His hands were becoming clammy. He could feel his heart racing as the roaring flames from the fire grew larger and larger. Tanuki, normally curious and excited was being uncharacteristically cautious staying right by Mr. Takuya's side. Tanuki didn't like the hot fire in front of him.

Watching the sultry women dance, Mr. Takuya felt uncomfortable and thought of the antique store owner. He never liked her very much, she was too mysterious. She drank a lot and always had so many men in her shop. Mr. Takuya never knew men could like antiques so much. Her habits made him turn the opposite direction but this time he could not. Although the bonfire caused him fear, Mr. Takuya could not tear himself away from the hypnotizing blaze.
Mr. Takuya stood watching as minutes passed by. He lost his surroundings, becoming completely absorbed in the fire. He watched as the clan of Christians threw book after book into the flames, each page curling up in pain as stolen vodka rained down. The song coming from the women's mouths frightened him. Why did these scary women, who danced around the huge bonfire, have such beautiful voices? Nothing was making sense; Mr. Takuya was very confused but could only comprehend half of it.
Eventually, Mr. Takuya pulled himself away. Huddled outside the door of the diner, a large crowd stopped Mr. Takuya in his tracks again. In front of him was large group of people. He had never seen these people before, but for some strange reason, they were all watching him as he walked up. Their looks and stares made him uncomfortable once again. He struggled to muster up a proper greeting. As soon as he stopped walking towards them, the crowd went for Mr. Takuya and his cart. The sudden rush of people truly scared Mr. Takuya into shock. Once he had gained control of his nerves, Mr. Takuya realized what the people wanted. For the first time since Mr. Takuya had been wandering the streets in this broken down town, he had business. The group loved his red bean cakes and baked sweet potato. Mr. Takuya liked these people. They love the same foods as him and some of them even looked like him. He didn't know who these people were or how they had ended up in this town. All Mr. Takuya knew was that he was glad to be distracted from the fire and hoped the group would stay a while.

Warm weather always brightened Mr. Takuya's spirits. Especially sunshine. These two things meant good business and a nice stroll around town. However Mr. Takuya was surprised by the continued lack of hungry sidewalk sharers he encountered. Most people had a hard time saying no to his savory sweet treats. The people in this town sure were strange. Mr. Takuya remembered his encounter with the strange lady with red boots from earlier in the afternoon. She had scared the senses right out of Mr. Takuya. In fact, many of the people in this town scared him, but for the first time he didn't run out of town in search of comfort.

Mr. Takuya had been walking down Navajo St. towards Jorri Ray's, past the broken down armored truck. The availability of free money did not tempt Mr. Takuya. Money was not a huge necessity for him, he sold his treats out of pure joy. Although he still found it very peculiar that an armored truck had broken and the people of this town had not yet swarmed it. Perhaps they had. Mr. Takuya would certainly be the last to know if that happened. Money could not be found in large amounts among the streets, the inhabitants all had that in common.

As he pasted Jorri Ray' the sudden clackity clack behind startled him. A young woman wearing bright red boots had appeared out of no where and was following him quite indiscreetly. As quickly as she had appeared, she was ahead of Mr. Takuya blocking him path. Everything about this woman made Mr. Takuya nervous. The boots. Her notepad. Her aggressive behavior, questioning him about the armored truck. "Did you see it break down?" "Has anyone gone inside of it?" "Do you eat at Jorri Ray's a lot?" What time would say the truck broke down?" "Do you have any idea where the driver went?" "Got any strong suspensions about who would steal from a broken down armored truck?" "Anyone in this town you don't like?" "Hey!! I'm talking to you, you know."

Remembering the afternoon again, Mr. Takuya was starting to sweat. The anxiety she made him feel earlier was coming back.

He didn't like any of it.

A slimy tongue awoke Mr. Takuya from his night's rest under the basketball hoop. Surprised, Mr. Takuya was awake within a couple of minutes and knew immediately why he had been disturbed. Tanuki was hungry and didn't mind letting Mr. Takuya know this. Most days Mr. Takuya gets up much earlier and is able to feed Tanuki at a more desirable hour. Last night however, Mr. Takuya had a difficult time getting to sleep. Loud noises and bright lights bothered him so much when trying to fall asleep, and Tanuki was equally as restless.

He didn't particularly enjoy them, carnivals, because he lacked sleep and his business always suffered. The carnival had been set up in the middle of town, so no matter where he was, Mr. Takuya could hear the constant characteristic sounds, which always escapes carnivals. He never understood why people would pick fried and unnatural carnival food over his delicious, fresh red bean cakes and sweet potatoes. Excluding the goodies he sold on his cart, Mr. Takuya had a very strict, self-enforced diet. Nothing fried or processed. All natural and fresh ingredients made him happiest especially fruits and vegetables. Despite his dislike towards carnivals, Mr. Takuya decided Tanuki and he would explore the grounds for the day. He knew this would make Tanuki happy, and he felt he owned him the treat. He also decided to try and sell his own cart treats during the carnival. Mr. Takuya worried the carnival owners might become angry with him, but Mr. Takuya wanted to take the chance.

Tanuki and Mr. Takuya walked to the carnival together but as soon as they got inside, Tanuki ran off, excited by the new sights and smells. A bit disappointed by the loss of his companion, Mr. Takuya hoped no one would take notice of him and his non-carnival related cart. The red umbrella made its way around the big ferris wheel, the driver invisible to those at the very top. He avoided the haunted house, for scary things...scared Mr. Takuya. The small dragon roller coaster looked inviting to Mr. Takuya, but he was unsure about what to do with his cart. Leaving it alone, unattended certainly wasn't an option. Continuing his circle he ran into Tanuki. The creature was following a small yellow blob with excited interest. Mr. Takuya fell into step behind Tanuki and soon realized the walking yellow blob was a girl, eating something.

"Ah. Food. Tanuki always want food", thought Mr. Takuya to himself. It was true though, Tanuki was always hungry. His thoughts had distracted Mr. Takuya, so he didn't notice that the girl had stopped walking and was petting Tanuki. When the girl took notice of Mr. Takuya, she looked him over multiple times, making Mr. Takuya quite nervous. As the looks continued however, his nerves went away. Something in her eyes made him relax. A friendly yet cautious twinkle.

"Hi. My name's Kaiya. Kaiya Hamura. I've seen your cart before, it sure seems good". She looked at Mr. Takuya again.

"Is he with you too? Never seen a badger in real life before, I like him. Never could imagine having something like him a pet before".

"Tanuki is good friend. Likes lot of food", Mr. Takuya finally responded.

"Oh yeah? Can I give him a bit of this? Its just a pretzel..."

Mr. Takuya nodded. He liked this girl. She seemed nonthreatening. He was always more comfortable around kids. He felt like a kid on most days...

"Red bean cake?" Mr. Takuya took two off his cart for himself and offered the other to the Kaiya.

"Sure. I don't think I've ever had one of these before, but it sounds good".

Together the three loners sat along side the ferris wheel, munching on their snacks in joint silence. Although it was still early in the evening, the sky had darken and a rainless lightening storm started, providing entertainment to the trio.

Rain ruins everything. Communities of green fuzzy mold overwhelm the red umbrella. Most people stay inside when it rains. Freezing rain especially keeps the sidewalks clear. Mr. Takuya however was one of the few wandering around during this particular downpour. New to town, Mr. Takuya had no where to go but the dingy wet streets. Despite their dirty appearance, the streets were comforting to Mr. Takuya...these streets held secrets. These streets were the only ones that knew what actually happened in this eerie town.

Mr. Takuya was used to sleeping on sidewalks and under awnings with just his cart to shelter him. However the constant and dark drizzle made it difficult for him to stay dry, even with the umbrella above him. When Mr. Takuya awoke, the drizzle continued. The morning weather conditions upset him, yet Mr. Takuya decided to push on because he never knew who would be wandering about looking for something to eat on days like today.

Warm smoke danced out from under the umbrella, embracing the cold drizzle. The sweet smell of Mr. Takuya's red bean cakes and baked sweet potatoes engulfed every inch of sidewalk the little cart was pushed down. Mr. Takuya pushed his cart down the sidewalk, keeping his head pointed at the ground looking up only ever so often to make sure his path remained straight. As he turned onto Mercy Road, a large figure caught his attention. He parked his cart on the edge of the sidewalk, in front of Wilshire Tower. Mr. Takuya parked his cart in hopes that this man would buy a snack, not that he really needed one. In fact, Mr. Takuya wasn't even sure the sidewalk was big enough for both cart and the man. As the man came nearer, Mr. Takuya's palms became clammy, not from the rain but from nerves. Before ducking into the apartment building, the man stops. Pointing his nose towards the sky, he smells the air. Such a savory aroma, the sweet dough of red bean cake and slightly burnt sweet potato skin enter his nostrils.
"Hey! Whaddya think you're doing? How am I supposed to lose weight with you and that damn cart filling the street corner with such delicious smells?"
Startled by the man's sudden outburst, Mr. Takuya fumbles over his words...
"My name Mr. Takuya."
"Well look Mr. Takuya, what are you selling from this cart of yours. If it isn't good, well shit. You're wasting my time, level 88 awaits me. Takuya...what a strange name."
"Try satsuma. It sweet potato. Rearry good on cold day like to day."

And with that, Mr. Takuya handed the man a satsuma, baked sweet potato, and continued on his way.
"Uh. Thanks. Wait, you want some money or something for this thing?!"
Mr. Takuya didn't listen to the man yelling after him. The streets were calling him and he wanted to hear what they had to say.

Mr. Takuya left today. There was no reason why Mr. Takuya decided to leave, he just felt like wandering. Down the road he wandered toward an unknown destination, pushing his three wheeled rickety cart. The red umbrella had faded and lost much of its color. Swaying in the wind, the umbrella that had once demanded attention was now an aging, worn out sight, just like its driver. Along with Mr. Takuya trailed Tanuki, the Japanese badger who had mysteriously ended up as Mr. Takuya's companion. Tanuki resembled both a raccoon and a fox; he had short stiff fur and the familiar white and black pattern around his face, and sturdy legs which helped him kept in stride with Mr. Takuya. Tanuki really hated walking, he wished Mr. Takuya wouldn't wander like this. But he continued to follow, he had to follow.
Mr. Takuya was quite used to getting these urges to wander. He never got very comfortable, there was no point in getting comfortable because sooner or later the urge to move would come back. Mr. Takuya had been all over, in hopes of recovering his memory. He had completely lost his memory leading up to the accident. The accident had rid him of his long term memory. His mother and father, where he was born, what his last name was, all these memories were lost during the accident. Every new memory he acquired would be filed into his brain, replacing the oldest existing memories. For Mr. Takuya, remembering people, events and places was similar to the red bean cakes he sold in his cart. The first batch would be put on and baked, warming up on the stove top for a while. However once they were finished baking and sold, they were gone forever. The new batch of dough was like a new memory. Some memories would stay longer than others, but eventually a new batch would take over.
Mr. Takuya and Tanuki had walked through many towns and small cities. Their feet clocking each mile, continually adding up the total mileage. Although they had no destination, Mr. Takuya would know when to stop. It happened every time he went somewhere. After a certain point, he would stop, absorb his surroundings and know he had reached the end. During this particular trek, Mr. Takuya began to get a little worried. He had been walking for hours without stopping and had yet to find his next stop. He could tell Tanuki was also getting tired, which would mean breaking for a snack rather soon. Mr. Takuya looked up into the sun and guessed it was about five o clock as the sun cast a fiery orange glow across the road. They were approaching an overpass through which Mr. Takuya could see a small and rundown city. A tall tower stood out between smaller shabby buildings; the entire atmosphere seemed dirtier on the other side of the overpass. This, Mr. Takuya announced to no one in particular, is where we will stop. Although Mr. Takuya could not read Tanuki's thoughts, he knew Tanuki agreed. The feeling they had been waiting for started to overwhelm them both, this rundown town was their destination. Stopping under the overpass, Mr. Takuya parked his cart and opened the beaten umbrella and unfolded a small chair. Together they each enjoyed a nourishing snack of red bean cakes and baked sweet potatoes, observing what they had stumbled upon from their perch on the outskirts of town.