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.