She’s late… she’s late… she’s late…!

A young male was seated near a window, hands firmly pressed together and resting against his lap.

I told her to be here at exactly 1:00! It’s… it’s….

It was 1:05… he couldn’t believe just how late she was. Matter of fact he had made sure to come thirty minutes earlier. The fact that she couldn’t consider this was so rude!

“What can I get you, sir?”

The waiter stood in fancy clothes staring at the man with a stern expression while holding onto a notepad.

“Uh, no.” He gulped loudly. “Give me a little more time, please.”

The waiter nodded, heading off to other tables. Now, there wasn’t a problem per se, but to Higashi, he was not only embarrassed but on the verge of having a breakdown.

Oh man… I can’t order any food yet… when I do she’ll come and get mad at me.

He fidgeted, slowly reaching into his pants’ pockets, pulling out his phone to check the time…

1:07! It’s 1:07! What’s taking her so long!? Oh, forget it, I’m just going to order!

At the next chance, he got Higashi placed in his order, ordering a T-bone steak and a glass of pop. The waiter nodded before returning back to place in his order.

Let me fill you in on who I am and what exactly it is that I do. See, my name is Higashi Tsuda and I’m a superhero. I belong to a high ranked group of some of the best heroes Japan has to offer. Guess what? I’m their leader! That’s right, me! I lead the team known as… Justice!

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pocket mirror, holding it up to his face as he examined his hair. His brown colored locks were evenly combed, not a single strand out of place. Just the way he liked it.

His tie was a little crooked from the walk here, so he decided to fix that. The male quickly excused himself from his seat as he walked past a few tables on his way towards the bathroom.

There’s a lot of couples here… to believe I’m still single at the age of 22. Well, that’s going to change today.

Higashi’s past relationships had a repeated history of ending badly… his last ex-girlfriend shaved his head bald and it took him awhile to recover from the shock. But, now he was putting himself back out there.

Once in the restroom, he stared at the mirror, adjusting his black tie against his freshly dry-cleaned white suit.

A lot of people don’t get my obsession with being neat. But, I just can’t stand being unorganized and messy. I try to beat this into my team’s skulls, but they're just so stubborn!

When his tie was perfectly even, he smiled at himself in the mirror at how handsome he’s grown. He then proceeded to wash his hands, making sure to get in between the nails and the back of his hands. It was always rude to not wash your hands after exiting a bathroom even if you didn’t pee.

“Here you go sir, here’s a towel.”

“Thank you.”

The towel was dry, quickly absorbing the water which lathered his hands. When he was finished he threw it in the trash and proceeded to head off until…

“Don’t forget my tip, sir.”

“Tip…? For what…?”

“Well… I gave you a towel.”

“And that warrants you to get a tip?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I’m not giving you a tip, buddy.”

“Ok.”

With this the leader of Justice walked back to his table, leaving the old man to think about his life’s choices.

Once returning to his seat, he noticed his food was already placed on the table. Everything was so fresh… the smell was so exotic. The T-bone steak was truly cooked to perfection. Just the right texture… not overly cooked, but not raw either. A perfect balance of heated perfection.

“Is there anything more beautiful?”

This was what Higashi lived for. Balance… not just in food, but in all ways of life.

His mouth drooled, but he quickly wiped it with his trusty handkerchief. He grabbed his silverware before he cut a slice of the steak which was just the right color of pink. The juices dripped so easily from the body as he brought the meat to his mouth.

“Mmmm…”

It was just so juicy. The way the meat melted in his mouth. This would be worth every penny, surely.

. . .

Time has passed, how much time? A lot. That’s certain. Higashi checked his phone, before sighing. She wasn’t coming.

1:40… she stood me up… this isn’t the first time, but still, it hurts the same.

He sighed, looking down at the table… before he heard something drop. His head raised and his brown eyes noticed that… it was the check.

“Your bill sir.”

“Bill…?”

“Yes.”

“But…”

“But, what?”

“Nothing… can I have dessert?”

“Oh… alright, there’s no rush.”

“I’ll take some key lime pie, please..”

“Coming right up.”

Ok… so, I didn’t bring any money. I left my wallet at home… I assumed my date would be paying for my meal. It’s a new day! Why can’t a man expect for a woman to pay for his meal on the first date!?

Higashi waited until his pie came to the table… he decided to eat it as slowly as possible before he decided it was time to call for back up.

In one smooth motion, he whipped out his cell phone, quickly using the speed dial function as he called in… Jesse… the American Weeaboo!

“This is Jesse.”

His superpower… learning the language of Japan by watching anime. It was a feat that only a few of the most dedicated weebs could achieve.

“Jesse, I need your help.”

“What is it!?”

“I’m… at this restaurant and I forgot my wallet..”

“Hahahahaha! This again!? Higashi, dude! Bring your wallet man! Stop being cheap.”

“Jesse…! I need you to bring my wall-”

The phone went dead…

“Damn that freaking! Oh well. I still have… my protege!”

Being a leader of a superhero group meant that younglings were dying to be trained by him. She was a young Hispanic girl, but she didn’t know a lick of Spanish. Can’t place all the blame on her though, she came from an uninspiring family.

“Rebecca! I need your help!”

“What!? What do you need Higashi!?”

“I need… my wallet.”

“Alright, where is it!?”

“It’s… in my r-”

Higashi paused… remembering just how junky Rebecca’s room was… the walls were painted with Cheetos dust… that was just too nasty… did she even wash her hands since then?

“Nevermind…”

He hung up and then looked at the last of his contacts… Yun. She was his second in command… someone who was always trying to steal the spotlight from him. After all of these years, she could never handle the fact of being second best and it affected her performance. To call her now… would be a SIN!

“Sigh…”

He decided to devour the rest of the pie… elegantly mind you. Once he was finished he had to come to terms with what could happen..

“You’ve been here for awhile. Other people need this table, can you pay up?”

“I can’t… I don’t have any money…”

“. . .”

“But… I’m the leader of Justice… if you let me go I’ll give you an autograph!”

. . .

Higashi never left that restaurant. He wasn’t heard from again. Period.