an hour, but since we arrived at lunchtime on a weekday we were able to walk right in.
“I’m not great with spicy food. But cheese dakgalbi should be okay, right?”
“Let’s also order some steamed egg and rice balls. They’ll help mellow out the heat.”
I asked the server for two orders of cheese dakgalbi, steamed egg, and rice balls. On top of that I added a bottle of Coolpis to further neutralize the spice. I had eaten plenty of spicy food during my Korean trip, but I had no idea how much heat Aris could handle, so I prepared as much as possible.
The cheese dakgalbi soon arrived and Aris picked up her chopsticks. I watched the red chicken disappear between her pink lips. She chewed cutely, then let out soft little breaths—ssup, haa, ssup, haa—that somehow sounded almost lewd.
When I saw how much the spice was affecting her, I offered her one of the rice balls. Aris took it like a baby bird. It was kind of adorable. She let out a happy “Hehe” and smiled. Eating the rice ball seemed to ease the burn a little.
“It’s spicy when I eat it without cheese.”
“Then wrap it in cheese from now on.”
When she rolled the chicken in the stretchy mozzarella that ringed the pan, the heat disappeared completely. Maybe that was why it had become so popular in Japan…? Aris seemed to like it too; after one bite she broke into a smile. True to her model habits, she didn’t eat much. She had three more cheese-wrapped pieces, then patted her stomach and declared herself full.
“Do I have to finish the rest?”
“I’ve got it.”
Ever since I took the elixir and my physical abilities skyrocketed, my daily calorie burn had gone through the roof and I had become a massive eater. This much was nothing. I polished off the remaining dakgalbi, steamed egg, and rice balls without breaking a sweat.
“I like watching you eat so well.”
“My body got stronger, so my appetite did too.”
After the meal we headed to a café for drinks. I ordered melon soda while Aris got a parfait. She had just said she was full—could she really handle dessert?
Contrary to my worries, Aris finished the entire parfait. So this was that mythical “separate stomach for dessert,” huh?
“Mmm~ So good~!”
She was ridiculously cute. Seeing her eat with such obvious delight made me smile like a proud dad without even realizing it.
After chatting for a while at the café, we moved on to karaoke.
“Sing me some Korean songs!”
That was no problem. I had gone to karaoke pretty often before the possession. I didn’t know the boy-idol tracks she requested, but I sang her a few songs I did know. Aris sang some American hits that had been popular back when she lived in the States, plus a few Korean girl-group songs that had Japanese versions.
My own singing was only a little above average, but Aris was genuinely good. Not quite idol-level, but easily top-tier for a normal person. If she got proper training, could she go pro?
“You’re really good, Aris. You could be a singer.”
“Aww~ No way…”
Her cheeks were faintly flushed. Was it because I kept praising her? Or because I had been singing love songs the whole time? She probably couldn’t understand the Korean lyrics, though.
By the time we finished singing and stepped outside, it was already four o’clock. A little awkward for anything big. Time for a movie, then.
“Want to catch a film?”
“Huh? I was just about to ask the same thing… There’s a movie I’ve been dying to see, but I didn’t have anyone to watch it with.”
“What movie?”
“I loved it when I was living in America, and now the sequel’s finally out. It’s the first follow-up in twelve whole years—I’m so excited!”
Just from her description I knew exactly what it was.
“Is it Arbiter?”
“Yes! The new one is called Arbiter: Path of Fire.”
So in this world it was called Path of Fire. The showing started at 4:35, so I booked tickets on the app. Aris had paid for lunch, the café, and karaoke, so the least I could do was cover the movie and dinner.
“Ah~! I was going to pay for that too…”
“You already got lunch, the café, and karaoke. Let me handle this much.”
From her perspective I was just a fresh graduate starting work in a week, so her slight hesitation was understandable.
Thankfully I didn’t have to worry about money. I had received quite a bit from my mother. I needed to find a place near the company and buy various things, after all. Taira Saburo had left a considerable sum in my mother’s name—around three hundred million yen. She had given part of it to me.
Normally the inheritance tax would have been enormous, but with help from the Taira Group’s accountants they had legally minimized it to an extreme degree. The combination of the group’s power and clever exploitation of legal loopholes made it possible.
We bought popcorn and drinks, and by the time we entered the theater the commercials were already playing. Japanese cinemas weren’t that different after all.
The movie was genuinely worth watching. The story was somewhat predictable, but the feeling of actually being inside a world of flames and the beautiful depiction of fire were excellent. Hmm… I enjoyed it. When the film ended I started to get up, but none of the other audience members moved, so I stayed seated until the end credits finished rolling. Apparently that was standard Japanese theater etiquette.
“Wow~! That was so much fun!”
Aris must have loved it too; she practically skipped with joy. Before leaving she insisted on buying a pamphlet. It was interesting that they charged for them here when they were free in Korea. By the time we left the theater it was a little past eight. A bit late for dinner, but we still needed to eat.
My body, which now demanded massive amounts of calories, was practically screaming for fuel.
“Sorry for the wait… I went to the bathroom…”
Aris twisted her body shyly as she spoke, embarrassed about mentioning the bathroom. The gesture was so lovely that I instinctively reached out and stroked her blonde hair. Wow, it felt incredible. Just running my fingers through it lifted my mood.
“Let’s go eat now.”
Aris, who had been enjoying my touch with her eyes closed, opened them again and spoke energetically. What should we eat? It seemed she already had a place in mind; she grabbed my hand and pulled me along. The restaurant was tucked a little off the main path and had the feel of a hidden izakaya, but it looked excellent.
“This place…?”
“It’s one of my secret favorites. Actually, it belongs to my friend’s parents.”
When we stepped inside it wasn’t completely packed, just pleasantly busy. The signature orange lighting of a drinking establishment, the smell of food and alcohol, and the soft murmur of conversation created a wonderful atmosphere.
“Oh~! Aris, it’s you. First time seeing you here without Sayaka, huh? And who’s this handsome young man? Your boyfriend?”
The owner—an attractive middle-aged woman who must have been very popular in her youth—greeted us warmly and showed us to a table. So Sayaka was her daughter’s name.
“Aww~ He’s not my boyfriend.”
“But he’s so good-looking! Want to be mine instead?”
She was quite the playful auntie. I played along and asked, “Should I?” only for her to smack my arm and cry, “No way~! I’m a married woman!” We sat down and opened the menu. Most of the items were snacks like chicken skewers and okonomiyaki, but since I was starving we could just order a lot. There were proper meal options too—fried rice and ramen.
“What are you having?”
“I’ll take the mixed chicken skewers, motsunabe, and… maybe some rice?”
“Whoa~ You’re really hungry, huh?”
“I have to eat at least this much to maintain this body.”
I flexed my right arm to show off my bicep. Aris laughed and reached over to touch it.
“Yeah, you probably do need to eat a lot to keep that.”
“What about you, Aris?”
“I want sashimi… and gyoza, hiyayakko, and sake!”
She was driving—could she drink? Maybe she planned to call a substitute driver. When we raised our hands to order, a good-looking middle-aged man who I assumed was the husband came over. With both parents so attractive, I was curious how pretty their daughter Sayaka must be.
“We’re ready to order, sir.”
“Aris bringing a boy here? All the old men in the neighborhood are going to be so disappointed. They’ve been waiting to introduce their sons to her.”
“Aww~ You’re just saying that~.”
Aris seemed to have a very good reputation here. From what I had seen all day, her personality really was likable.
“One mixed chicken skewer platter, motsunabe, gyoza, hiyayakko, sashimi… and rice and sake—make the sake the Kokuryu Jungin, please~!”
When we finished ordering, the owner looked surprised by the volume and asked if we had eaten yet.
“We went to a movie. It ended right at eight. Hehe.”
“Ah~! I see. My daughter’s friend brought a boy today, so I’ll make sure to give you generous portions!”
He brought a bottle of sake and some edamame right away, told us the food would come out shortly, and returned to the kitchen. We poured sake for each other, clinked our cups, and drank. After emptying her cup, Aris leaned close to my ear and whispered.
“I drank, so I can’t drive now.”
The moment I heard her moist, suggestive whisper, I got hard.