Invitation

"It's…...getting hot "

Slurred Ai as she fanned herself through her hand. Alcohol was doing tricks on her, while it was Orion who was actually sweating supporting her on the street.

He was helping her walk straight, by holding her through her shoulders. He tried to let her walk by herself first, but that was a bad idea when she literally plopped to the sidewalk.

Fortunately, with fast reflexes courtesy of being a Conjurer, he was able to catch her from breaking her nose.

Orion sighed with relaxation. She wouldn't have liked that if tomorrow she got to know that she had a broken nose. And he didn't think he was ready to face what's her bad side.

Thus to avoid such potential accidents which could very well come back to him in near future. He was holding her by shoulder grip and walking her to the car.

He was now thinking of ideas on how to let her back to her dorm. Drink and drive, although he was very much sober he didn't want to risk this rule in the new unfamiliar country.

The iconic green car caught his eye from the distance which was parked in the restaurant. He let Ai sit in the passenger seat while he got in the driver's seat.

He was about to fire up the engine when suddenly the phone rang loudly in the car. He looked to find it was of Ai, ringing from the pocket of her jeans. He thought for just a half-second and then went on to answer that call for her.

Maybe he could get help if this call is from her friends or relative. He with much difficulty from the sleepy Ai wrestled out the phone from her skinny pocket.

"Sh*t, such small pockets…."

He cursed as he looked at the caller tag. It was someone with Rose who was calling her. He picked up the call immediately,

"Hello, Akiva. I'm here, where are you? "

"Umm...Hello?"

As soon as the girl on the other side heard a male voice coming from her friend's phone she quickly went on the rapid-fire mode of questions.

"Who are you? This is Ai's phone, are you with her....."

"Hello, hello…."

"Where is she? Listen, you better…."

This girl was going on and on without giving any chance for Orion to talk till he lost his patience with her and yelled straight into the phone matching her energy and sound.

"Hey….HEY LISTEN... I am Orion!!, her friend. I am picking the call up which means that I am willing to talk….. BUT ONLY IF YOU LET ME."

"...."

Seeing the silence on the line finally, Orion sighed in relief. His brain was also not in its best mode due to slight after-effects of alcohol, which led to this outbreak. He was now feeling bad to shout at the girl, who was just asking some important question for her friend.

"I'm sorry for yelling but Ai is with me and yes, she is safe but knocked out due to alcohol. "

Orion said as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

"Tell me where are you, I will take her back…."

"Yeah right. Rose, listen here I am with Ai in this small restaurant parking lot. Its name is…..Sakura restaurant, something. And we are sitting in the shi*ty green colored car which should be visible from a distance. "

Suddenly at that moment, a knock sounded on the car window scaring the hell out of Orion. He looked outside to see a girl with short neck-length hair with the phone to her ear knocking on the window.

He opened the door and realized that this was Rose as she gestured to the phone and cut the call in front of him. He was shocked by her instant appearance that he was speechless for a few seconds as he handed her the phone.

".....you were fast."

The girl gave him a mean eye look and replied,

"Before drinking, she had already informed me to pick her up. The address she had given was here. "

Orion felt his mind buzzing as he stood and understood the meaning of her words. In other words, Ai already knew she was going to get wasted thus called her friend to pick her up.

Holy sh*t, that's some next level of future planning….

He was thinking about all of this when he found that she had already fired up the engine and was reversing the car.

"Hey, what about me….."

Orion said out loud to her to which she looked out of the window and gave him a fake smile.

"I think you can manage by yourself...

And yes this sh*ty green car is mine for your information. So I am kind of saving you from sitting in this embarrassment. "

Orion felt another shock by this revelation. So basically he had called her custom car sh*t in front of her. He regretted his choices as he watched the green car merge into the great traffic of Tokyo city and then go out of his view.

"Well, ….the car sure looks sh*t though. "

He concluded as he began to walk his sorry ass to hit the Tokyo streets. It was awkward to get himself dumped on the street and somehow he felt that it was the fault of Ai but he couldn't place his finger on the exact reason.

He began roaming the brightly lit neon streets with walking traffic, still much more than you could expect at this time of night. Tokyo is the biggest city in the world and herewith an enormous amount of people going by their ways, he was kind of getting the vibes.

The shops, cafes, bars, and various food shops were open almost everywhere he could see. Although traffic was very very less in these food shops relative to bars and clubs still it was kind of phenomenal to see people eating out so late at night.

He checked his pocket for yuans and then with a smile began to dive into these various street food stalls. It was a heavenly experience to enjoy such snacks while walking from place to place trying the small shops.

From the crisp takoyaki to the spicy hot ramen of food trucks, from yakitori chicken skewers to the sweet wataame Japanese cotton candy. He was having his time of life trying all this whole set of different cuisine from different part of the world.

He was so engrossed in the food that he didn't realize when the cash in his pocket ran out. He had put on a small amount in the morning which he was now regretting immensely.

But anyhow this experience was still one of the best for Orion, who in the States had tried several different food cultures but authenticity was still a missing factor comparing both of them.

He was not concluding that they were not so good as compared to locals but felt that authentic taste comes from the region, people, and uncontested origins. Both had their own place in their respective community.

He was drinking water to satisfy and conclude his cravings for the midnight snack when he felt the hand landing on his shoulder. The hair stood on the back of his neck as he was utterly shocked by the silent approach of the individual.

He turned back to see a man dressed in a three-piece suit and white gloves standing behind him quietly. He was smiling at him which somehow felt a lot more dangerous than his surprise arrival.

"And who are you? "

Orion managed to speak out his piece as he quietly began to reach into his jean pocket.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you…."

The man said while looking at food shops all around him.

".....Your fun but I think you are invited as a guest by our Madam. And we could provide you much…..better food there if you are still hungry. "

"Come on, if your Madam wants to meet me she could come by herself. Moreover, no need for much better food, I think we are done here. "

Orion was pissed off by this sudden intrusion and forced invite but above all of that his condensing attitude towards the street food. He wanted to shove some curses on his face but then realized he was not in America anymore, therefore had to curb his bad habits here.

He in annoyance removed his hand from his shoulder but as he touched his hand, he couldn't even budge it. It was too strong for his light grip that shocked and confirmed his theory that this matter is related to the hidden world.

The man once again gave his million dollars professional handsome smile,

"I don't think you have a choice….

And actually, there is someone who claims to know you there too. "

Orion was about to use his magical energy to push back him when he stopped midway.

"Someone who knows me?"

The man took back his gloved hand and gestured to the Black Rolls Royce Phantom car.

"Yes sir, he is also a guest invited by the Madam although he is staying there for a few days."

Orion felt his brain tingling at his invitation but the curiosity of who is this person who claims to know him was much greater than his sense of danger. Also, this Madam, whoever she is, must be some big shot to have someone strong like him a chauffeur.

In the next half hour, he was silently debating whether he made the right decision or not while sitting in the back of the car. He was getting some familiar vibes from the man but was skeptical about how to confirm it.

"So…. Your Madam is..from the underworld."

The man looked into the rearview mirror, meeting his eyes. Suddenly his face blossomed with a smile, as his eyes turned bright red in the color.

"And people say you are new to our side…."

Orion nodded as he leaned back into his seat defeated. His head was beginning to spin with headache,

Yes, so the Queen of Vampires wants to meet me.