Chapter 13

Milestone

On the cab ride towards their final destination, Jordan had to explain a few things. First off, their concert wasn't in Las Vegas, but the neighboring city of Henderson. Assuring her that just because it wasn't on The Strip didn't mean it wasn't a major venue. Outside the city limits there are high class hotels that offer luxury while catering to those who wish to avoid the hectic pace of Las Vegas Boulevard. This was one such hotel. Easily could this explain why his searches yielded no results. He'd never been looking in the right place to begin with!

Though being outside of the City of Las Vegas was pretty much only a technicality. Everyone still considers these outsider hotels as much of Vegas as everything else. Foot traffic might not have been as high, but their attendance and gambling income easily rivaled the major casinos, and most of the time it was these out of the way casinos that yielded higher percentages of profit. And not to belittle their live shows either. Legends such as BB King, Styx, and George Thorogood have all played in in their concert halls. As far as Ryuuguu Komachi's show would go, this was as Las Vegas as it gets.

By the time Jordan finished explaining, they still hadn't arrived. At some point they had gotten on a freeway and were traveling at a high speed, but they still weren't there. Iori had lost track of time, but she was sure they'd traveled far. Looking back she could see those large world famous hotels as shadows of their former selves. Exactly how far removed were these hotels that Jordan was talking about?

Suddenly they turn. In what seemed like a normal suburban neighborhood, there was a quaint little mall done in rustic 1950s San Francisco architecture. There were many brick structures, stone walkways, and even a trolley that circled around the premises. Unfortunately this was not their destination.

Tucked away behind the mall was a building that could have been mistaken for one of the headliner's private villas. At first Iori thought they were mistaken when they turned in a driveway, but sure enough there was a sign that matched with what they'd seen on the internet. Mentally she kicked herself so as not to be so judgmental.

As if reading her mind, "Wait till you see the pool," Jordan told her.

Every time he said, "Wait till you see," something spectacular awaited. This was something to look forward to.

Begrudgingly Jordan handed the cab driver his fare and they stood before the entryway of the casino.

"Of course it had to be way out here," he mumbled.

Actually, the total for their ride was about the same as when she first left the airport. Certainly it helped when you had someone who knew the local roads and when a driver is trying to gyp you. Still, he didn't look too happy to see that amount of money go. Now that she thought about it, she had no idea about his financial status. Jordan didn't seem to be rolling in money, and one really couldn't tell from the furnishings of his apartment. Even further, she had no idea what was, or if he even had, a job.

"Are you ready?"

It was a simple question. Was she ready? Iori should have been. After all, wasn't this the moment she'd been waiting for all this time? Now that she thought about it, it hadn't even been an entire day since she last saw Ami, Azusa, and Ritsuko. Not even 24 hours. It felt like so long, but at the same time, it went by so fast. This man, her companion, she'd gotten to know so well. Had any person made this big of an impression on her in this little time spent together? Very unlikely. Still, this life was full of meetings and departures. Her time with Jordan was drawing near it's end. Of course she'd be sad, but their fellowship was a temporary one. It had always been from the start. There was much to be appreciative for; she'd never would have made it this far without him. However, she was at a short of words to express her gratitude. Iori couldn't even begin to construct the words of parting that would rapidly come.

"Come on, don't be like that," Jordan huffed, as if he knew just about everything. "We only know the concert is here. Your friends might even be staying at a different hotel."

Actually, he had a point. This might not be the last leg of their journey together. There was even a dark voice deep inside that wished this were the case, that everyone was in another hotel and that their journey together could continue.

"Yeah," her voice was noticeably uneasy, "let's go see."

Again she was hit by a sense of deja vu when she stepped inside. Close enough were the chimes of the casino games, scattered artwork hung upon the walls, and a tiled entryway that lead to a carpeted main floor. However, if there was one thing that she would give special notice, it was the ceiling. Much of the focus of the decor went into the ceiling. There were large chandeliers, highly detailed archways, and hand painted designs. Originally she had the impression that this was a mansion, and the more she walked around within the more this seemed to portray. It was like they modeled the entire hotel after a member of the Borgias. Actually, Iori herself had been in a manor or two similar to this.

While Iori was looking around, Jordan managed to get ahead of her. Currently he was waiting in line at Check-In. They knew the concert was here, but were her friends? There was only one way to find out. Iori joined him.

There was a bit of a line through which they had to wait. Certainly an anti-climatic climax this was.

When the receptionist saw to them, Jordan spoke out, "Hi, we're not checking in, but we're here to see our friends and we can't remember the room number."

"Okay, if I can have the name of the one who made the reservation?"

Out of the four girls, one who was in charge was, "..."

Obviously, Jordan forgot, "Ritsuko Akizuki," Iori spoke on his behalf.

The woman typed away at her console. Them typed some more. Two or three very long minutes passed as if she were ignoring the pair and waiting for them to walk away.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you their room number," was the result.

Both painful and a relief, Iori was just about to turn and walk away when Jordan, "I knew it! Listen, this little girl is Iori Minase, one of the band members of Ryuuguu Komachi! I know this is going to sound strange, but she got separated from everyone and has been looking for them for a whole day. I know you're supposed to protect the privacy of the artists that are going to play here, but we really must get her back to her friends!"

Unchanged was the expression on the receptionist's face. Truly it was her job to protect the VIPs while they were within their rooms and to keep any potential stalkers or those of ill-intent away. A time or two she might have heard that very excuse before. It was unfair to be upset with this woman because of her caution.

However, convincing her wasn't going to be that easy. Turning away from the guest she went back to her computer and typed away some more. More excruciatingly long minutes passed before she spoke again.

"Do you have a form of ID? Visa?"

"No," Iori spoke, "all my luggage was with my friends."

"Then I'm sorry. If you can't prove who you claim to be, I can't allow you to see them."

"For the love of," Jordan shouted, opening up his backpack and withdrawing his laptop. After pressing the power button it started immediately, having been put into Sleep Mode the last time it was used. Iori believe that he was expecting this to happen. In a matter of moments he brought up the casino's web page. "Here, see! This is who's playing Friday night. Look familiar?"

Taking slight offense to the man's tone, she did as was instructed and took a look at the picture. It was impossible to deny that the one pictured center and the girl who stood by the man's side were one-in-the-same. After confirming their story, she picked up the phone and dialed a number. After it rung a few times, she began to speak.

"Hello, this is the Front Desk. We have someone here who claims to be your band member. If you could please confirm the guest."

Clearly there was a pause on the other side of the line. For the first time the woman's brow furrowed as if she were at a loss.

"Hello? Is someone there?"

After another non-response she hung up and spoke something into her radio.

"If you would wait a moment," was perhaps as polite as she was going to get.

Again they waited. In time an older gentleman joined them. Perhaps getting close to 50, his hair was more then a little gray and what might have once been muscles were now well into sagging. He was wearing an off-beige uniform and a badge that clearly marked him as security.

Approaching the woman, he unceremoniously hailed, "What's up?"

Clearly the woman was irritated (to the amusement of Jordan and Iori) but she got to the point, "I need you to escort these two to the Tuscany suite on the seventh floor. There may be someone in the room, so can you check it out when you let them in?"

"Gotcha," he simply replied. Turning towards the two, "Follow me."

Leading them to the elevators, there was a slight limp in his walk, "Get locked out of your room or something?"

"Or something," Jordan replied.

"Oh wait, isn't that room the one where those Asian girl-singers are staying? Heard they've been running all around looking for one of them that got lost. Isn't that you?"

This was the first time she's had to speak in a while, so she was caught a little by surprise, "Um, yes sir."

"So polite. Oh! And she speaks English! I tell ya, we were having a big ol' mess trying to figure out what they were saying with all that hollarin' they were doin'. That interpreter they had with them must have had a stroke tryin to keep up with em." They made it to the elevator. "Well, it's good that you were the one to get lost. You would have had a heck of a time trying to find this place if you couldn't speak any English."

Iori's saving grace. Well, that and Jordan.

Once inside the elevator the security guard pushes the button for the seventh floor. Iori noticed something. Every time she's stayed at a hotel while with her family, they've always need a key card to even access the floor for their room. There was the same setup here, but with only being on the seventh floor they didn't even bother to add those additional security measures. Must have been the best 765 could afford.

As the elevator gradually made it's way to it's floor, the security couldn't stop finding things to talk about, "You two don't look related, so how did you get dragged into this mess?"

Directed towards Jordan, he responds, "You ever see a starving dog on the side of the road, give it something to eat, and it follows you everywhere?"

"That's not what happened!" Iori shouts. "Listen! I tried to turn him away, but he was so INSISTANT that I had to let him help me!"

"And what was the first thing I did?"

"Paid the cab fare?"

"After that!"

"Um, you bought me dinner."

"See!" Jordan raises his voice in victory. "Hasn't left me since!"

They arrived on their floor.

The security guard is laughing in a big, loud, horse voice, "Gawd, you two are badgerin like an old married couple. It's alright, I'm not too nosy. You don't have to tell me all the particulars. What happens in Vegas and all that."

Iori isn't exactly sure what he meant, but Jordan gritted his teeth as if he'd just been hit in the gut. But this older man compared them to a married couple. The idea made her slightly bashful.

"Why do they have to make these aisles so damn long," the security guard grunts.

Had the man not walked so slow, they would have been there already, but his limp slowed his pace drastically. It was clear Jordan was becoming impatient, but there wasn't much that could be done about the situation. Nearly an hour had passed since they first stepped foot into this hotel, and only now did they make it to their room.

"Here we go." He knocks on the door. "Security! He got yer girly here wantin to see ya!"

Something was obviously moving around inside, but it wasn't making any vocal sounds.

Iori was about to shout something to whomever was inside, but the security guard stepped before her before she could. In that moment something changed about him. No longer was he some happy-go-lucky out of shape badge and whistle, but a shadow of a strong man from ages past. He placed a hand on his sidearm that was resting at his hip and slid a card into the lock.

"I'm coming in!"

Opening the door neither cautiously or hastily, he had a foot inside the room before the figure standing before him could fall on her backside.

"Aiiieee!" she fell on her backside.

Removing his hand from the gun, he realized that this person was no threat. The girl was barely a teenager, dressed in some stylish clothes that made one guess that she was trying to look older than she really was. Her short brown hair was tied to one side.

"Ami!" Iori shouted.

Upon hearing that voice, Ami froze. Now unconcerned with the intruder that was forcing his way into her room, the recognition of the smallest of the group made the girl nearly start to cry outright. The security guard backed his way out of the room and gave way to Iori. He made a motion as if he were tipping his hat to Jordan, and Jordan waved him off.

"Iori!" Ami shouted in return. Picking herself off the floor she rushed her group leader and nearly tackled her in a hug. "(Iori, we were so worried about you! Where have you been! What happened!)"

Hearing Japanese for the first time in what felt like forever, she almost lost control and started crying herself, "(I can explain all that later. Where's everyone else?)"

Finally releasing herself from Iori, "(Ritsuko, Azusa, and Richie are all out looking for you. They told me to stay here just in case you came here on your own.)"

Apparently they had some faith that Iori could make it back on her own.

"(Well, let's get them back here. I'm found, after all)."

"(Yeah, but, who is that? He's kind of creepy standing there.)"

Iori had nearly forgot. Jordan, who speaks no Japanese, had been completely left out of the conversation. For someone who held no shame and could say anything, anytime, to anyone, this must have been torture. It was a dishonor she would allow to continue no further.

"(This is Jordan Huntsman. He's the one who helped me here.)"

Just then, something struck her as odd. Thinking about his personality, the moment Iori was reunited with someone in her group, she'd fully expect him to slip away without even sticking around to be thanked. To appear and vanish like the wind completely seemed like his style. If this were a movie or novel, that's exactly what would have happened. Completely unselfish and charitable. Yet he stuck around.

"Uh, I thought I heard my name?" the sound of his voice reminds Iori that he's still here.

"Yes. I was introducing you. This is Ami Futami, the youngest member of Ryuuguu Komachi."

"Wow, and here I thought you were making the whole thing up. I guess you really are an idol singer."

Clearly he was being facetious. A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye, and she wiped it away as soon as she noticed. He was planning on sticking around, and it made her incredibly happy.

"Of course I was telling the truth! An amazingly cute and pure angel such as myself is incapable of telling lies!"

"I guess even a Little Devil will mix in the truth every once and in while when it's convenient for her."

"What did you-" Iori halted when she heard someone speaking behind her.

It was Ami and she was on her cellphone, "(Iori's here! And she brought back an older boyfriend!)"

"(He's not my boyfriend!)"