Moon and Sun (Part 11)
by BrDPirateMan
Sunday. The day of the eagerly-awaited video game convention. Today I was going to get to the bottom of the mysterious matter of Makoto and Mina.
It was nine in the morning, and the doors of the main Molco building remained shut, but there was already a startlingly large crowd of people waiting outside, numbering about a hundred – possibly much more – all of them video game hobbyists naturally. They were excited about all the games they could be playing in the near future. The convention wouldn't officially start in another thirty minutes, making me wonder if they could survive that long without suffering a nervous breakdown… or shattering into a million pieces.
Gathered in a separate group, like birds from a different flock, were a bunch of people dressed in angular and gaudy outfits that screamed weird. Some of them had their hair dyed strange colours, others were brandishing cardboard swords and other fake weapons. Cosplayers? Apparently the fans had found these bizarre characters interesting and were taking photos of them. Now where in the world did they get their hands on green hair dye?
The doors finally swung open and the rabid pack of fanatics swum into the building like a living wave. Time to get to work. I headed inside.
Inside, on the ground floor, was the large central area where all the booths were set up. Several video game companies had gathered here, and each one had at least two or three games to showcase to the public. A bevy of beautiful, scantily-clad receptionists – "booth babes" or "game gals" as they're so often called – were stationed at each booth to help move things along, convince people to try out playable demos of their upcoming games, and to answer any queries that the inquisitive gamers might have. And to pose and have their pictures taken. Maybe that was their main purpose…?
The place was filling up quickly and it wouldn't be long before jostling would become common. It was time for me to get busy too. There had to be a Tin Pin booth somewhere… I just had to find it. Then hopefully, I'd find Makoto… I didn't want to have to see his stressed-out face from having to explain himself, but I had to do this. Poor Makoto.
The video game adaptation of the Tin Pin franchise was allegedly the biggest and most popular part of the convention. The throng of people was thickest and hardest to penetrate around the Tin Pin booth. What was it about this game that was pulling in the crowds? I could think of at least a dozen other things that were more fun than Tin Pin, like netball or shopping or even beating the stuffing out of Eiji. I failed to see how a game where you knock pin-like things against each other could have appeal that lasted more than five seconds.
Through a veil of characters of all kinds I could just about make out a couple of receptionists hard at work, conversing with some people. I ventured closer, pushing past a schoolgirl, a guy in a blue jacket, and a wannabe samurai warrior trying to fix his broken sword… uh, spear… gunblade… what the – it transforms? !
And when I finally made it to the front (though front line would be a more appropriate expression), I got a good look at the girls manning the booth. They were wearing matching uniforms – a tiny white one-piece dress with dark blue piping, cut off at mid-thigh like a mini-skirt, with a scoop neck and the top part made halter-neck style. They could work the look well… the stuff of men's dreams, I suppose. I wouldn't wear something like that, though… Not something for a conservative person like me.
I found one of the receptionists desperately trying to keep up with the machine-gun pace of an overly enthusiastic fan's questioning.
"So then," said the fan whom she was talking to, "how many different characters does the game have?"
"There are seven as of now, but – "
"Ooh! So there're secret characters? !"
"W-Well, we can't really say at this point, although – "
"What about the new pins? I heard there are over 300 of them! Is the legendary Golden Pin included? What about Guard Breaks? They always do them in the show! You can't not have those, right? Any co-op? How many players does multiplayer support? Is there a fusion system like in the show where we can mix pins to create new ones?"
"Um… uh… help? !"
Poor girl… Glad I wasn't her…
The other one, who I believed was supposed to serve me, had her back turned to me as she was hurriedly downing a bottle of water. I could not see her face. Then she spun round to serve and talk to me.
"Sorry for the wait!" she chirped. "What can I do for –"
The instant I saw her face, I recoiled in total shock and let out a yelp of surprise. "WAAH!"
But she wasn't the least fazed. Her eyes lit up, she slapped her palms together in excitement, and she squealed, "Ai! You came! You really came!"
Still reeling, I pointed a shaking finger at her and blurted, "MINA! Wh-Wh-What're you doing here? ! And… And why are you dressed like that? !" She was one of the receptionists? !
Not caring about the onlookers who were now staring at us, she was a happy little bunny with an extra-large grin. "I've been waiting for this moment!" She unlocked the low-slung door that kept fans out and receptionists safe inside their booths. She came out and locked it back from the outside, and her colleague – the unfortunate young woman stuck with the crazy fan – seemed to panic, saying, "Wait, Mina! Wh-Where are you going? !"
"I'll just be a while," replied Mina. "Just a tiny little while! Hold down the fort for me, will you?"
"Wh-What? But…!" The girl was nervous… Apparently, she was quickly getting overwhelmed by all the attention that was directed at her and needed someone to accompany her and ease her worries. I felt sorry for her…
"Pretty please?" pleaded Mina adorably, her hands held together in a praying position to signify begging. "I'll buy you lunch!"
After a little hesitation, her workmate gave in. She nodded to Mina to acknowledge and accept her offer and went back to answering more questions at a feverish pace. …Would she be alright? Maybe I should call an ambulance to get ready to whisk her away in case she collapsed or something…
As Mina was dragging me off to a less crowded area where we could talk, I voiced out my concerns for her hapless co-worker. "Hey, will she be alright?"
She chuckled, "I'm buying her lunch, so she'll be okay! Nothing like a little food as a good incentive, right?"
"Th-That's not the point…"
"So anyway, are you surprised?" Her grin was as wide as the Great Wall of China is long.
It took me a while to find my voice. "Surprised is putting it lightly. I never for once thought you'd be working here as a booth babe!"
"It was all worth it seeing the look on your face!" she giggled. "That's why I kept this a secret from you."
Secret? "What do you mean, 'secret'?"
"I'm talking about the fact that I volunteered as a receptionist for a video game convention, of course."
"So then… when I asked for us to come here together, and you refused, this was the reason?"
"Yeah." She smiled goofily and gave an ambiguous shrug. "I mean, as an official staff member, I have to come here early to prepare and everything, right? That meant I wasn't able to accompany you. It's how it works, you know?"
That was when I suddenly recalled the conversation we had over the phone earlier during the week.
Mina had said, "The convention will be a blast, Ai! I'm glad you're going. I'm going too!"
"Alright, it's settled! Let's go together to Molco on Sunday! We'll meet up near that 'phone booth of love' and then we can –"
"Oh! No wait, I… I wouldn't be able to make it on time."
"Huh?"
"I'll… uh, be a bit late on Sunday. There's something that I need to do. So just go ahead! I'll catch up."
"If you're sure you can't make it, then I'll just go in by myself first. Incidentally, why can't you make it anyway?"
"As for that, well… It's a secret!"
Mina fibbed that she couldn't come with me simply because she had to get ready for her job inside the building… Changing into her uniform, helping to prepare her booth… the works. One mystery solved there, and I was glad, but there was something else…
"Wait a sec," I said, "Just to change the topic a wee bit… Wasn't there some rule where 'only people who are actively involved in the convention can know what's going on about it'? So another reason you've been keeping your job a secret is…"
"Bravo, Ms Sherlock-Holmes-of-Shibuya. Yeah, everyone who has access to information about this convention, from the organizers to us receptionists, had to sign an agreement to not divulge any of it to the public. I couldn't tell anyone a thing, even if I wanted to. And of course, I couldn't tell you either." She pressed her index finger against her pursed lips to denote silence and gave me a playful wink. "So you see, I was just being a good girl and keeping my word."
So that meant she and Makoto were in this together as colleagues. In that case, it would be easy to understand why both of them were so tight-lipped about everything… though it was because Mina opened her big mouth that this entire fiasco happened in the first place.
"Hey, when did you sign up for this crew, Mina?"
"There was a classified ad in the paper about a few weeks back, looking for 'female receptionists to help out at a video game convention'. I thought it would be fun, so I contacted them and long story short, I got the job."
"Well, being the video game fanatic you are, this should suit you. Like it so far?"
"I love it!" she beamed. "This is so cool! It's the best thing I've done ever. I can share the joys of gaming with so many people… It's like every time I talk to someone new, I'm spreading this joy further! And this dress is just wicked."
"Um, yeah… wicked." I shuddered. That was one low-slung scoop neck…
"You're supposed to give me a better compliment than that," she sighed. "Where's your enthusiasm? Where's the high-five and playful butt slap?"
"Butt slap? !"
"You need to loosen up, Ai. Come on. Now, as a token of our unending friendship, take this!" As swift as lightning she grabbed me by the shoulders and swiveled my entire self the other way. I scarcely had time to react before I felt the sting of my behind being given a nice hard slap… minus the nice.
"EEK? !" Darn it, that stung! And people were staring!
But Mina didn't care for the unnecessary attention. She was laughing like the mischievous imp she was. "That voice of yours is hilarious! You could totally land the part of one of those teenage victims in a slasher flick – HNGH!"
I had the side of my hand embedded in her head. "No. More. Butt. Slaps. Okay?"
"You don't play fair," she groaned, rubbing the bump on the top of her head. "A receptionist's got to rely partly on her looks to reel in the people, you know! You could have placed my employment in jeopardy by giving me an ugly bruise on the forehead."
"Uh-huh. Doesn't that outfit make you feel, you know, vulnerable? It's awfully revealing."
"Eh, it's fine. It gets hot around here with so many people around, so it's probably a good thing I'm wearing this… Oh! I've got a spare costume! Wanna try it out?"
"Um… I-I'll give it a miss."
"Why not? If you wear this hot little number, you can give Makoto a big surprise! He may even get a nosebleed… Ho, that'd be fun to watch!"
The blood in my cheeks was churning. "N-No way! It's embarrassing, isn't it? !"
Suddenly a male voice cut in from somewhere, "Mina, there you are! I need to borrow you for a minute!" A young man, dressed in a business suit, had called her from afar and was coming over.
I gasped. And upon seeing me, the man also drew back in surprise. The man… He was…
"M-Makoto!" I cried. Speak of the devil! My brain drew a blank for a few moments. Uh… What was I doing here again? !
"Ai! It's really you!" he said, looking chipper despite his heavy workload for the day. Was that a forced smile on his face, though? Was he tired from all the work, or… was it something else?
Mina cleared her throat. "I'm gonna leave you two to it, okay? I've got to get back to work. Have fun!"
"Not so fast, Mina," he stopped her. "Something came up and I need your help. Come with me."
"But Ai is here. Shouldn't you, um, get sappy and romantic with her instead?" That trademark cheekiness of hers couldn't drip any thicker… Makoto was about to reply, or get cross with her or whatever – actually, I wanted to do the same, for that matter – when suddenly there came a series of loud girlish screams from nearby. What was the commotion about?
There was a man trapped in a crowd of teenage girls, all bouncing and going gaga over him. Clearly there was something about him that was irresistible. That boyish charm of his was practically oozing out of his person.
"Wow, this is a bind I'm in," he whistled, dazzling everyone with his smile, "I can't get anywhere, but I'm so glad you girls love me."
Stammered one girl, "Can I have your autograph, please, Your Highness?"
"Oh, anything for you, dear," said the man soothingly. "I'm in such a good mood that I may very well do a dozen autographs, just for you!"
The girl, overwhelmed by a surge of fangirlish dizziness, fainted on the spot. She had to be dragged away by some of her friends, but this did not perturb the famous man in the least.
"I love this place, and I absolutely love Tin Pin! F it! F for Fabulous!"
"Eeeeee!" The girls were hysterical. Madness ruled the day. "He F'd it! He F'd Tin Pin! We love Tin Pin too!"
"Wait a minute…" I muttered. "Oh god no." He happened to glance our way, and when I saw his face, I went pale.
"Eiji!" I shrieked in horror. Not him again! And this was the third unexpected surprise today after Mina and Makoto! It was all becoming a bit clichéd, to be honest… like one of Mina's terrible jokes…
He immediately saw us and shouted in a friendly way, "Hoi, Mick!"
"Well, if it isn't The Prince himself," said Makoto with a smile. Mina gave a small wave.
Eiji gave his fans one last dashing grin which made their hearts flutter. "Nothing can quite say how happy I am to meet all of you wonderful girls," he said warmly, "but I must go and say hi to my friends for a bit. And though it pains me to have to part ways with you, rest assured that every one of you has a proper place in my heart."
More girls swooned. Those who were still standing looked like they too were ready to drop dead.
"Now then, would you be so kind as to let me through? You're such darlings." A simple wave of his hand, and the girls parted at his command like magic. Amidst a lot of sighing and manic squealing, they hauled their unconscious friends away to wherever. I inwardly sighed myself, but out of exasperation. Were these girls simpletons? They were in love with a pervert.
He sauntered over, with a spring in his step. He was feeling good, especially after that overdose of attention from the members of one of his many faithful fangirl clubs. Must've given him a quick burst of endorphins or something. "Mick, good to see you here!"
Makoto was happy to see his longtime buddy. "Heh, same here!"
"And you girls are looking great as usual!" gushed Eiji, gazing at Mina in particular. "Mina, you look fantastic! Your getup is worthy to be F'd! F for Fabulous!"
"Oh, Eiji, you're too kind," chuckled Mina, playing along with his flattery. "How about putting my photo up on your blog? It could use a bit of… decoration." That giggle of hers as she shielded her smile with the back of her hand was awfully suggestive…
"I thought you'd never ask! The moment you appear on 'F Everything' you'll set the standards for Shibuyan fashion everywhere." His words had better not come true… The crime rate around these parts was high enough as is…
"Awesome! I can hardly wait!"
Eiji and Mina were two of the kookiest characters in my life. They were great together… Like me, Mina had known Eiji when he was still in high school and vice versa, but she was strangely invulnerable to his charms, probably because she saw him as just a friend. That was why the two could joke around with each other comfortably.
"Hey guys," said Makoto, "I know it's been a long while since the four of us schoolmates got together, but I'm afraid Mina and I are gonna have to settle some work-related matters. Eiji, take care of Ai for me, will you?"
I gaped at him in horror. "What? !"
"Always a pleasure, Mick!" grinned Eiji. The crazy fellow looked like he was going to pounce on me any minute.
"But… But…!" No, not again. I didn't want to be stuck with this guy again! He'd seriously outrage my sanity!
"Come on, Mina!" called Makoto. And she hurried away with him, trotting nimbly on her knee-length boots. Both disappeared together into the crowd like a pair of ninjas.
Ngh…! There went my best chance to talk to him. No choice but to wait for another opening now… And something about Makoto's behaviour puzzled me. The way he acted towards me… Even though that trademark friendly smile was there, why was it that it seemed like he wanted to avoid me? Was it because of the misunderstanding that arose from me touching Eiji's hand?
Ha ha… It couldn't be, right? Because if that was the reason, it would mean that Makoto was… jealous? And if he was jealous, it would in turn mean that he… liked me romantically? And if he did like me in a romantic sense, then it would also mean… it would mean… um…
Ooh… My head hurt.
No use thinking too much. Without anything to do, I turned the opposite direction to slink away, dejected, but I only bumped straight into Eiji. Literally.
"Ow!" I rubbed my face where I had hit it. "Oh cripes, I forgot you're here."
"How mean of you… But you know, Ai, I think this is fate," said Eiji, going into poetic mode. "Ah… the wonders of astrology… They say that when the planets align in a straight line…"
I made haste and slipped past him, shaking my head. Geez! What a fruitcake!
"Whoa, wait, Ai! Is this how you treat a friend? Come on, give your old school buddy a hug. A nice big one to commemorate our reunion –"
I smartly whirled round and struck him right in the middle of his face in one smooth unbroken motion. He just stood there, frozen in mid-chase, with my hand stuck between his eyes. On hindsight, looking at how he was so comically immobilized, it was kind of funny. At that time, however, being tailed by the King of Perverts wasn't funny at all. Some gamers were staring. I paid no heed to their excited cries of "Whoa, dudette! That's, like, a perfect Swirling Palm Strike!"
"I tell you not to touch me…" I growled. "I tell you so many times… and you don't listen…"
He tried rubbing the hurt out of his nose. "Well, I can't help it, you know. It's basic instinct. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm tired, I rest. And if my favourite school buddy shows up, I want to play with her a little…"
"Eiji, you need a life."
"Messing with you is part of what makes my life so colourful." And with that he laughed.
It made the hair on my neck stand on end to know that out of all the girls he had met, he liked teasing me the most. What was his problem? !
Growing tired of him very fast, I snapped at him, "Enough! Why are you here anyway? !"
"To tell you the truth, I'm here to check out that new Tin Pin game everyone's been raving about. I'm a fan, you know."
"So… you're not here as part of some promotional campaign or something? I'd have thought it'd be that."
"Nope, I'm just a normal visitor here," he said, smiling, "though with all the attention I'm getting, I feel more like a VIP." VIP meaning Very Irritating Pest…?
"Hmph. Must be nice to have innocent girls eating out of your hand. You tell them to run a marathon, and they'll gladly do three in a row, just for you." The last three words were a sarcastic mimicry of what he said to the first fan who fainted only minutes earlier.
"Why, that's so very true! Thank you for noticing. You're such a darling."
"It's not a compliment!"
XOXOXOXOXO
"Looks like they've even got a set of Tin Pin tables," said Eiji, "to really heat things up in the Tin Pin department." We were watching a group of young gamers competing fiercely with each other. "The organizers sure covered all the bases."
I stood there with my arms crossed, bored stiff. As a dabbler in this silly game, he had some knowledge of how it worked, and he kept telling me how fun it was, but failed to win me over. Pretty much everything he said went over my head… or through one ear and out the other.
Without anything to do since Makoto was busy, I was stuck hanging out with Eiji. Talk about a stroke of bad luck…
"It's a game where strategy and fast reflexes combine for an unparalleled experience," he continued, impressed with the players' skills. "You have to think fast, or you'll get slaughtered!"
"Uh-huh. That's nice."
"Ai, you're not listening."
"I'm not interested, okay? Stop trying to convert me to Tin Pinism. In fact, there's nothing here that's interesting to me."
Eiji fixed me with a quizzical look. "Then… why are you here?"
Uh-oh. Not another one of those I've-painted-myself-into-a-corner moments! I didn't want to tell him that I was here solely because of Makoto. No one but Mina was supposed to know that I was in love with him. It might work to my disadvantage if he knew.
I couldn't trust Eiji anyway! What if he got terribly drunk on another one of their guys' nights out, and spilled the beans to Makoto? Heck, he might even include my secret within the lyrics of his next song! The last thing I wanted to hear from him was a song called "Age-Gap Love"…
Age is just a number…
And I don't care one bit…
That my crush is six years older…
'Cause my love is such a hit!
Argh! How horrid!
Eiji was awaiting my answer. But I said firmly, "Hey, just because there's nothing interesting to see, doesn't mean I can't come."
He just laughed. A cheeky, evil little laugh. "Oh yes, that's true. After all, even if there's nothing worth seeing, there's always Mick, eh?"
"Y-You!" I spluttered. "It's not about him, okay? !"
"I bet you're worried that one of those hot receptionists will seduce him. He's a normal guy like me, after all. Susceptible to a woman's charms…"
"No! Th-That's not it…" I never thought of that. Makoto was in grave danger, wasn't he? !
"You needn't worry about that part," he said gleefully. "After all, it's my job to charm them first!"
I didn't know whether to thank him or throw him out the window.
He continued, "But anyway, any luck with your investigation?"
"What investigation?"
"Your probing into the relationship of Mick and Mina… Hmmm… Those two names have a nice ring to them! Kinda like Mickey and Minnie, don't you think?"
"D-Don't say nasty things like that," I scolded. "And if you're so curious to know, I have no idea what's going on. Makoto's tied up with work and I haven't gotten round to talking to him."
A voluminous cheer poured forth from the crowd of onlookers. The pin of one of the two competing players had been knocked off the table, falling into a gutter built conveniently around and just below the rim. The player who had won – some kid with his head swathed in a red bandanna – was whooping his victory, while his opponent loathed his defeat, pulling his hair out and doubled over in what looked suspiciously like pain.
"Nooo!" he wailed. "My modded, re-re-retooled pins are supposed to work! How could this happen? !" He looked ready to kill himself…
When the cheering had died down, and the player who lost just… withered, I carried on talking, "I… I just know Mina's not the type for him, so why… Why would he want to go out with her?" Without knowing it, my voice had dropped to almost a faint whisper. There was a very good possibility that Makoto was getting cosy with her, and to make things worse he actually had to misinterpret the situation with me and Eiji. It was one heck of a double whammy and my dreams were crumbling to dust.
Would Makoto forever be that amazingly perfect man whose heart I could never reach?
Instead of teasing me again, Eiji just took in every word I said. After I was done, he spent a while to think about it.
"Ai," he began, "you've known him for so long now. Do you seriously think Mick's the type to dig girls like Mina?"
"Wha…? He… Uh… I don't know…"
"Okay, let me put it another way. Mick and Mina… do they match?"
Makoto and Mina?
A moment of thought. Then, "Not really… They don't really match… At least, that's what I think." …And hope.
"If that's what your gut feeling tells you," he said, "then why don't you listen to it? It might be right."
"But…"
"Don't give up. Mick's always telling me how strong-willed you are. If you get a task you'll see it through to the end. He loves how you never quit in anything you do."
I blushed. "H-He says that? You're not pulling my leg again, are you? You've never been one to stay serious for five seconds."
"That was uncalled for," said Eiji, who was chuckling despite my stinging remark. "If you don't believe me, why don't you ask him yourself?"
"N-No! That's… I can't do that!"
He laughed at my reaction. "You've always been the headstrong type, Ai. Immovable, like a boulder! Though I hope you don't weigh as much…"
"So then… what are you proposing that I should do?"
"I already told you a few days back. You need to find the answers out for yourself…"
"…and not with Reaper Creeper, I remember. So I need to talk to him."
"That's a good girl," he said, patting me on the head. I hated how he did that, but this time… it didn't feel so bad. Maybe Eiji wasn't such a shallow guy after all, if he could give surprisingly good advice like this.
Suddenly there was another batch of cheers, but it wasn't from the Tin Pin crowd. The source of the noise was behind us, where yet another gaggle of Prince fangirls was in the midst of star-struck euphoria. They charged straight at their idol like a herd of buffalo, shoving me aside in the process like a rag doll.
All I heard coming out of their mouths was a cacophony of crazed, excited sentences. "Eeeek! It's The Prince! Please can I have your autograph? Can I take a picture with you? I really love your music! Take my babies!" …What? !
"Calm down, girls," he called, holding up his hands in an attempt to quiet them which didn't work very well. He turned to me. "Ai?"
I was picking myself off the floor, nursing my slightly grazed elbow. "Y-Yeah?"
"I'm going to be rather busy here… You're on your own now. Don't let me down. You can do it." He shot me a supportive smile from above the ring of fans.
For that faltering split-second moment, even I thought Eiji was cool. I nodded in thanks.
"Ai?" said one of the fangirls.
"Who's that?" asked another.
"One of our competitors? !" At the words of the third girl, all of them turned to me, glaring at me with eyes of hatred. Some were snarling, ready to rend me asunder. Urk! This was my cue to leave. Never underestimate the collective power of a bunch of angry fangirls!
"H-He's all yours!" I blurted, making my escape. "Seriously, I'm not gonna interfere!" Camouflaged within the crowd, I felt safe… for now.
Better watch my back from now on… I just hoped that I wouldn't have to spend the rest of my life in constant fear of them hunting me down. There'd be no peace until they either grew out of their fangirl phase, or grew old altogether and kicked the bucket. Whatever the case, something told me it wouldn't be anytime soon…
Alright! Now that my confidence had been mostly restored, nothing was going to stop me! This had dragged on for long enough. It was time to settle this!
But would I be prepared for what was in store for me?