The Impossible Man - Ep.8: Sale of the Century

In Japan, there is a very popular. It was so popular the world fell in love with it, even here in America and is still revered to this day. Not a single person walked the streets of Japan without knowing that dolls name. Without further ado, to keep the introduction short. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to…

… Ohayō Kitten.

Apr 27, 2002

Twenty-four hours passed since the landlord issued his challenge to Michael to claim the apartment building. Everything in the store was in place. The sun shined down on Denfair City and broke through the shades of Michael's room as the clock struck seven. He lifted up the shades and saw Kaori's camera crew setting up outside the store. After he cleaned up and ate breakfast, Michael changed into his clothes. He picked up an extra large purple T-shirt. It had the face of a smiling kitten on the front.

There was a knock on his apartment door and he opened it. There Jamal and Dom Coqui stood before in the same purple T-shirts. They looked tired and exhausted from prepping the store. He let them inside and following behind them was Yuki. She wore the same T-shirt but it was pink.

“This is such a cute shirt Michael.” Yuki said as she stretched her arms up purposefully so the Shopkeeper could see a little of her belly and her chest perk up.

“It's to help the customers know that we are the employees.” Michael said completely oblivious to Yuki's advances.

“Yeah.” Yuki walked away pouting.

“Seriously,' Jamal said. ‘do we have to wear this again?”

“Yes.” Michael said as he opened the back door and Dom Coqui entered the store.

“Uy er ad ok ij.”

“Yeah? Well you look like two different colored grapes with that shirt on.”

“I hope you two aren't going to argue today.' Yuki said as she passed by Michael at the door. ‘We have a job to do.”

“Yeah,' Jamal said, following Yuki. ‘like making you live up to your name, The Impossible Man.”

Once everyone entered the shop, Michael turned on the lights. The room shined lavender and purple. There was Ohayō Kitten merchandise everywhere.

Ohayō Kitten, a small cute lavender kitten with an innocent smile. Sold millions of the official dolls throughout the world. Millions of dollars in revenue successfully generated. Yet, it's humble origins goes back to Osaka, Japan where a young woman named Rumiko Hasegawa, fifty years sewed a doll for her little daughter to help calm her when sleeping. The child adored it so much it never left side. When the friend of Rumiko's daughter saw the doll, they wanted one too, and Rumiko went ahead to make more. She watched the girls pretend the dolls greet each other with ‘Ohayō', or good morning, and thus established the dolls name, Ohayō Kitten. As those dolls spread around the city, it attracted more little girls and before Rumiko knew it, she was making money.

At I-Man's, Ohayō Kitten products displayed all across the store. Posters hanged from the ceiling and on the wall. Anime and Manga practically replaced the store's current lineup on the shelves. Music Soundtracks stacked along the storefront window. Bookbags, notebooks, and various school supplies sat in the corner. Boxes of mugs, statuettes, toys and other memorabilia lined up on a table. T-shirts, pink painter hats, and a line of clothing hang high on a closet like display. Behind the counter, there was Ohayō Kitten jewelry worth up to five hundred dollars, safe and secured and a box of rolled up posters. Finally, the highlight of the store, sat in the center of all the displays. Stack fifty boxes high, from the floor up, were boxes of Ohayō Kitten.

Yuki picked one up and stared at the plushy lavender colored kitten. It's soft pink t-shirt and pink painter's hat felt like the actual shirt she was wearing. Its innocent smile made the magical girl giggle. Its curly little tail stretched and re-curled again. The softness made Yuki's skin crawl.

“KAWAII!!” Yuki hugged the box tightly.

“Heh.' Michael smirked at Yuki's cry as he popped in a DVD and started up all the television sets in the store. ‘Aey Yuki, why is the sun smiling?”

“Oh no.” Jamal said as Dom Coqui let out a gulp and Yuki's eyes lit up like a little child with a smile.

“IT'S HAPPY MORNING TIME!!”

Michael pressed play and Ohayō Kitten's face bounced on to the screen. A jingle began and a female sang in Japanese.

It's happy time

Let's come out and play a game today

The sun is smiling

Let's get together and jump away…

“To a place so far away…' Yuki sang along with a smile, her head swaying with Ohayō Kitten as Jamal and Dom Coqui covered their ears screaming in horror. ‘You're my best friend everday…”

“They're about to open!” A girl's voice said from outside the store.

Yuki stopped singing and saw little girls, teenage girls, and women emerge from the ground. Some folded up chairs. Other rolled up sleeping bags. A mother and daughter folded a blanket together. A couple of girls leaned their faces on the gate trying to look into the window. As Yuki approached the window, Michael took an official Ohayō Kitten megaphone, grabbed Dom Coqui by the collar, and dragged him through his apartment to outside.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Yuki said.

“What's up?” Jamal said as he tried to take the box from Yuki's hand so he could return it to the display.

“How long have they been waiting outside?”

“Since last night.” Jamal tried to pry the Ohayō Kitten box from Yuki as the magical girl saw a teenager tied up her rolled up sleeping bag.

“They actually slept out there all night to buy an Ohayō Kitten doll?!”

“Yep.” Jamal tired out and left the doll in Yuki's hands as she saw Michael and Dom Coqui outside. Through the window, Michael started up the megaphone as the frog set a large advertising chalkboard ad welcoming customers to the Ohayō Kitten, beside the gate. She saw Kaori and Angela, wearing the same pink T-shirts, emerging out of the van with Ely wearing a painter hat like the doll. Their appearance sent a roar from the ladies outside. Except that the reaction sounded like there were a lot more of them then number of customers in front of the store. She felt Jamal's hand grab her wrist and he jerked his head signaling her to come along. Yuki followed him out of the apartment as she heard the loud screams from the crowd outside.

“Meet The Impossible Man's Anime and Manga Shop's newest members.' Kaori said as she waved Yuki and Angela to come closer. ‘Yuki Shimizu and Tangerine with her pet Chupacabra, Ely!”

The crowd roared as Michael, Jamal, Kaori, and Dom Coqui gathered around the trio, and waved at the camera. Yuki blushed and felt a little shy in front of the camera while Tangerine and Ely smiled and waved. Everyone turned to the crowd and heard them roar. When Yuki looked up her face froze in shock. As she walked behind Michael, the shopkeeper lifted up the megaphone and addressed the line.

“Good morning ladies!”

“GOOD MORNING THE IMPOSSIBLE MAN!” The crowd yelled in unison as Yuki looked past the line. It went far. There was no end in sight. Almost as though it could lead out of the city. People of all ages, mostly females, waited in line for their chance to purchase an Ohayō Kitten doll. Police cars stationed at each block to keep the crowd under control. Port o potties lined up along the edge of the sidewalk.

“Why is the sun smiling?”

“IT'S HAPPY MORNING TIME!” The crowd yelled in hypnotic unison.

“Are you all ready for the greatest adventure of a lifetime?!”

“YES! WE ARE READY TO BUY! OPEN THE STORE ALREADY! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! WE WOULD LIKE TO GET OUR ERRANDS DONE BEFORE NIGHTFALL! PLUS, WE DON'T WANT TO GET STUCK IN TRAFFIC ON THE WAY HOME! WE CAN'T STRESS HOW ANNOYING TRAFFIC IN NEW JERSEY CAN BE!”

“Hmmm… I see.' Michael said with his hand under his chin. He lifted up the megaphone and addressed the crowd again. ‘Well, let's get that loud cheer!”

The roar of the crowd deafened the neighborhood. Yuki covered her ears from the explosive cheers. As the noise died down, she felt a pat on her back. She turned around and Kaori stood with her cameraman holding the microphone up.

“Would tell us a little bit about yourself, Shimizu-san? How did you get hired by The Impossible Man?”

“I… ah…' Yuki was speechless in front of the camera. She became shy and lost the words she wanted to say. Of course, she had to be careful not to mention that she was the Scarlet Sorceress. It would draw too much attention. ‘His mother hired me.”

“And there you have it everyone. Shimizu-san, the newest member of The Impossible Man's Anime and Manga Shop.”

“And cut.' The director said as the camera turned off. ‘The live feed is over. We'll be recording the rest for tomorrow's recap.”

“Wow you're lame Shimizu-san. You need to lighten up, like Angela and Ely.” Kaori directed Yuki's attention to Angela and Ely as they gave a little performance that made the crowd clap.

“But they are professional entertainers.” Yuki said as Kaori shrugged.

“Okay everyone,' Michael said through the megaphone holding up a lavender card with Ohayō Kitten's face on it. ‘only those of you who receive this entry card will be permitted to enter the store to purchase Ohayō Kitten merchandise. Children twelve years and younger must be accompanied by an adult at all times. The official dolls are limited to one per person per purchase. That means if you are one single person, you do not get two. Only one. Not two. One. Just one. Even if you are in a group, only one person can hold one doll. It does not matter if you have to run to the bathroom, you do not hand off that one doll to a friend who already is holding one doll, thereby that friend of yours ends up holding two.”

Michael planted a bucket out of nowhere on Angela's hands. They were fifty Ohayō Kitten entry cards inside.

“Due to the size of the store, and by city safety ordinance, we can only allow ten people at a time. Tangerine and Ely will be coming down the street and hand one entry card per person. These entry cards are limited to one per person. That means if you are one single person, you do not get two. Only…' As Michael repeated the same ‘One' line speech in reference to the entry card, Angela and Ely walked down the street handing a card to the crowd.

Jamal lifted up the gate, Yuki unlocked the front door, and the cameraman went inside to take footage of the first crowd. Dom Coqui swept the front while Kaori hanged a bucket that read ‘Place Entry Card Here'. Jamal gave the signal and Yuki and Kaori led the first group of ten inside.

‘…who already is holding one card, thereby that friend of yours ends up holding two. Thank you and enjoy shopping The Impossible Man's Anime and Manga Shop. Jamal, open the gates.” Michael turned around and saw the crowd already in the shop. He appeared behind the counter, out of nowhere, as he handed the first official doll to a little girl with her mother in front of the cameras.

She showed the Ohayō Kitten doll to the cameraman with a giggle. She raised it up over her head. All the customers inside gathered around and reached out to it with a low awe. The morning light outside shined over the plushy doll.

“Thank you The Impossible Man.” The little girl left the store with her mother and she raised the doll up to the screams of the crowd. She walked over to Kaori with a second cameraman and received an interview as the next person entered inside.

At nine o'clock, the soundtrack rack emptied out completely. Angela hurried over with a box and replenished the stock with Ely, while Kaori replaced the mugs.

Jamal took down a poster on the wall and rolled it up. He handed it to a little girl and she ran to her mother purchasing a doll. He watched take the money and gave change in return.

Outside Dom Coqui swept the floor clearing out the garbage on the floor while Michael addressed the crowd through the megaphone.

“How many people do not have an entry card?”

The people at the corner raised their hands. Michael got Dom Coqui's attention and handed him the basket of entry cards. With a nod, the frog hurried down the block and passed the cards to the people with their hands raised.

“Yuru Chara!!” One of the teenage girls said in the crowd.

“EEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH…' The crowd of women and girls roared and they swarmed around Dom Coqui. ‘KAWAII!!”

Dom Coqui screamed for help as Michael took the broom inside. He saw Jamal exited the storage room with more products to display. The Shopkeeper hurried to help him as Dom Coqui arrived at the front door collapsing on the ground in pain.

“How's the inventory keeping up?” Michael said as Jamal opened the box.

“So far so good, Michael.' Jamal said while the Shopkeeper took out diaries and placing them on display. ‘Our accountant will be arriving this afternoon to monitor the totals for the end of day sales.”

“Great. We need to start monitoring the money soon so we can be ready to buy the apartment building. Do we have enough dolls to sell? It feels like everything is going fast.”

“Don't worry. We have enough until lunch time.”

“Call at 11:30, so the shippers can arrive before one o'clock.”

“Okay. You know, we might just pull this off.”

“I told you Jamal.”

“Just don't get the idea of gloating in my face.”

“I won't.”

One o'clock arrived, the heat overwhelmed the crowd, and the truck pulled up along the sidewalk. Police officers stood in front of the vehicle as the Shippers lifted up the back door revealing cardboard boxes filled with dolls. Jamal and Michael took the shipping packages into the storage as Kaori and her camera crew taped the crowd's reaction. Michael, Jamal and the Shippers deployed the boxes quickly, and not make the crowd wait for long. Michael and Jamal paused for a moment as say Mr. Tanaka watching them from corner of the street. As they stared at him, the old man ran off without saying a word.

Michael returned to the store as Dom Coqui passed him by pushing a cart. The cart had a towel over a block of ice, paper cones, an ice scraper in a cup of water, a triangle shaper, and five bottles of different flavored syrup. Dom Coqui saw a teenage girl waved at him and stood before her curious eyes. He cleared his throat and with great concentration, he spoke one word in one language.

“Piragua?”

“Eh? Piragua? What's that?”

Dom Coqui revealed the block of ice to the teen. He presented the different flavor of syrups and presented her an advertisement that read ‘Piragua — Shaved Ice with choice of one of five flavors.'

“I am kind of hot.' The teen looked up at the sky feeling the heat. ‘I'll take one.”

Dom Coqui grabbed the ice shaver and scraped the surface of the ice. The frog packed into the paper cone, two scoops of shaved ice. He used the triangle shaper to give the ice a triangle like shape. The frog then waved his hand in front of the bottles, a choice of cherry, lemon, orange, grape, or piña colada.

“I'll take cherry.”

Dom Coqui grabbed the bottle of cherry syrup and sprinkled it onto the ice. The frog handed it to her and received one dollar. She took a little bite and smiled.

“Delicious.”

Soon everyone in the crowd called for one and Dom Coqui could not keep up with the demand. As the customers raised their hands one after another, a little girl tugged her father from across the street attracting everyone's attention.

“Daddy I want an Ohayō Kitten doll.”

“I'm sorry honey, but that line is too big and we don't have all day.”

The little girl did not struggle or put up a fight. She watched the crowd with sadness as the customers felt her pain. That was until the child turned to the side and saw Michael crouched before her. Her eyes grew wide as the Shopkeeper brought out from behind his back, an authentic Ohayō Kitten Doll. They both looked up to her father, and with a smile, he nodded.

“Fifteen dollars please.” Michael said as her handed the doll over.

“Here you are, sir.” The father took out his wallet and paid for the merchandise.

“Thank you Mr. The Impossible Man.” The little girl gave Michael a hug, all caught on camera, and the crowd awed at his kind act.

“That was so nice of him.' One of the teenage girls said to a woman next to her as Michael saw some of the teens blush at his kindness. One of the teenage girls screamed out from the crowd. ‘WE LOVE YOU I-MAN!”

The Impossible Man, from out of nowhere, stood before the line, lifted up his megaphone from, and addressed them back.

“I love you all too!”

Inside, Yuki heard all the teenage girls screaming and crossed her arms out of jealousy. Her eyes shifted over to Kaori, Angela, and Ely and their reaction was the same. She took some cash from a female customer as Michael came inside.

“He's so awesome.”

“Yeah, he is.” Yuki slammed the register as the customer walked away. She looked up at a large belly, slumped over the counter. The magical girl jerked her head back as a doll landed on the counter along with posters, DVDs, Manga, and T-Shirts. She lifted her head up slowly as a pair of hairy hands wiped the lenses of a pair of glasses. They set in place on the face of a man.

“I would like to purchase the Ohayō Kitten Summer Outfit set.”

“Uh…' Yuki reached for the box of play clothes hanging next to the television screen. ‘Yeah, your daughter is really going to love this set.”

“Daughter? Miss, I happen to be a collector of Ohayō Kitten memorabilia. I only need the Summer Outfit to have the complete Seasons sets.”

“Right.”

“In case you haven't noticed, this is a limited edition Ohayō Kitten Doll signed by Rumiko Suzuki the creator of this doll. This will be worth a lot of money so long as it remains in its box.”

“I see.' Yuki rang up all of the merchandise and received the money. She watched the collector leave the store as Michael stood beside her out of nowhere.

“Interesting customers we have today.' Michael startled Yuki and felt a slap in the back of his head.

“Don't do that.”

“Sorry.' Michael said rubbing his bruise. ‘I'll take over from here, Yuki.

“Whatever.” Yuki walked away with single glace to Michael.

“Aey, what did I do?”

Three o'clock, Michael hit the jackpot. A woman dressed in very expensive clothing, stood before the Shopkeeper with her daughter holding a doll. The woman pointed her finger at a necklace and a ring selling for two thousand one hundred dollars combined. It attracted the attention of Kaori and her camera crew. The crowd outside, spread the word about the purchase. Michael smiled with teeth exposed.

“Money…” Michael said under his breath.

As the event went on in the store, outside, Yuki took care of collecting entry cards. A man in a business suit approached her with a briefcase. She looked the business card presented to her and read it as he introduced himself.

“Hello, I'm Mr. Smith. I'm the accountant here to see Mr. The Impossible Man.”

“Oh.' Yuki looked inside and saw Michael at the register still smiling at the transaction. ‘Michael, the accountant is here to see you.”

Michael leaned over the counter and he finished ringing up the ladies jewelry purchase. He waved Kaori over to take over and left the register to greet Mr. Smith.

“Aey, Mr. Smith. Good of you to come.' Michael placed his hands around Yuki's shoulders much to the jealousy of Kaori watching on. ‘I'd like to introduce to my new employee, Yuki Shimizu, the store bodyguard.”

“Interesting.' Mr. Smith shook Yuki's hand. ‘Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” Yuki said as she watched Michael lead Mr. Smith to the storage room where Jamal waited for them. Unlike the other times she was with Michael, she had never seen such a determination from the shopkeeper like this.

Inside the storage room, Mr. Smith sat in the desk, and analyzed the receipts and inventory list. Michael and Jamal watched intently as Mr. Smith typed on a calculator. It took a while as the accountant flipped through the pages and wrote his notes on a pad.

“Impressive.' Mr. Smith stopped writing. ‘Well Mr. The Impossible Man, you only need one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to meet your quota.”

“Please call me I-Man for short, and thank you for your help Mr. Smith. I assume you will be spending the rest of the day monitoring our sales?”

“Of course. You never cease to amaze me I-Man. It's a miracle you made this amount today. At this rate you'll be lucky to reach five hundred thousand.”

“Lucky?”

“Yes, after all you cannot get the whole city to purchase Ohayō Kitten dolls. By the end of the day, the crowd will die out eventually. I'm sorry but if you don't get a strong finish to go with that strong start, you'll come up short. Also, this line you have here is too slow. People will get tired of waiting.”

“I see.” Michael stepped out and made his way outside the store. He looked out at the line and saw Yuki trying to persuade a couple of people to wait. As the customers walked away, Michael crossed his arms, and tried to think of an idea on how to keep the line going.

“Michael.' Yuki hurried to the shopkeeper. ‘The customers are leaving.”

“The waiting is the problem.' Michael looked at the officers in their patrol cars across the street. ‘If I try to concentrate selling everything outside it could cause a riot.”

“What are we going to do?” Yuki looked up to him.

“Give it everything we've got.

Seven o'clock, the sun is leaving the sky and darkness formed. Another shipment of Ohayō Kitten dolls arrived. The police set up a barrier to prevent the crowd from rioting and the Shippers, Michael and Jamal once again hurried the merchandise inside. The crowd cheered happily at the new wave of dolls arriving when suddenly the engine of the truck roared. It drove away spilling some of the boxes on the ground.

“NO!' Michael said as he stood out in the street. ‘Not the stuff.”

The Impossible Man saw the police run to their cars. Unfortunately, someone slashed the tires and the police became disabled. As the officers called in an all points bulletin, Michael ran after truck as it got far away.

“Saito-san…” Kaori came out of the store with Seizon in hand.

“Let's go.” Yuki detached her brooch and together they ran after Michael.

As the truck turned the corner, Mr. Tanaka laughed maniacally behind the wheel. He looked at the side view mirror and saw no one behind him.

“Now I'll have the whole apartment and the store all to myself.”

“I beg to differ.”

Mr. Tanaka looked beside him. There was The Impossible Man sitting next to the landlord with his arms crossed.

“WHAT?!' Mr. Tanaka jerked his head back. ‘How did you get here?!”

“You know my name.' Michael smirked. ‘Now how about you pull over and lose like a good little… AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”

Mr. Tanaka looked ahead and slammed the brakes. The truck slammed into parked limos and pushed them aside like paper cups. When they came to a complete stop, the vehicle bumped into the last limo, and popped its trunk open. A plume of white powder rose into the air. The doors of that limo opened. Men in business suits buttoned their vest and jackets. They approached the truck with bats and chains.

“Yakuza?”

“Ah ha… you're going to get it now gaijin.' Mr. Tanaka jumped out of the truck and ran towards the mob. ‘Hello my brothers. He's the driver.”

Without hesitation, a couple of the mobsters took out machine guns and fired away at the cab of the truck. As Mr. Tanaka laughed at the bullets punching holes in the metal, he felt an arm placed around his shoulders.

“Don't you learn anything?”

“WHAT?!' Mr. Tanaka looked to the side and there was The Impossible Man rocking the landlord side to side. ‘Can't you stop doing that?!”

“No.”

The Yakuza aimed their guns at Michael with Mr. Tanaka standing in front. The landlord screamed as the hit men reloaded their bullet clips. As they took aim, a rock landed on one of the gunmen and everyone looked up at the truck. On the roof were Kaori and The Scarlet Sorceress, armed and ready to battle.

“Fools.' Kaori said as she pointed her wooden sword at everyone. ‘How dare you jeopardize my beloved's chances of victory?”

“Beloved?' The Scarlet Sorceress said, straggled her staff in anger. ‘Since when did he become yours?”

“Since before you were hired.”

“Oh yeah?!”

“Yeah?!”

“HELLO?!” The Impossible Man flailed his arms their attention.

“You think you can stop us.' Mr. Tanaka said as he pointed at the ladies. ‘Men, get those girls!”

Guns fired. Bullets sprayed as the ladies jumped up into the air. Kaori landed right before the gunman and swung Seizon twice in front of the men. She heard them laughed as they noticed she used a wooden sword. She smiled. The guns collapsed into little pieces. Then, their belt buckles collapsed and their pants fell down. Kaori stood to her feet as Yuki raised Tsubasa over her head.

“ELETRIC MAYHEM!” A lightening bolt struck the Yukuza. They screamed from the pain despite not killing them. When the electricity stopped, they stood charred and smoldering. They ran liked penguins with their pants around their ankles. But they were too slow when the police arrived and surrounded them.

Kaori and Yuki saw Michael looking at the truck and they hugged him with joy. The two stared each other down and tried to push each other off him. When Kaori and Yuki tried to hug Michael again, they found themselves in each other's arms. The police officers and Yakuza whistled and hooted at them.

Behind the truck, Mr. Tanaka tried to tip toe away from the scene so he could avoid arrest. With his head down, he bumped into Michael and stepped back, only to bump into Kaori and Yuki. Surrounded, the landlord let off a chuckle.

Back at the shop, the crowd turned restless as Jamal, Angela, Dom Coqui, and the police tried to calm the crowd down. The sound of the horn blared and everyone went quiet. There was Michael, driving the truck with steam spilling out of the hood. On top of the hood, Mr. Tanaka sat tied up in rope screaming and struggling. Michael, Kaori, and Yuki stepped out of the truck to the screams of the crowd as one of the Shippers approached the landlord.

“You'll be paying for the damages.”

“Curse you The Impossible Man!!”

A news van arrived from the crime scene where the police arrested the Yakuza. A female reporter stepped out of the van with her news crew and stood in front of Michael. The cameraman perched his camera on his shoulder and waited for the feed to begin.

“Martha Stone, Local News, I heard what happened with the Yakuza. I would like to ask a few questions.' She noticed the crowd in the front of the store, cheering and trying to get waving to the camera. ‘What's going on here?”

Michael smirked as Kaori and the Scarlet Sorceress stepped aside. They stood beside Jamal, Angela, Dom Coqui and Ely at the front door and watch Michael rub the back of his head smiling and answering questions. Mr. Smith saw the camera crew and gave a nod.

“The news should help give the store some publicity.” Mr. Smith said.

“Really.” Yuki turned to the account.

“Yes.' Mr. Smith noticed Yuki in her Scarlet Sorceress costume and raised his hand to give a handshake. ‘And you are, Miss…?”

Everyone but Angela lost their balance as the magical girl smiled with glee.

“Yuki?' Angela whispered in the magical girl's ear. She tilted her head as Yuki placed her finger on her lip and wink. Angela smiled. ‘I won't tell.”

Eleven o'clock, and the last customer, a couple of police officers who have daughters, left the store. Michael flipped the ‘Open' sign over to read ‘Close'. He walked past Mr. Tanaka, tied to a chair with Seizon and Tsubasa aimed at the landlord. Michael leaned on the counter as Mr. Smith gave the final total.

“You're short twenty-five thousand dollars.”

“DAMN!” Michael pounded the counter.

“HA HA HA' Mr. Tanaka tapped his feet on the floor. ‘I WIN!!”

“Not so fast!' Kaori said as she took out a blank check and filled it out. ‘Here's a check for fifteen thousand dollars.”

“Here's a check for three thousand.” Jamal made out his check.

“Et ut er tre thusen.” Dom Coqui made a check out for three thousand dollars.

“And here is my check for three thousand dollars.” Yuki also made a check.

Michael saw the pile of checks. He never felt so much support like this form his friends. They all had blank checks ready incase they came up short. He could see that were as determined to beat Mr. Tanaka as much as he was. So, with a smile he took out check from out of no where and filled it out.

“Here is my check for nine hundred and seventy dollars.' Michael slapped the check on pile and everyone stood there with a sweatdrop over each head. ‘Heh, well you see this shirt was on sale for thirty dollars at the mall and…”

“Leave it to you to mess things up!!” Yuki and Kaori together struck Michael with their weapons and sent him flying to the back of the store, falling to the ground headfirst.

“HA! You're still short thirty dollars.” Mr. Tanaka said as he tapped his feet on the ground with joy. It ended when a knock on the door drowned out his joy.

At the door were a woman and two girls. They waved at Mr. Smith and waited for someone to unlock it. Mr. Smith smiled and hurried over as Michael stood by the door from out of nowhere and unlocked.

“Honey, are we too late.” Mr. Smith's wife said as she entered inside.

“No, you're not late. Mr. The Impossible Man set aside the dolls as he promised.”

“YAY!” Mr. Smith's daughters ran to the counter as Michael stood by the register and presented them each an Ohayō Kitten doll.

“How did he…?' Yuki looked at Jamal and Kaori. ‘The timing?”

“Yes.' Jamal said. ‘We know what he did?”

“It's best not to think about it.” Kaori said rubbing her eyelids in frustration.

Once Michael finished the transaction, Mr. Smith finalized the paperwork and handed the title deed to the Shopkeeper.

“Congratulations, I-Man. You are now the owner of this building.”

Everyone cheered and gathered around Michael to celebrate as Mr. Tanaka suddenly found himself outside still tied to the chair, crying like a baby.