Frozen Butterfly Arc 2 a story of Bubblegum Crisis

Chapter 4.1 – Spinning Silk

The next morning I tried to sleep in. It took a little bit of creative thinking, a delay set to keep my processor speed down, combined with a bit of fiddling with accelerated time operating mode, in reverse. I should have enjoyed a nice, languid rise from slumber. Unfortunately, it still needs some work, instead of that enjoyable drifting rise to consciousness I still snapped from one to the other, only this time stuck in an endless seeming half hour where everything took too long to accomplish. It was not the relaxing experience I was hoping for.

But enough of that, I have mail! Nene must have been hard at work last night. I had a job! I also had a little file perfect for faking up the paperwork needed to rent my apartment. It would fall apart if they asked to see my MPI card in person, but I wasn't that worried. Given the state of the apartments he should be happy enough to take my deposit and run. It certainly didn't seem like very many people were clamoring for a family apartment that came with an unstated expiration date.

Checking the schedule Nene had given me, I had two days before starting work at the prefectural offices. So I had plenty of time to study up on my new job. Taking advantage of the free internet one last time I quickly downloaded all the manuals and information I would need to go over before checking out.

I could tell the apartment manager was relieved to see me. I'm not sure what kind of quota system he was employed under but he was almost painfully helpful in getting me settled when I let him know I would take it. He didn't just hand over the keys and run, sticking around he helped make the arrangements to hook up all the utilities, water and power available immediately and gave me his wifi password to tide me over until my own internet was hooked up in a few days.

So, settling down in my new apartment I buckled down to study, the hours passing in relative boredom while I learned about and how to be a certified clerk and recorder for the prefectural government. Despite the monotony I didn't feel like going stir crazy. Meeting Nene after work to just hang out and talk at a quiet café helped as well.

I got up bright and early for my first day of work, still having problems figuring out a way to sleep in. Arriving, nervousness gnawing at my stomach as I showed my laminated ID to the guard, I almost swooned in relief when he let me by with only a second glance. He's just watching your rear, hormones not suspicions, I told myself as I walked down the hall to the supervisors office. Thankfully past that point it was as ordinary and boring as expected.

They led me around to meet everyone. I matched names with faces and jobs, trying to get a feel for the rather dry and trying atmosphere of the office. It was both better and worse than job's I've had in the past. I felt genuinely welcomed, but with that came a level of scrutiny I wasn't fully comfortable with.

The next day was similar. Although I wasn't technically a 'new hire' I was still given an office "sempai", someone assigned to watch over and guide me through orientation. Fuji-san wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, middle aged, neat and tidy; he did his job well and helped me by pointing out little tricks to be more efficient. Punctual, neat, quiet and nice he didn't give me any trouble and, unlike the majority of the office, I never once caught his eyes wandering. Although that last bit is likely because as far as I can tell he's queer as a three dollar bill. Actually that just made working with him a bit more fun the lack of tension between us made for an easy working relationship.

Although my relationship with Fuji-sempai was casual, and ended at the office door he was really a big help. I wished that I had had someone like him around to help me out in my first job in teleconferencing years ago. His tutelage was enough, along with my reading that I actually could perform all the duties expected of me.

Over the next week, I managed to work my way quietly through the day adding bits and pieces of 'life' to my MPI file. Each lunch hour I spent filling in those niggling little details that make a MPI card legitimate. The hardest part was finding the time to discretely put myself through the biometric scan and recording tests without cluing my co-workers in to what I was about. Finally however I was finished, all the trouble and contortions of truth I had gone through well worth it.

I was real. Examining my new, official, MPI card again as I headed out to meet up with Nene, I recalled the surprise I had upon another discovery. As far as the government was concerned I was just shy of being a boomeroid in truth as well as fiction.

The 33-S had been built on an artificial endoskeleton certainly, but once they had the basic frame in place it seemed that Genom had 'cheated' with much of the rest of the design process, using artificial organs, biomimetic-musculature, and numerous other well documented medical grade prosthesis to finish off their product instead of designing synthetic alternatives from scratch.

As a result as far as the official government tests were concerned my body was almost 32% natural. It wouldn't stand up in a court of law if I were to be examined by a doctor, and that tenuous rating would fall quickly if I ever did get a properly synthetic blood supply. Still without a reason for in depth examination I was safer than ever. In fact the only remaining hurdle I saw to my continued survival was the breakdown of the very blood supply that helped maintain my designation as human.

My fluidics system continued its steady decline as my blood supply slowly failed. With an improved diet, and no longer needing to 'push' myself healing I had gotten the degradation down to less than 2% a day. Unfortunately I also had no way to get a 'fresh' blood transfusion. Although I could improve the longevity of my remaining supply with the dialysis machine it was far from a long term solution. Fluidics at 82.3% current rate of decline will result in lack of operational levels in 30.31 days.

I could stretch that if I was careful, the internal estimate not taking into account dialysis but it was a gnawing growing concern, a question of survival for which I still didn't have an answer. A web search showed that the artificial blood supply really was as hard to get as Master had indicated the day of my reactivation, both expensive and a controlled substance not available to the public.

I was distracted from those distressing thoughts by the almost cheerful beep of a car horn. Looking up my heart skipped a beat as I saw a cop car, even the cute box like affair causing me to fall into accelerated time before I recognized the driver.

Smile blooming on my face I tucked my ID away in my purse and skipped over to the curb. Nene already had the door open when I got there, having reached across the small economy sized car to do so. "Kari hurry up, you said you had cheesecake!"

I couldn't help but laugh as I quickened my steps, hopping lightly up into the passenger seat. "Wow Ne-chan, moving up in the world are we? What did you do to deserve the 'luxury' ride?" I asked in a teasing tone using my new pet name for her. One I especially liked because it played off her name, her handle and had the additional meaning of older sister.

Nene gave me a little swat on the head that I accepted with good grace. "I got stuck helping the traffic police this week. They're even more shorthanded than we are, besides I get to see your new apartment today."

"Yah yah, sure, I bet it's really just the housewarming snacks I promised that have you hurrying." I answered settling in and clicking the seatbelt into place. Leaning back I took a deep breath and relaxed. The slight sweet smell of machine oil mixed with exhaust and Nene's own distinct scent helping clear my head of another long day spent working in the dreary atmosphere of the office.

She didn't dignify my response with anything more than a laugh, checking the mirrors and pulling out into traffic. We spent the rest of the ride chatting, talking about work and in Nene's case one of her new friends, an aerobics' instructor named Linna. Despite listening carefully I wasn't quite sure how they had met, Nene's litany a mixture of complaints about the teasing she received and admiration for how good Linna looked. "Not as good as you of course Kari, but it's not fair that you both look so good." Her tone whining at the indignity of fate.

"Look Nene, it just takes some dedication, and she is an aerobics instructor… maybe you should join Linna's club. Or better yet we could go together. I know I would enjoy company for a workout, it's hard to keep up the motivation to exercise alone and if I don't I'll just turn into a marshmallow." I'll admit to an ulterior motive as it really was boring alone and if I was going to have to work out each week anyway it would be more fun to do so with a friend. Besides, Nene was a classic computer geek and too pretty to let slide into the trap of inactivity.

Despite the enthusiasm I had tried to put into my offer Nene wasn't impressed, her tone clearly conveying her feelings. "I've seen you eat, it's depressing, the last thing you need is more exercise."

"Come on Ne-Chan, just think, each time I went to the gym I could have another piece of guilt free cake, and you can't tell me that's not a good deal. You do want to help me have more cake don't you?" I'm not sure but I think it was the self-deprecating tone that earned her laugh and by the time we arrived home I had convinced her to at least register for a free trial.

The car drew a few stares and her uniform a few more from the kids playing stickball on the lawn in front of the apartments but with the lack of big guns or rampaging boomers they quickly lost interest. Upstairs after the nickel tour of my apartment we got straight on to the important thing, at least as far as Nene was concerned, cheesecake.

In all honesty I wasn't that much of a connoisseur, before or after my change in circumstances, but having seen Nene dissolve into bliss once before I knew it was going to have to become a staple of my small refrigerator. This time was no different and I let myself enjoy the flavor vicariously through her reactions. Truthfully to me it tasted rather bland, like celery only loaded with calories instead of empty of them. From the look of bliss on Nene's face she obviously felt differently.

Watching her enviously I had an inspiration. Surreptitiously visiting the kitchen to put my back to her served to disguise taking out my small bottle of lubricating oil. A few sprinkles across the top, and I joined her in honest little cries of ecstasy at the flavor. This I would have to remember… and make sure to never mix up our pieces.

Thus satiated we sat down, relaxing in the bare bones of my home. The relative size of the place, large for a single Japanese to live in made my lack of belongings even more obvious. One missing item in particular coming to my guests attention.

"Kari, where's your computer?" Nene asked, looking at me with those discerning green eyes, making me squirm under her gaze.

The question reminded me of just how bright she could be when she put her mind to things. We had met online to explore the web together several times in the last week but only now did I realize what a … glaring error I had made in not buying a computer to explain my online presence. Of course being a true computer otaku even that might not have let me avoid her notice.

"Would you believe I can get by with just my phone?" I asked proffering the device for her perusal. Knowing in my gut that friend or not she wasn't going to let me off that easily. Seeing the flat non-nonsense look on her face I let out a sigh. "It really is just through my phone… it has Bluetooth, and uh, connects through the wireless router." I gestured to the small black box situated up against the wall by the data line in one corner.

For a moment she looked angry. It was easy enough to read her thoughts as they played out across her expressive face. The seconds she thought I was trying to blow her off, the angry betrayal as I 'jerked' her chain and then just before she opened her mouth to yell, scream, say something the light seeming to spark behind her emerald-jade eyes as she guessed at the truth and they went wide.

Speaking up before she could I nodded. "That's right, I ah, have a pretty sophisticated computer in my head now, some kind of prototype. It seems to work pretty well and I don't think I'm unstable. Before you ask I don't really know any more than that. But it's how I've been able to get onto the web, both before my escape and since then. Now I go through my phone… it helps to filter out some of the background fuzziness in the net..."

I watched her nervously. What I had just admitted was going a lot further than acknowledging I was a boomeroid. Direct neural connections were the original cause of cyber psychosis. The human brain just isn't meant to handle the kind of bandwidth modern computers provide even if it is a far more efficient parallel processer than any yet invented. Research was always ongoing but no one had yet managed a stable connection.

A brief look of worry crossed her face, and I could imagine the fears rushing through her head, that I was dangerous, and unstable, and she was trapped alone in a room with me. But to my absolute surprise and relief her expression changed, to one of sympathy and support as I took a breath; my system regulating itself in the background when I had forgot to breathe on my own.

"That's terrible! And kind of cool, but it's awful that they could do something like that to you. We can't let them get away with it!" Bolting to her feet she started to pace, a small redheaded dynamo of justice and indignation. The relief I felt almost enough to steal the strength from my legs even if she did shoot the odd fascinated glance in my direction as if she looked she might see just how they had done it.

Before she could work herself up any further I inched forward and caught her hand as she passed. Her skin cool beneath my fingers but soft, her tirade cut short as I gently pulled her around to face me.

"Nene, they did get away with it, but it's alright, I'm alright, you helped get me out of there and I'm never going back. I'm Free now, and that's all that's important. What happened doesn't matter anymore." I met her dark green eyes with my light green, trying to will her understanding.

The tableau was broken before she could respond by a beeping from her watch. Tearing her eyes from mine she had a slight blush on her cheeks from the intensity of the moment. Breaking eye contact as she stepped back she bobbed her head apologetically. "I'm sorry Kari, but there's an emergency I, I have to go." Biting her lip, Nene watched me as she stepped quickly back to the entry and into her shoes.

Caught in confusion, wanting to do something, anything to alleviate her worries and confusion I stood there watching her hurry off, feeling the loss of her warmth beneath my fingertips. Questions turning over in my mind, did she have to go, were things alright between us, would she come back, were we still friends? My pulse began to ramp up in reaction to the growing need to know, to do something before she was gone, before it was too late. Something must have shown on my face because thankfully I didn't have to.

An apologetic smile crossed her face as she opened. "I'll see you tomorrow okay or give you a call after work but, I have to go." And with that she vanished out the door, the quick patter of her feet echoing down the stairs as she ran for the car. I wasn't sure if I should praise or curse whatever boomer emergency had occurred to interrupt at just that moment. Seeing her climb into the patrol car all I could do was whisper to the echoing walls of my room "Stay safe."

After our talk I didn't feel like going net diving again, at least not tonight. Sitting in the quiet of my apartment I realized just how quiet it was sitting there alone in the growing dark as the sun set. Using my phone to tune into the local radio I kept scanning until news of a boomer rampage came on the air. It was a combat model, the exact specifications unimportant, only the casualties it was causing and the ADP response sank in. For the first time when I heard about the Knight Sabers showing up I was filled with relief. Sure they might kill me just for living, but because of them some more of the AD Police would live to see tomorrow.

Instead of their being out there to kill boomers I realized they were also out there protecting people, and my best friend, only friend in the world might be one of them. Still it wasn't until I got an IM in response to a dozen worried messages half an hour later letting me know Nene was fine that I crawled into bed and collapsed for the evening my 'sleep' troubled by simulations of just how helpless either of us would be if ever caught in the middle of a firefight.

The next day I brought it up when we met before going to the gym. "Nene, thank god your safe. After you left last night all I could think about was that you might be in danger!"

I couldn't believe just how… unconcerned she was in her answer, even laughing a little. "Kari-chan, I'm an analyst, it's not like I go out and fight." Tweaking my nose she spun around and was halfway to the car and already changing the subject to a new store she heard was opening in Shinjuku.

It was a relief to realize all my worries were baseless and I gladly put my concerns behind me as I realized just what a fast one she was trying to pull. "Ne-chan, we're not going to spend the day shopping. You said you would come with me to aerobics. We even sent in our applications together, you're not getting out of it that easily."

"Oh come on, you know you could do with some more cloths, you look gorgeous, there's no reason you need to go to the gym, and it would be fun." Turning she tried the puppy dog eyes on me but I shook my head but couldn't suppress the grin.

"No deal Nene, you already promised we would go together, I'm not going to let you back out now."

Pouting she tried for most of the journey to get me to change my mind. One bargaining session later and we both felt like we had gotten the worse end of the deal we reached. She finally and with great reluctance agreed to go through with her promise of attending aerobics class with me, but in exchange somehow had gotten me to agree to go with her to a club called Hot Legs.

Still that was a worry for later. First we had class. Nene continued to drag her feet, all the way to the front desk. Waiting for her was a tall, slim, athletically toned woman with coal black hair held back by a green sweatband. But that wasn't what really caught my attention. Nor was it the grey tights and green leotard combination she wore, that at least went with the headband and didn't clash. The shocking thing was the leg warmers. Honest to god 80's style leg warmers.

I was actually distracted enough for the first few seconds of conversation to pass before my name drew me into the conversation between the friends as Nene went on. "-Kari, Kari this is Linna, she's the friend I've told you about." And then pulling a face mock whispered. "The bully whose fault it is we're here."

That drew a laugh from both of us and broke the slightly nervous tension in the air. Offering Linna a polite bow I spoke up. "It's nice to meet you Linna sensei. I hope that my joining Nene for your class doesn't cause any problems."

She shook her head and smiling began to lead the way back to the changing rooms. "Not at all there's still room and I can comp you a class or two. You did get Nene to come in after all and that kind of effort deserves a reward." I tried not to smile, too much, but the look of betrayal on Nene's face was too good to resist.

"You two go on, I'll catch up, I just need to get something to wear…" I waved them on as we passed through the apparel section of the front. It was obviously outfitted for those on the go but I was grateful there would be something for me to wear, even at the inflated prices. Somehow I hadn't though a leotard was necessary to my wardrobe yet.

To my surprise Linna waved Nene on as well, and watched me quietly a moment as I picked through the displays trying to find something I wouldn't be too embarrassed to wear in public. After a moment spent watching she picked out an almost terrifyingly neon orange bodysuit that went from elbows to thigh and a royal blue sleeveless leotard to go over it. I winced at the clashing colors but… when in Rome, I accepted it without protest but drew the line at matching leg warmers.

Ringing up the sale I could see a more serious subject coming up even before she spoke. There was something in the depths of Linna's blue eyes that gave it away. "I saw on your application that you have some cyberware?" At my slight nod I could feel those eyes roaming over my figure searching for any obvious signs. "It's really very good, but I need to know if you have any limitations for movement or activity before class."

"No, nothing like that." I bit my lip and worried it between my teeth before taking a breath to give her a more complete answer, "When I was hurt, they had to replace a lot, but I was lucky and got TrueNature reconstruction." It wasn't, quite, the most expensive brand out there but matched the official scan data close enough not to raise eyebrows if I had to 'prove it'.

That brought the smile back to her face and a nod. "I've had a few patients with TruNature go through physical therapy in my class before. How long has it been? You move very well." I hesitated a moment, and she quickly stepped back with a deep bow. "Please excuse me, I shouldn't have asked. I'll let you get dressed."

Our conversation, short as it was put me behind the rest of the class. Most were already done changing as I got to the lockers, even Nene just finished pulling on predictably eye searing pink leg warmers over purple tights and an equally pink leotard. Cute as a button but oh the horror!

I exchanged polite introductions with the only other woman still changing, her name was Irene and talking with her about her fiancé helped keep me from thinking too hard about changing in front of them or the fact I was surrounded by rather scantily clad women.

My focus lasted all of five minutes. Once in the class itself I couldn't quite help looking. It felt strange, hiding in the back with Nene to my right and Irene to my left as I snuck guilty feeling looks at our instructor for direction. It took almost fifteen minutes before I could reconcile the fact that it was alright for me to be here working out, of being one of these attractive women rather than an interloper on their domain.

Finally glancing at Nene and Irene I realized that to be honest they weren't in the best of shape which is not to say that they were unattractive just not in the best shape. Nene particularly was already starting to breathe hard. Linna however leading the class was a machine. Not literally, as far as I could tell, but she was easily working twice as hard as anyone else and ending up half as tired.

A fact that was brutally and depressingly underscored when three quarters of a way though the hour I started getting fluidic oxygen supply and energy transmission warnings. My body is state of the art, cutting edge in design and function, and I couldn't even keep up the pace. My movements becoming a bit choppy as my lungs worked like bellows.

I had been keeping up with Nene and the rest of the class to that point but when my energy started to flag it went fast. I was relieved when we switched from high impact to low for the next five minutes, black spots crossing my vision for a minute or two as my oxygen starved blood supply tried to meet the strain being placed upon it.

At one point during the cool down stretches I looked up and Linna caught my eyes before offing a small smile. I hardly knew her yet somehow she hadn't just realized I was flagging but near collapse. Not only that but she almost seamlessly adjusted the pace of her class to compensate. I returned her smile giving her the okay sign with one hand. She really is an impressive instructor.

As the class ended she called my name, holding me back a moment. "Nene, Irene, please go ahead, I'll follow in just a minute." To be honest I was a little relieved at the excuse to delay following them in. While I had every right to do so, I wasn't sure about my own motivations, not to mention the amount of pheromones in the air. Most of the class would probably just wrinkle their nose at the sweat and hurry to the showers. For me however it would be like breathing Louisiana air after living at the top of the Rockies. Less breathing and more drinking in the complex scents around me and like on the subway in such a thick jumbled mess I wouldn't be able to stop my reaction.

So it was slowly recovering and slightly swaying that I approached Linna to see what she had to say, just hoping she wouldn't notice anything else. "Hey Kari-san, good first workout, are you feeling alright, can I get you something to drink or some juice?" She took my hand and led me gently over to a vending machine, punching in some kind of code.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize sooner but you're looking a little pale. You need to pace yourself a bit better…" I could feel her watching me closely for physical symptoms as she went on. "It can be tricky to realize you're pushing too hard for people in your condition, but that just means you need to be extra vigilant. Dehydration and Hypoglycemia are often worse in those with implants so you're more susceptible to them. I'm not saying you should stop, just; make sure to drink lots of water, or juice before a workout okay? You're a new friend and I'd like to keep you."

A supportive hug and she was leading me back to the lockers, now with juice in hand. I was surprised at how accurately she had diagnosed the problem. Even without the facts, she realized that because my blood supply was breaking down I was effectively diabetic. I promised to be good and look after myself better before we split apart to shower. I spent extra-long in the shower, relaxing and recovering; besides I felt enough like a peeping tom already.

Freshly showered, scrubbed, dried and dressed I stepped out of the locker room to see Nene waiting with Linna and Irene for me. The extra time in the shower had given my compromised blood supply a chance to finish refreshing me, and I felt almost as good as new walking out to meet them.

"Now I suppose that I'm going to have to pay up and actually come clubbing aren't I?" my tone wry as I looked at the other three, only well ingrained instincts or was it programing, keeping my posture natural and the nervous worry over the incipient crowds from projecting to the others.

"Yup!" Nene chirped in response, her glee at finally getting me to come out with her showing in the wide smile crossing her lips. "To Hot Legs!"

If anything the name of the club made it worse somehow, like I would just be on display if I went inside. I had never enjoyed clubbing before and couldn't imagine that would change as easily as my gender. Still I couldn't really back out now. I had promised and maybe it wouldn't be too bad, I could hope.

Dressed in the rather conservative skirt and long sleeved blouse I wore to work I didn't cut the most impressive figure. Add flats to my already towering stature and I hoped that in a dark room I might manage to be overlooked; unfortunately my experience walking the streets of MegaTokyo put a sinking feeling into my heart. Genom made its products a little too well and I was sure that tonight would just be another example.

When we arrived it was both much worse and better than I had expected. Better because some of the music was good, in a retro 80's kind of way, bad in that already it was much too crowded for my peace of mind. Unfortunately I saw my companions eyes light up and toes start to tap even as we shouldered our way in the front door. The deep sound reverberating through our bones and movement of the crowd inside seemed to electrify them.

As we made our way deeper live music began to play, a warm-up band Nene shouted in my ear, one hand keeping hold of me as she dragged me out onto the dance floor. The deep pulsing beats echoed through my slight frame and lights flashed in the darkness making it an almost out of body experience.

That disassociation with my body only heightened as the pheromones of the crowd began to hit me. It felt like I was high, floating on a wave of sensation, my body swaying without conscious thought to the beat. I barely had the presence of mind to stick near my friends as men started to move in, like moths to a flame.

Only in this case I was the one to be burned if they achieved their goal. I had to fight the urge to respond, their needs and desires so obvious so clear, pulling at my subconscious to react appropriately. Only with monumental effort was I able to pull my eyes away from them, focusing instead on Nene, giving her my full devotion.

She was having a blast. Unlike me, she had changed for the occasion, with a cute strappy little white top and blue skirt. It wasn't quite so blatantly "look at me!" as Linna in her figure hugging sheath but less conservative than Irene, who like me had been talking into coming on the spur of the moment in her office blouse and skirt.

My change in priority worked to an extent; Nene was my rock in the storm that was the rest of the club. As the song ended I could feel my pulse dancing beneath my skin and grabbed her hand feeling from the floor, abandoning Linna and Irene to the sharks. Only once we had escaped the lingering gazes, safely in a dark corner near the bar, with a cool breeze from the air conditioning blowing fresh, un-hormone laden air across my face did I stop.

"Ne-Chan, I need a break, I'm sorry." I my heart still racing, blood pumping madly in my veins. The tingle of need running across my skin brought on by the crowd and only inflamed by the touch of Nene's soft skin, only now starting to subside as the scent of sex and desire slowly cleared from my system.

I must have looked as flushed and as unsteady as I felt because I saw her expression shift from petulant annoyance at having been dragged off change to concern in a flash. "Are you alright?" Hovering by my side like a hummingbird her hands brushed along my arms her bright green eyes scanning me as though she could see what was wrong with a simple glance.

Leaning back against the wall, I felt blessedly cool air brush across my face and let out another deep breath. "Yes, I mean, I will be just, please give me a moment." Thoughts scrambling for an excuse, "I'm just a little anemic- too much exercise in one day, but I'll be fine go on have some fun." I said trying to shoo her back into the mosh pit of a dance floor. Now calmer my mind starting to clear I wasn't even sure why I had dragged her with me in the first place.

But Nene's loyalty wasn't so easily deterred and she stayed with me sequestered in the shadows of our little hideaway for the next few songs. For me, it was rest from the mental strain and for Nene just resting. I laughed a little as Linna continued to dance with Irene shooting down yet another young punk trying to pick her up out on the dance floor. She was amazing, and I felt a small kernel of jealousy at just how comfortable she looked.

Those two were a dynamo, stopping by our quiet little corner once or twice to catch their breath, grab a swallow or two of water and tease us mercilessly about being the wallflowers we are. As the evening progressed I realized each of us had our own reasons for being here. Irene enjoyed dancing and even singing along with the band.

Linna however was definitely on the prowl. Even with Nene at my side I couldn't help feeling attracted to her, even across the length of the club. It was in the way she danced, how she moved, she was looking but didn't find it tonight; turning down one after another of the handsome young men who approached her.

Nene was here for us. I don't think she was really looking for a partner at all, and when out on the dance floor tended to stick with Linna, Irene, or me, rather than dance with a stranger no matter how cute.

During the next break from the mosh pit/ dance floor Nene and I giggled as Linna finally seemed to find someone to her liking, an expensively dressed young man who had no sense of rhythm. Unfortunately when they left the dance floor heading to the bar what had seemed promising broke up in a flurry of gestures and angry words. Storming over and almost throwing herself down into a chair with us Linna began trolling for pity. "Can you believe that man, BOY, he wanted me to buy the drinks, what a cheapskate. I bet he's still living at home with his mother, VP of finance my ass…"

"Well, you know what they say, handsome, rich, or nice, pick two, one if you're bothered by a married man." My comment got a surprised laugh from Nene and a good natured grumbling smile out of Linna perking her up a little.

"Yes, well he was clumsy enough I thought maybe that earned bonus points." Linna shot back. Trying but failing to hide a slowly growing smile.

"Hmm, if that's the case you should try for gay guys, I hear that they can dance, and are nice. Plus, since Japan is still behind the rest of the world on gay marriage you know they're all single…" That did it, Linna's bad mood breaking with a hoot of laughter as she shot back, "Maybe I should." Though unable to keep a straight face.

Together they got me onto the floor a few more times, once when the main band, Priss and the Replicants cam on- an ironic name considering my situation if ever I heard one, and again for the final song of the night.

Crowded into Linna's little subcompact on the ride home all four of us were satisfactorily bushed and I had to admit to myself that despite the lingering buzz from the crowd I did want to do this again. Waving farewell as they dropped me off at my apartment I stumbled up the stairs and into my futon. Mentally and physically exhausted from the trials of the day it took only moments before I fell asleep grateful for the chance to recover from the day's exertions.