CHAPTER 1

    "A question, Father."

    "What is it, Yu?"

    "Is there maybe somebody in our family who is anti-alcohol?"

    "No, your mother and I don''t hold ourselves back entirely when it comes to drinking."

    "But then why is there so much alcohol-free beer in our refrigerator?"

    "It''s there for you, of course. Middle school students always feel the need to go behind their parents'' backs to try cigarettes and alcohol, isn''t that right? After all, kids are full of curiosity at your age. But unfortunately, alcohol and puberty don''t go together well at all. It hinders physical development, weakens the brain cells and makes the child lose enthusiasm. That''s why Mama and Papa decided to keep only alcohol-free beer in all the places you could find. I know it''s cold comfort, but anytime you like, I can describe the taste and effects of real spirits to you with words! So, Yu, pay attention now, here goes: glug, glug, glug. Ask me now, right away -- wow, man is that good!"

    In spite of these mean little games of my father''s, I remained abstinent. As an athlete, I didn''t want to put even a single millimeter of potential body height into jeopardy.

    But one fine day, when I have presented myself to the entire world as a baseball player, I''ll enjoy a bottle of beer without restraint. Ah, what a glorious image! I wouldn''t refuse anyone the right to hose me down with fresh beer! Until it burns my eyes and fills my nostrils, until I can''t breathe and have to cough it up... and...

    "Gurgle... hmphaaaaah!"

    Fluid pressed into my head, not just in my nose but also in my ears. It hurt so much I had to close my eyes. I tried to breathe but I couldn''t sense a hint of air anywhere around me. I wanted to struggle, but I found I couldn''t stretch my limbs out at all. When I rose up, my head banged against some kind of obstacle. Where the heck was I?! It felt like someone had locked me up inside a beer keg. And it tasted like that too.

    Oh my god, could it be that it actually was a beer keg?!

    I located a paper thin layer of oxygen in the vicinity of the ceiling, pressed my lips against the wooden lid, and breathed. Full of doubts, I kicked against the walls that closed me in. In truth, the thing was very sturdy.

    I marshaled all my strength and threw myself to the left. The keg lurched to the side. After it had completed three full rotations on its rim, it tipped over. The violence of impact broke it apart with a crash. I found myself gasping for breath on the ground, in the middle of a lake of beer. I wonder if Momotaro, the peach boy, also felt like this?!

    After I had more or less collected myself and was taking in my brightly lit surroundings, a few women immediately caught my eye. They wore ultra-short mini-skirts and blue aprons just like the one I had. They flitted busily here and there between the tables, supporting crockery-filled trays high in the air with both hands. The tables were nearly all occupied. Various shouts came from all around; I couldn''t tell whether they were drink orders or sexual harassment.

    So I had landed in a bar? That was new. In the middle of the room, a group of people had clasped shoulders and were singing a song at the top of their lungs. In the corners sat men who preferred solitude, nursing their beers alone. Someone at the nearest table pointed at me and shouted, "Hey, look! That waiter broke a beer keg! Look here you, we could have drunk that!"

    "Since when does this joint hire male waiters? Hey, what kind of a guy is that, anyway?"

    The red-faced drunk guy stared at me. Shoot! I hastily pulled my cap down over my face. In this world, black hair and black eyes had a certain meaning. It could be dangerous to show them around casually.