A Rotten Tomato

Picture Origin - Shenmue 2 - Sega 

563 words

Izumi Takano is the kind of girl that knows what she wants. When she is sick, she craves tomato soup - when she visits Tom's hot dog stand, she asks for ketchup - and when she moved to Hong Kong, she applied for a job at the Tomato Convenience Store. Generally speaking, most things Izumi wanted she could easily get - however, when it came to men, it looked as if luck wasn't on her side. Izumi was convinced the man she wants doesn't exist; she had felt that way, until one cold miserable day in Wan Chai when the snow just happened to turn to rain. 

 

The features that attracted Izumi the most were the stylish clothes he wore – brown leather jacket, blue denim jeans and trendy sneakers.

‘My name is Ryo Hazuki,’ he said with a blank expression on his face in response to Izumi’s question.

The conversation didn’t pick up much from there on their first encounter, but this didn’t stop Izumi being excited to get home that night to do her rotten tomato test. The test is a bizarre concept that Izumi has been doing for years. It involves keeping a bunch of tomatoes in a dark cupboard for a couple of weeks, and if by the end there is a tomato still firm and fresh – then the right man will be entering her life soon, or already has.

The next day, Izumi was in a particularly happy mood because she discovered one fresh tomato the night before - her rotten tomato test worked! She stared at the automatic doors opening and closing all day in hopes to catch a glimpse of Ryo's spikey hair. By the end of the day, she was giving up hope - but to her surprise he showed up. 

'Ryo, may i help you?' asked Izumi with the biggest smile on her face.
'This,' Ryo bluntly answered as he placed some caramel on the counter.
'Oh, you get to draw a raffle ticket.' 
Ryo placed his hand in a cardboard box and drew out a winning ticket. He selected a rare Sonic capsule toy. Izumi got overly excited by this, and was proud of herself for encouraging Ryo to select a ticket. Before she could think of questions to ask Ryo, he caught her off guard by asking who the man in the picture was behind the counter. 

'That's my father, the boss believes we should have family pictures hung up to give a more friendly wholesome experience to the customer.'

'I see, is there any way that I can meet him?'

Izumi was puzzled; perhaps Ryo was a traditional gentleman that wants to ask permission from her father to take her on a date?

'Well he is rarely ever home anymore, he spends most of his time at Heart Beats Bar.'

'Heart Beats Bar,' echoed Ryo as he took out his journal to write that down. 

Izumi was about to ask Ryo why he wanted to meet her father, but a loud beeping noise deafened her before she could. Ryo looked at his Timex watch that was flashing. 

'It's getting late,' and without another word Ryo left the store. 

Izumi was left confused. Why had Ryo been interested in her father? Her father was only a sailor after all. 

Izumi sighed, and decided that Ryo Hazuki was nothing more than a rotten tomato.

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