Chapter 21: Man's inhumanity to man

[Scene: the drive to school. The sky is blue but the clouds are starting to roll in again. Zoi wasn't certain how he should dress so he wore a tee-shirt under his one thick jacket.]

Zoi: You've been working a lot of hours lately, dad. I hardly ever see you anymore.

Chief Midori: I've been busy. There is a hate group coming into town today. They call themselves the Defenders of Morality. They hold their annual meeting here.

Zoi: The Defenders of Morality?

Chief Midori: They pretend they promote family values, but really it's about inflicting great bodily harm on anyone who doesn't fit their standard of decency.

Zoi: And what is their standard of decency?

Chief Midori: Let's just say they probably get calls from the Taliban advising them to tone it down a little.

Zoi: That bad?

Chief Midori: Last year they beat up six kids your age: three girls in miniskirts, one girl in spaghetti straps, and two sixteen year old boys who were walking together. They weren't gay, mind you. They were just walking together. And by beat up, I mean put in the hospital with broken bones and internal injuries.

Zoi: [shudders] Geez!

Chief Midori: I really have to find these guys and lock them up for the good of mankind. To be honest, I've been really worried about leaving you home alone. Those monsters would take one look at that Lady Godiva hair of yours and… [shudders] I want you to promise that when you go downtown tonight you won't wander off, or allow any of the girls wander away from the group.

Zoi: Wait…what? Who said anything about me going downtown tonight?

Chief Midori: [confused] Naru's mother. She said you're going to help the girls pick out dresses for the big dance this weekend.

Zoi: Huh? Why would I want to do something like that?

Chief Midori: You know, giving them constructive criticism…

Zoi: That sounds like the worst hell on earth! Why would I agree to go dress shopping? I'm not even going to the dance, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn't wear a dress.

Chief Midori: According to Naru's mother, you agreed to go along with Naru and Usagi. You're meeting up with the rest of the gang at a boutique and she's going to take you out for Italian food in that same strip mall afterwards.

Zoi: …? [groans with his face in his palm] Oh, that's right. I did agree to go shopping with them.

Chief Midori: Then what are you complaining about?

Zoi: [face still in his palm] I wasn't paying close enough attention to realize what I was getting myself into.

Chief Midori: As someone who was married for nearly ten years, let me give you a bit of friendly advice: never agree to something just to trick a girl into thinking you're paying attention. It always ends up like this.

Zoi: Thanks dad.

Chief Midori: Promise me you'll keep an eye on those girls, and you won't go wandering off by yourself.

Zoi: Sure dad. No problem.

[Later at the strip mall. Usagi, Naru, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako are all trying on formal dresses. Zoi sitting on a chair with a pile of purses on his lap and waiting for the nightmare to end. He's in a really foul mood, especially, since Kunzite and his siblings weren't in school again. It's cloudy, but not cold, so Zoi has left his jacket in the car.]

Usagi: [admiring a pink prom dress in a threeway mirror] So what are the dances like in Arizona?

Zoi: I wouldn't know. I've never been to one.

Usagi: Never?

Naru: [in a teal dress] Didn't you ever go with a boyfriend or something?

Zoi: I've never had a boyfriend or anything close. I didn't go out much.

Makoto: [also in pink] Why not?

Zoi: Well for one thing, nobody asked me out.

Usagi: Huh?

Zoi: My dating pool is quite a bit smaller than yours, and Arizona is a red state after all.

Ami: [in blue] Lots of boys ask you out here.

Usagi: And you keep telling them no.

Rei: [in red] And you don't go around asking out other boys.

Minako: [in orange] Except for Motoki.

Zoi: Excuse me? What did you say?

[The girls all look at him]

Minako: Motoki told Usagi he has to take you to prom.

Zoi: [in stunned disbelief] He said what?

Rei: Ha. [slaps Usagi's arm] I told you Motoki was full of it.

Usagi: A few days ago, I asked Motoki if he'd go to the prom with me, and he said he'd already agreed to take you instead. He said you came up to him asked him if he would go to the prom with you, since you didn't want to show up without a date, and he felt he had to say yes, since he almost killed you with his van.

Zoi: I think I need to hit him with a truck. Just so we can say we're even.

Rei: If that's why he's really doing this. I think he's secretly gay.

Makoto: You think all the men are secretly gay.

Rei: Has it ever been disproven?

[Minako approaches Zoi with a green dress with gold beads and sequins]

Minako: Seriously, Zoi. You have to try this on.

Zoi: Get that thing away from me.

Rei: Wait [pulls a tube of lipstick from her purse] I've got just the shade of lipstick to go with it.

[Rei turns to reveal it's cherry red and Zoi slaps it out of her hand]

Rei: Hey! That was Dior!

Zoi: It's still Dior. Only now with extra lint.

Minako: Don't be grumpy, Zoi. I'll help you find shoes. What size do you wear?

Zoi: Extra wide. Just like your ass.

[Minako drops the dress and flees into the fitting room.

Rei: [laughs] Oh, she's going to need some ointment for that burn!

[A short time later, several of the girls have made their selections and are being rung up. Naru sits by Zoi and tries on a pair of heels]

Zoi: Naru?

Naru: Yes?

Zoi: [tries to sound casual] Is it normal for… the O'Sama's to be out of school a lot?

Naru: Yes, I think Metalia has some sort of 'Doctors without Borders' thing going, so when the weather is good, she tends to pack up her kids and leave town without notice.

Zoi: Oh.

Ami: [walks over with an armload of shopping bags] There's a bookstore nearby. I want to check it out.

Zoi: I'd better come with you. [partly because of his father's warnings and partly out of desperation to escape the boutique]

Makoto: Me too. This isn't a good neighborhood.

Naru: I'll come too.

Usagi: Not me. I'm starving. I'll meet you back at the restaurant.

[Rei and Minako decide to stay behind as well]

[The rest of the gang walk toward the bookstore, but it quickly becomes clear this isn't what they are looking for. The sign says 'XXX Adults Only' and the men passing in and out don't look all that literate.]

Makoto: Ick. Let's head back.

[The others nod, but then Zoi catches a glimpse of a black convertible Maserati in the Trader Joe's parking lot a few blocks away. His heart skips a beat.]

Zoi: [under his breath] You son of a bitch. [After all, what are the odds of there being two black convertible Maserati's in a town the size of Hen Tie?]

Ami: What was that, Zoi?

Zoi: Nothing. You girls head back. I'll catch up with you at the restaurant.

[Zoi breaks into a sprint. The car is a few blocks away and he wants to catch up with Kunzite before he has a chance to drive off. He's in such a rush he accidently bumps the arm of one of a group of middle aged men in polyester suits and slicked back hair.]

Zoi: Sorry.

[The ringleader takes a halfstep toward him. Zoi instinctively backs away and the others laugh and circle around him. He shivers. It's getting dark and he doesn't know his way around. He's cold since his jacket is in Naru's mother's car and the men are all giving him menacing looks. Zoi turns to walk away, but a couple of the men block his path.]

Ringleader: Hey, boys, it looks like we caught ourselves a goldfish.

[By now, it's pretty obvious to Zoi he is in serious trouble. The only path open to him is a long blind alleyway filled with feral cats and chainlink fences topped with barbed wire between warehouses with large bay doors padlocked for the night. If he retreats that way he's certain he'll be badly hurt, and possibly killed, but there is nowhere else for him to go]

[Then a glimmer of hope appears as a small door opens at the end of the alley as a little old lady in hair rollers, a bathrobe and slippers puts out a dish of milk and pours out a bowl of cat food. ]

[Zoi smiles triumphantly at the gang of thugs and races into the alley toward the open door.]

[The woman is finished pouring out the cat food and is turning back to the door. Zoi shouts to get her attention.]

Zoi: Wait!

[The woman sees Zoi running, and the men lurking behind him, and bolts inside. Shutting Zoi out.]

[For a moment Zoi just stands there, staring incredulously at the closed door. He tries the door but of course it's locked.]

Zoi: Are you kidding me?

[Zoi beats and kicks the door, screaming out a stream of profanity and death threats. Not just at the old lady but also at the twenty cats he imagines she has living with her]

[The men enter the alley slowly]

Thug: Should we go get him?

Ringleader: Let's let him tire himself out first.

[A shadow falls across the alley and the men turn to see a man with silvery hair, dusky skin, startlingly light blue eyes, and a long coat standing at the mouth of the alley. He is looking fairly angry.]

Ringleader: Beat it. This is a private party.

Kunzite: In that case you shouldn't have invited my boyfriend.

Ringleader: Your boyfriend? What are you, some kind of queer?

Kunzite: *nods*

Ringleader: I don't know who you are, boy, but this is going to be your last day on earth.

Kunzite: [A pair of energy blades appear in his hands] Funny. I was about to say the same to you.