Goodbye Nostalgia [Ichijou/Vanyel]

Karakura City -- one of the places he had taken refuge after running away from home, before being adopted into the Kudo-kai and taken to Kitakyushu. Leaning over a bridge of a nearby park in the city, Vanyel stared into the clear water, sighing softly. It felt like it was so long ago, those days in the yakuza -- a place where he was welcomed with opened arms and warmth, having brothers to talk to and have fun with.

Six years had never felt so long until now.

Despite the memories this place held for him, there was still a beauty to Japan that he hadn't been able to appreciate until now. A gentle smile came across his face as he pushed himself back upright, turning to walk the rest of the way across the bridge. The place hadn't really changed much since he had last been there -- not that he could see, at least. He took a few cursory glances at those he saw crossing the bridge from the other side.

Stepping onto the other side and beginning to turn the corner around and away from the park, he pondered and thought. Maybe he could have a smoke for old time's sake, back when he and his sworn brother would walk through the streets, idly talking. But, there was something else that he could remember from walking down these streets -- it was a fuzzy memory, not one that he was able to call on exactly, but there was something about these streets that made him feel a strange sense of warm nostalgia.

A quiet hum came from the man as he pulled out his phone, looking down at his hand as he walked, idly checking the device as he walked down the street, tucking it into his pocket as he noticed the flashing neon light of a sign to the side. A grin spread across his face as he looked up at the arcade sign. While the concept of arcade cabinets and old video games had long since gone out of mainstream style, Vanyel knew that there were a few select places in the world that preserved the cultural icon.

While they were mildly expensive nowadays from how rare they were, Vanyel was more than willing to shell out the extra cash for a chance at this age-old cultural sentiment. Walking in and paying for two hours, Vanyel walked around and browsed the cabinets, seeing someone else at one of the fighting game cabinets, playing against the AI. Shrugging, he walked up to the girl, lightly tapping on the cabinet.

"Mind if I play you in the next match?"