Chapter 1

Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan.

There is a time when curiosity gets the better of you, and you simply act. Unconsciously, without intent, you just do it. That’s what happened to me one day, of all places at an Anime and Manga Convention.

I travel, a lot. My job takes me the length and breadth of California. I install and service computers and computer networks. I recently picked p a contract to set up a large network that wold cover multiple floors of a high rise office building in Los Angeles.

Now, a job like this was bound to take a while, and hotels and motels wold break my bank account. So I called and asked my sister if she’d be willing to put up with me for maybe a month. Her immediate reaction was to inform me of some rules.

“You’ll need to cook for yourself Dave.” was the first thing out of her mouth. “I’m in meetings til noon, then I have work dates with clients til around eight.” That was fine with me. Anything she ever cooked took hours or sometimes days to prepare.

The rest of the rules revolved around cleanliness and how she wasn’t my maid. The last one, made me want to interrogate her, but I left it alone. “Josh is home from college.” she began flatly. “If his door Is closed, leave him be. He’s old enough to find food when he’s hungry.”

I wanted to ask more, but she ended that portion of the conversation with. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him lately. But he’s not hurting himself or anyone else...” I told her I understood, but promised myself to grill the little bastard if I got the chance.

The drive down from San Jose to my sister’s place in the San Fernando Valley only took about seven hours or so. I stopped for lunch at a truck stop in Gorman. A little hole in the wall cafe next to it has the best Monte Cristo sandwiches, south of the Bay Area.

When I arrived, my sister was just getting ready to head out to a group thing with colleagues. She tossed me a set of house keys and said, “Josh is in his room, I haven’t gone shopping yet, so you’ll have to Doordash or something.”

The absurdity of the encounter was comical, almost a Sitcom trope. Imagine me standing in the doorway grabbing some flying keys out of the air while a frantic woman with a Bluetooth in one ear, yells instructions while racing through the house.

“I’ll be late.” she said as she stopped on her way out the front door to hug me. “Good to see you again Dave.” She gave me a quick hug and a peck on my cheek. “When does your job start?” she inquired.

“I’ll be working Downtown starting Friday.” I said. “Most of the work is on weekend, since the offices will be closed then, and I’ll have freedom to work undisturbed.”

“Sounds like fun.” she said, patting my shoulder. Then she was gone. I took my overnight bag and other essentials to the guest room and began unpacking. While doing so I felt that chill you get down your back when someone is watching you.

Without stopping or turning around, I called back over my shoulder. “Hey Josh.”

“‘Sup Uncle Dave?” Came the young man’s voice. “Staying a while?” By now I imagined he was leaning against the door frame.

“Oh, about a month.” I began. “If your Mom will put up with me that long.” I was rewarded for the comment with a chuckle I was sure he tried to stifle behind his hand.

“Big job then?” Josh asked. Family interrogation time. I told him about the job at a high rise in downtown. Filled him in on the type and style of network I’d be doing. I even inquired wether or not his system needed anything. Fixes, upgrades, etc.

Finished, I turned towards him and put out my hand. “Good to see you again, pal.” He took my hand and shook it. He had grown a bit since my last visit. He was just hitting the five foot seven or eight-ish mark now. I guess his Father’s genes were more dominant. The man was a dwarf.

I won’t speak ill of the dearly departed. There was something about him my sister loved. It just wasn’t his physical stature. My family were taller. Me? I’m just a few gray hairs short of six two. How old was he now? I mused, twenty five? Twenty six? I’m just feeling old now.

“I’ve got to run some errands.” I told him as I stood grasping his hand. For his build, he shaped up pretty nicely. Not muscular, but not skinny and undernourished looking either. “You’re welcome to tag along.” I went on. “In-N-Out’s on me when I’m done.”

He gave me a half smile and answered. “Cool, I’ll get my jacket.” then he slapped my shoulder and went off to his room.

It took about three hours to complete my errands. Specialty tool shops, computer stores, equipment distributors to pick up some hardware my company had shipped rather than have me transport all over the place. Josh was cool about it though.

We finished up around six o’clock, and headed to the nearest In-N-Out we could find. It isn’t like there are a shortage of them in Southern California, after all. Josh talked about his classes a bit. But mostly about his fascination with Japanese Anime and Manga.

One of his favorites seemed to be about some kind of hero that gets recruited by a Devil or Demon Lord to help save the Demon Realm form being destroyed. I couldn’t help thinking how far things had come from Speed Racer and Astro Boy. (Yes, I really am THAT Old.)

“So since your job is pretty close.” Josh was saying. “Could you drop me off at the Convention Center and pick me up after you finish in the evening?”

“Anime Convention, eh?” I mulled that over for a minute. “I could do that.” I agreed.

“Sweet!” Josh beamed. “The Convention is three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.” he gave me a pleading look. “That’s ok, isn’t it?” I told him it was fine. We finished out meal and drove back to the house.

The next day, I had the house ot myself. My sister left early to be a workaholic, and Josh disappeared around noon. Said something about Cosplay and fittings on his way out the door. I caught up on emails and set up my schedule for the weekend.

Late that night my sleep was disturbed by some loud music. Obviously in another language and most likely some Anime tune. I walked out into the hall and knocked on Josh’s door. When he opened it I just asked politely, in a half asleep voice.

“Could ya keep the volume down a bit pal?” I grunted. “Besides, we’re leaving real early, so I need some sleep.” I gave him a thumbs up. “I’m old ya know.” then turned to walk away.

As I did, Josh whispered. “Nice package for an OLD Man.” I stopped and looked down. In my daze, I’d walked out into the hall naked.

I flipped him the bird. “Fuck off.” I said with a sleepy grin. “You’re to young to handle me.” Then I walked back to my room and shut the door.

Next morning I showered and dressed. I was ready to head out by five thirty. My sister was just pouring her first cup of coffee. “Off to work.” I said.

“Good morning to you too.” She shot back at me. “Leaving Early, working late?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I said, grabbing a travel mug and pouring some coffee. “Also dropping Josh at his convention, and grabbing him after work.”

“I’ll get you something expensive for Monday dinner.” she said with a weak smile. “I was dreading the thought of convention time...” she trailed off. Then abruptly said. “Again.”

I just smiled and told her it was no big deal. The convention center was walking distance from the building I’d be working at. Then I capped the mug and headed for the door.

“Drop yer cocks and grab your socks!” I yelled down the hall. My sister just grimaced. “Wheels up in five!” I said. And let the door close behind me. Just as I was slinging my laptop case into the back seat, Josh came out with a huge rucksack over his shoulder. The damned things was nearly as tall as him.

After Josh loaded his sack and got in we hit the road. “McD’s for Breakfast?” I asked. Surprisingly Josh shook his head.

“The King has an Impossible Sausage Croissant with Egg Whites.” he proclaimed. “Plant Based Protein.”

I knew what Impossible meat substitutes were. “The King it is.” I said and headed toward our first destination.

We hit the drive-thru a few minutes later. Ordered up our food. I decided to try one of the impossible sandwiches. The headed out on to the freeway in Friday morning L.A. traffic.

We arrived at the Convention center at seven thirty. My job site would let me in by eight. Josh though had to wait around until nine thirty. He said his friends would arrive soon, though.