Set: AUGUST 3RD

If you were any monster at Monsters Inc. you’d probably taken bets on how long until Jake broke the one rule - don’t go out alone.

And if your guess had been somewhere around the ten day mark you’d have won! It wasn’t like it was hard, since Jake had been bored and watching the movements of the shifts pretty regularly. And besides he was getting bored just also cooped up day in and day out at a factory.

So he decided to see what all the habub was about. Thankfully, he’d come across some old monster disguises and snuck out without too many side-eyes.
And made his way down to the place he heard about almost too often Harryhausen’s in hopes of trying something new.

That’s where he got the side-eye from more than a couple of people. What with his almost comical get-up but tried to chuckle and laugh it off as he weaved inside the resteraunt. “Oh man! Smells like good cooking!”

The rational decision would have been to alert one of the monsters. Any monster would do, from the janitor to the receptionist. Someone would be able to handle the situation according to the protocol (if they even had that). However, that was not the decision he made after seeing one of the other children don Halloween garb and leave the building.

A hasty decision and a strong desire to not be anywhere near the monsters meant one thing: Haruka threw on what he could and ran after Jacob. A terrible idea, really.

He managed to throw a mask with sharp (yet very fake) teeth and one too many eyes, grab a pair of two-sizes-too-large clawed gloves, and-- well, he forgot about shoes. He had been walking around barefoot this entire time, and he had forgotten that shoes were probably a necessity. Hopefully, the half-monster disguise was enough to keep anyone from glancing at his human feet.

Haruka struggled to keep up, nearly losing sight of the other boy three times. Speed was not the issue; it was the limited vision allowed by the mask. He kept adjusted it as he trailed after, and he adjusted it once more as he ducked into the restaurant.

"Hey!" Keeping in mind that they were indoors and not wanting to attract attention, his call was hushed as he reached out a gloved hand, trying to get the other kid's attention.

Jacob really didn’t know what the monster at the counters deal was.

He was inisesantly asking where his parents were. Despite Jake’s attempts to pretend he was just a small monster, of course. And now he was getting a little sweaty under the suit. Like hell he was going to be exposed so easily! A part of him was ready to argue again when he heard the voice behind him.

Spinning around, he saw what looked to be another… Albeit less intimidating monster. Confusion bearing the features under his own costume. “Uhhh hi? Do I know you?”

Of course the other kid would be doing the one thing you don't do while (poorly) undercover: attract attention to yourself. He hesitantly glanced up at the already unimpressed monster before returning his attention to-- uh... Did he ever catch his name?

... Did he ever catch any name of the other children?

Shoving the realization and his lack of social skills aside, Haruka quickly tried to piece together a plan. This kid didn't know him (or, at least, couldn't recognize him despite the terrible getup and the same clothes he had arrived in), and they were in a restaurant filled with monsters. And they were definitely not supposed to be there. If he understood the tail-end of the 'conversation' he interrupted, the other boy was trying to pass himself off as an adult monster.

He cleared his throat, speaking a little louder so the monster would also hear. "O-of course!" Perfect start. "We, uh, work at factory together. Laugh floor. Remember?"

Worked on the laugh…

Ohhhhh. It was another kid in a costume wasn’t it? Damn if he wasn’t surprised by that since he’d figured that all the other kids were too scared to be going out and about like this. He’d have to congratulate him on being the second bravest kid (Jake being the first in his mind out there).

“Right! The Laugh Floor! Where I work. Because I’m an adult and I make people laugh,” Jake said as he leaned into the small host stand. The other monster was still looking annoyed. But finally rolled his eyes and motioned for him to come. “See? I’m not some random kid in a suit. No sir.”

He was just hoping this other kid wasn’t there to try to get him to come back. Because god knew he was bored and this was the most excitement he’d had this week. “After you, co-worker…” that’s what he thought they called them anyway. Adults that is,

If they managed to fool at least one monster in the entire building, Haruka would be impressed. A terrible comedy duo: perhaps they could pass that off as the thinly veiled truth. Their running gag could be definitely not a child in a suit. They could even one up it with two children in a monster costume.

What a terrible idea.

He doubted the host monster was convinced, but maybe persistence was enough to make them give up. Haruka readjusted the mask to keep it from falling off after a nod of his head. "Many thanks--" the mask concealed a brief look of panic. Should he call him coworker, too? Sure. Why not? He didn't have the time to comb through his mental vocabulary list. This was not taught in school. "--fellow coworker."

Wait, why was he going first? It was easier to come this far with the back of a human to focus on. He tensely followed after the host regardless, repeating over and over again that he was not alone in a sea of hungry monsters. That... last part didn't help.

They were led to a smaller booth meant for two. The larger tables were filled with monsters, chattering away while eating or waiting for their food. Haruka tried not to look around too much, and he was quick to take a seat. Rather than sit normally, however, he tucked his legs beneath him, hiding his bare feet from view.

And he waited, even as a menu was laid on the table. He waited until the host returned to their post before he let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Jake on the other hand? Was used to fooling people.

After all, let’s be real - if he knew better he had to be in order to get through his dad’s bullshit. So he simply proudly walked even though he wasn’t subtle at all about how that worked out. But he still thanked the host as if it was nothing when he got his menu.

Looking at the other so called “monster” though. He noticed the deep sigh. Wow, was he actually worried? He chuckled. “Take it easy, bro,” he explained rather matter-of-factly. “Sulley’s literally my former scarer. If anything I name drop him and no one’s gonna freak.”

Well, he hoped not at least. “Man this menu is weird. Can you make heads or tails of it?”

Was that how it worked? Knowing your former scarer meant you could throw the weight of their name around? The dumbfounded blink could be seen past his mask. Maybe it was just for this Sulley monster. He did not know the names of his former scarers (quite frankly, he did not want to know), so there was no chance for him to test out if that was the case.

Haruka turned his gaze downward and pulled a menu closer to himself. He did not try to pick it up with the gloves limiting his grasping ability, so he leaned forward to squint at the page he was on. He was pretty sure this was English, but most of the words were unknown to him. Maybe it was monster lingo? He hesitantly turned his head and strained to look at the food placed on other tables. That turned out to be a struggle from the vastly varying sizes of monsters and the paneling obscuring some tables from view, but a platter carried past looked like--

"Sushi?"

Turning back, he leaned forward, elbows against the table, hands already reaching up to stabilize his mask. "Should be a chef special." Emphasis on should. At least a chef's special should keep them from having to name out unfamiliar food items. What he was more worried about was the price. How would they pay for that? His voice hushed again, not wanting to draw the attention of the waitstaff. "Did you... bring money?"

He could imagine that the silence was confusion.

Man, did the other kids not even go about learning the monsters names? Though he guessed that a lot of them weren’t monster fanatics like him. “Sulley is the CEO… I think that means the boss of Monster’s Inc,” he pointed out after a moment. “He talks about this place all the time! I bet he even has a tab or something.”

Ohhh what was Sushi?

Of course, Jake was about as cultured on food as… Well, someone uncultured. But as a kid who had hardly been allowed out of a small farmhouse where his dad practically kept his prisoner? Was anyone shocked? “Don’t sweat it. I asked one of the guards for some money for the snow cone vendor,” he said matter of factly. “I mean technically it’s still food, right? But what the heck is Sushi?”

Oh! Sulley was the boss? He... should really look into learning more about his current surroundings. Every time he considered it, though, his stomach would twist into knots, and a cold sweat would make him dismiss the idea entirely. The only reason he had yet to shut down out of fear was the kid across the table, but he did not know how long that would last.

"Snow cone?" His eyes lit up. That sounded better than whatever they might end up eating here. While Haruka was no expert in currency conversion, he at least understood that a snow cone cost far less than a fancy restaurant. Maybe they gave out freebies!

His nose scrunched up, the expression hidden behind the mask. This kid didn't know what sushi was? Screw snow cones; they needed some sushi, stat!

Haruka leaned back with a hum, his gaze briefly moving to the ceiling. How should he describe it... "It's, ah..." Pulling his eyes back down, he lifted his hands off the table and made a circular motion. "It's, um... Rice, fish, and veggies, rolled in seaweed." Oh, wait, maybe he wasn't a seaweed fan. He continued to talk with his hands, making vague shapes as he continued to explain. "Then nigiri- fish or shellfish on rice. Ah, sashimi- just raw fish. Oh, and temaki, which is rolled into a cone."

He paused, realizing he was more focused on watching his own hands than making eye contact. He sheepishly lowered his hands. "It's good." He could only hope the ingredients monsters preferred were palatable. "Oh! Um..." He leaned forward again, this time extending a hand to the other child. "Haruka. Nice to meet you."

Better late than never on introductions, right?

Jake was surprised that his eyes lit up.

But then again, as a kid who rarely saw the outside of his home. Jake probably didn’t really understand what a snow cone was. Made obvious by his next statement… “Yeah, I didn’t get it. I mean who wants to eat snow, right?” He asked with a shrug. “I mean I like catching it on my tongue. But eating it just sounds cold!”

And then the bigger words came out. Jake did at least know rice, it was his dad’s idea of a cheap meal after all. But the fish? Interesting. Jake was starting to think he had gotten in over his head. “… Uh, I’ll follow your lead. I’m not a picky eater anyway,” he admitted honestly. “Most days I’m cool with toast and a 7-Up.”

Oh right! He hadn’t introduced himself. Good job, Jake. “Oh I’m Jake! Sorry, I should have said that a long time ago.”