Drinks with Murasame

Once again Anon had been dragged away after a long day at work to have drinks with his co-worker, Murasame. Every time Murasame had a hard day he would wrap an arm over Anon's shoulder and convince his buddy to have some beers. "Come on, man" Murasame would always say "It's just a couple of drinks. You need to relax a little." They were stuffed into a tiny booth and sat across from each other. Anon nursed a giant foamy mug while Murasame had guzzled down his third or fourth beer. Murasame had cast aside his tie and pulled his shirt from his pants.

 

'Man, can you believe it?' Murasame slurred and wiped foam from his top lip 'I go for a promotion and I get passed on for the old guard.' He made a disgusted face and then kicked his head back to finish off another round. Murasame had kept Anon in the dark all the way to the bar and only now after the drinks hit him did Murasame finally open up. He slammed the mug down and eyed Anon's glass 'Not thirsty?'

 

'It's hard to keep up.' Anon nervously laughed. He had no intention of getting drunk after all Anon had work tomorrow and couldn't survive another Murasame-driven hangover. Anon gulped down a mouthful to appease his friend.

 

Murasame laughed 'Ah, I guess I'm just too much for you huh?' He shoved a handful of kaki no tane and peanuts in his mouth and happily crunched away as he motioned to the bar for more drinks. 'Don't worry I'll make sure to get us some food too, won't get so drunk if we have a full stomach right?'

 

'Yeah, sure' Anon sipped his beer as the waitress came over. Murasame was a regular here and it looked like they had given up on serving him regular mugs and brought over a pitcher. Murasame asked for some karaage to go with the drinks. Anon gasped out of fear for his wallet.

 

'Don't worry pal' Murasame reached over the table and slapped Anon on the shoulder 'Drinks are on me!' He sat back and started work on his next mug. He sighed loudly and stretched out in his seat 'But you know it's not all bad lately, I've been patching things up with my sister. She's doing great in school apparently, made a lot of friends.'

 

'Hey, that's good news.' Anon was actually quite proud, not only had Murasame's mood improved since he started getting along with his sister and Murasame had started wearing shirts again, but it also meant Anon spent fewer late nights drinking. 'She in any clubs?'

 

'Taking an interest in her?' Murasame smirked 'She's still in high school you dirty old bastard.' Murasame laughed at Anon's confused face and slammed his palm against the table 'I'm just messin' with you man! She likes swords so she's in uh kendo, yeah, that sounds about right.' Murasame took another drink and looked wistfully into the distance 'I used to be good at martial arts you know?'

 

Anon knew, Murasame was about to go into a story he had told dozens of times 'I was a bad ass with a chain and sickle! I could take out like fifty ninjas at least!' Murasame started impersonating himself winding up for an attack 'I would have even gotten on the podium in a tournament if it wasn't rigged. Instead all I got what some participation trophy, I should have used it to wail on 'em. It just burns me up, man. I'm still fighting that injustice to this day.'

 

The waitress cautiously brought over the karaage in a desperate attempt to not drum up conversation with the boisterous Murasame. He still loudly proclaimed his thanks to the whole establishment and chowed down on his spicy meal. While Murasame dug in, Anon leaned his head and got a glimpse at the attractive women sitting in the booth behind Murasame. One with purple hair in a business suit and a blonde in some casual wear from what looked like the'90s.

 

'See something you like?' Murasame chuckled. Anon was filled with dread, after this many drinks Murasame was always liable to do something regrettable. Murasame turned and knelled on his seat to reach over to the women. He addressed the purple haired one first 'Oh hey, there's room in our booth why not come have some drinks with us?'

 

Apparently she wasn't taken with his slurred speech or the alcohol on his breath and turned him down. Murasame turned to the blonde and noticed her broad shoulders and masculine build. 'Oh, you two are an item huh? Hey I don't judge. In fact it's kinda hot.'

 

There was a loud screech from the purple-haired woman's fingernails scraping across the table. She turned and emptied her glass over Murasame's head. He just sat there with a dumb grin as the lady's fruity drink dripped down his face. He watched the purple-haired woman and blonde leave then turned around to give Anon the double-guns 'Can't win 'em all, huh?'

 

If Murasame hadn't spent so much money at this establishment he would have been thrown out but the owner appreciated the steady income. Anon and Murasame spent the rest of the evening putting away drinks and snack food until the early hours and once again Anon fell into the same old mistake of drinking too much. They groggily stumbled home, arms wrapped over her each others shoulders for leverage, and slurred hit songs from their youth. Murasame slapped Anon's back 'You're my best friend man, you're the best!'