Polynya

He yawns, and an icon appears on his iNet screen updating him on a few Googleface messages he still has yet to respond to. One is from an acquaintance at Waseda University, asking him if he’s planning to enroll for the summer. Another is from the Proxima Company telling him that he’s been given an exclusive ticket to tonight’s collaborative performance between DJ Ride the Lightning and the holo-Beatles.

FeeTwix is well connected, he thinks as he slowly gets out of bed.

After grabbing his towel, which is folded and placed on his desk thanks to Hajime, Ryuk heads to the bathroom. He barely pays attention to taking a shower, so busy is he playing a game of pong with someone else in the building.

Part of him wants to know who he always plays against; the other part of him is perfectly happy remaining anonymous. It could be anyone, really. Well, not anyone, it definitely isn’t a salaryman – he’d already be on his way to work.

Maybe it’s a housewife, he thinks as the player yet again hands him his ass.

Once he’s toweled off, Ryuk heads to the kitchen just in time to hear the blender roar to life. He can smell a bit of pineapple in the air as soon as he enters the space. Hajime stands before it, his hand on top of the blender as it pulverizes fruits and vegetables. In front of him is a cutting board with gooey residue on it.

Ryuk’s eyes jump from Hajime to the drawer that he stored the weapons in – a humstunner and a gun, taken off his brother and his thug. Curiosity tells him to check the stuff out, but he’s also afraid of the weapons.

“Sleep well?” Hajime asks after he’s finished blending the concoction.

“Is that a joke?” Ryuk sits at the table, well aware that there is likely an oblique quote beneath his placemat.

“Using your Skip Box is a form of sleep, so no, it’s not a joke. How’d it go?”

“We’ll get to Porthos later today, and from there, we’ll try to get in touch with the Knights, my old guild. We also have a concert to go to.”

“Sounds like you have a fun day ahead. How did you kill the wolf?”

“We didn’t. Instead, we cured its owner. The wolf’s our friend now, sort of.”

“So the ultimate quest has become canine friendly?”

“Um … ” Ryuk considers this. “Something like that. Sure.”

“And what’s up next?”

“We have to make our way through the catacombs to Porthos.” Ryuk yawns as Hajime sets the smoothie in front of him. “It should be fun and we’ll definitely be leveling along the way.” He takes a big sip from the shake. “Wow! What flavor is this? I thought it was pineapple.”

“Passion fruit, pineapple, half a banana, an apple, strawberries, a little spinach, yogurt and three peaches.”

Ryuk nods, impressed. He takes another sip from the smoothie, feeling good as it slides down his throat.

“So before we get ready to meet your mother, I think it’d be best for you to read your oblique quote for the day.”

Ryuk takes another slurp. “At least let me finish my smoothie first.”

“By all means, finish.”

Ryuk takes his sweet time finishing the smoothie, and once he’s done, he sets the beverage aside and lifts his placemat to find the new message: Repetition is a form of change.

“Repetition is a form of change … ”

“I want you to stare deeply at me for a moment,” Hajime says.

“Stare at you?”

“Yes.”

“Um, okay.” Ryuk settles his gaze on Hajime, taking in his perfectly formed features, from his sharp nose to his dark eyes to the single strand of hair that isn’t tied back into his manbun. Hajime’s eyes dilate, akin to the way FeeTwix looks when he goes live.

“Now center yourself, focus on your breathing. Really focus on it. Don’t take the shallow breaths you normally take, the breaths that most humans live on. Take a deep breath, a breath that moves past your lungs, see that breath move all the way down to your stomach. Now hold it.”

Ryuk stops the air from going out.

“Hold the breath in. Longer … longer … ”

Ryuk does as instructed.

“Now I want you to let it out slowly and then tighten your stomach, completely squeezing all the air out. Now do it again, without my instructions this time.”

With a nod, Ryuk takes another long breath, holds it, keeps it there, and tightens his stomach as he lets it out.

“Do four more,” Hajime says, his eyes still dilated. “If you break your focus, start over.”

To his surprise, and likely to the surprise of the humandroid, Ryuk does exactly as instructed. Something about it reminds him of his Extreme Focus skill in Tritania. He doesn’t get the tunnel vision, nor can he see colored outlines, but there is something about it that feels the same as Extreme Focus.

“Good, you did well. It’s a breathing exercise that I’ve created based on Kundalini yogic texts, which I translated myself, and a practice done by Milarepa. Heard of him?”

Ryuk shakes his head.