Here we are in the wilds of the Tokyo 3 night club scene, tracking our foursome of amorously inclined tweens.? At least, some people hope that itÆll be a foursome.? Mostly, theyÆve been awkwardly milling about while ShinjiÆs bodyguards complain about their assignment and fail to fit in with a bunch of kids half their age.
ôI canÆt believe this place doesnÆt have a liquor license,ö complains one sweaty, leisure suit wearing Section 2 agent.? WeÆll call him Agent K.
ôWhat?ö shouts another agent.? WeÆll call her Agent L.? Apparently, sheÆs having issues hearing her co workers over the driving bass.? And sheÆs having trouble standing in some stiletto heels that must be a size too big for her at the least.
ôI said æI canÆt believe this place doesnÆt have a liquor license,Æö K shouts back.
ôWell, they did let the kids in,ö observes another agent.? WeÆll call him Agent M.? ôI bet this place is supposed to serve a younger crowd.ö
ôBullshit!ö Agent L shouts back, taking a second to pull a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.? ôI see college kids in here.? I bet the old men who sign off on this shit just decided not to give liquor licenses to places that allow dancing or some bullshit like that.ö
ôI wouldnÆt put it past the city council to do that,ö Agent M growls out.? After a few seconds of listening to the music ask ôWhat is loveö again, just like it had for the past 20 minutes, M complains, ôMan, I hate these æcasualÆ suits they got for us.? IÆm burning up in mine.ö
ôAt least you can hide your gun in yours.? MineÆs in my purse.? I swear, if I find out who picked this sluttastic outfit,ö she growls, gesturing towards the strips of cloth that we might generously call her clothes, ôIÆm cramming these cheap heels right up his ass!ö? Agent L finishes, crossing her arms under her chest, drawing attention to a jagged scar running over the top of her breast.
ôIÆll join you,ö Agent K throws in.? ôbecause nobody wants to see your battle scars put on display.ö
ôFuck you, K,ö she tosses off casually.
ôAfter our shift is over, sure.ö? He calmly retorts.
ôIÆm holding you to that, K,ö L counters.? M almost chokes on himself.
Now, with the bodyguard mating dance complete, the tedious ôwaiting for the shift to endö phase of the mating ritual begins.? This could last for hours.? Or at least it could last until 23:15 hours, military time, when the overnight shift takes their spot.
With the waiting period begun, we now move on to the bodyguardsÆ charges, Ikari Shinji and his companions.? Here, the larger of the two males attempts to impress his potential mate with ritual dance.? Though other males donÆt appear to gesticulate as wildly or thrust the pelvis as much.? This sort of wild display is the hallmark of a youngling in his first dance.? ôNo!? Suzahara, youÆre completely out of rhythm.? YouÆre moving around way too much for a crowded club like this.? And youÆre not watching where your feet are,ö? Hikari admonishes Toji, causing him to trip on a left step and crash into another young couple.
ôHey man!? WhatÆs your problem?ö? the older boy shouts while wiping his spilled soda off his shirt.
ôToji!? IÆm so sorry!ö? Hikari apologizes for her date as he climbs back to his feet.? ôI was trying to teach him how to dance.ö
ôYeah, well maybe he should just sit down,ö the older boy dismisses them as he turns back to his own date with a frustrated, ôSorry about that babe.ö
Turning to his own date, the young Ikari can only say, ôSo...having fun?ö? Mayumi appears to say nothing to this, despite her mouth clearly moving.? Perhaps she just canÆt talk over the incessantly repeating ôWhat is love?? Baby donÆt hurt me.ö
Eventually, Shinji realizes that sheÆs mouthing, ôItÆs louder here,ö at him.? Mind made up, Shinji goes to his still fumbling friend to get them all out of this fiendish fiesta.
ôHey guys, letÆs get out of here,ö he says.? Toji falls on his butt again but doesnÆt hear him.? So Shinji speaks up, ôHoraki-san, Toji-san, we should get out of here.? The noise is bothering Mayumi-san.ö? Shinji isnÆt too fond of it either.? But he doesnÆt say that.? All he does is roll his eyes.? Hikari helps Toji up as Shinji looks for the nearest Section 2 Agent thatÆs not getting ready to shoot some teenagers.? Mayumi follows him while he looks.? Through the crowd, he finds his target, a dark skinned man several years younger than the rest of his detail.? HeÆs sitting a few seats away from the other three and sipping a Cherry Coke with a little umbrella.? The world may never know how he manages to keep his Coke off his leisure suit while bobbing his head in time with the music.? WeÆll call him Agent J.
ôEvening, Ikari.? You kids having fun?ö? J asks, taking a sip from his Coke.
ôHello, sir.? I...I mean my date...I mean we were actually looking to get out of here.? The noise is bothering my date,ö? Shinji admits to the agent.
ôWell, thereÆs a park not too far from here.? You can walk there just fine.? ItÆs just four blocks North from here,ö Agent J says.
ôYou mean Tesla Park?ö? Toji interjects.
ôYeah!? ThatÆs the place.? I think thereÆs something going on there tonight.? I canÆt remember what it was though,ö Agent J admits.
ôWell?ö Shinji asks his assembled companions.
ôSounds good to me,ö Toji replies.
ôA nice walk in the park sounds romantic,ö Hikari chimes in.
ôUhm....ö? Mayumi starts.
ôHmm?? What do you think, Mayumi-san?ö? Shinji asks.
ôI...that is...,ö she mouths into the air, still unable to talk over the bass.? She takes a deep breath before continuing.? ôI think IÆd like that,ö she finally squeaks out over the bass.
ôAlright!? We have a plan,ö Toji says as he leads the way towards the exit.
But Shinji cannot help but have one last nagging thought before the scene change, ôWhy was the voice talking like a British nature show host?ö
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We rejoin the kids at Tesla Park, where the trees are swaying, the grass is green, and the noise level is even higher than back in the club.
ôOh yeah,ö says Agent J from a few feet behind the group of teens, still wearing his leisure suit and bobbing his head in time with the music, ôthereÆs a charity concert going on here today.ö
ôYou couldnÆt remember that sooner?ö Toji shouts back at the agent.
ôIt would have saved us a trip, at least,ö Shinji sighed out.? ôLetÆs just go home.? ItÆs getting late,ö he shouts out to the rest of the group.? The other agents pull the black van around.? And they climb back into the black van that brought them here.?
ôWell, that was a disaster,ö Toji deadpans.
ôHonestly Suzahara!? It wasnÆt all bad,ö Hikari admonishes
ôWhat?? The movie was terrible,ö Toji groans.
ôEndearingly bad,ö Hikari corrects.
ôYouÆre the only one here who can dance,ö? Toji admits.
ôYou tried your best, Toji.? Shinji-san and Mayumi-san are just shy,ö Hikari retorts.
ôAnd our quiet walk in the park turned out to have a concert going on in it,ö he says with finality.
ôAlright, that was a little unfortunate.? Dinner was nice, at least,ö Hikari tries.
ôIt was McDonalds.? If it wasnÆt edible, theyÆd be out of business,ö Toji counters.
ôI was talking about the company,ö Hikari says with an attempt at a smile towards Shinji and Mayumi.
While the other couple argues some more about the content of the date and whether or not Toji would have to take Hikari on an ôapology dateö to make up for their abysmal first date, Shinji looks to Mayumi.? She watches the floor, occasionally looking up to Shinji riding next to her.? Shinji screws up his face a bit.? ôIÆm sorry, Yamagishi-san.? We couldnÆt find something to do tonight that you liked.? I mean...IÆm sure we can do better next time.ö
ôI donÆt know,ö she whispers.
ôWell, IÆm sure we can find something youÆd like,ö Shinji tries to reassure her.? But what heÆs really thinking about is how much that date will cost.? Even split three ways between he, Toji, and Hikari at her own insistence, Shinji dropped a chunk of his spending money on this date.? He canÆt afford to date full time.? ItÆs either get the girl in front of him to like him or do the unthinkable...get a job.
ôItÆs just....ö? Mayumi interrupts his nervous worrying over how heÆd balance a job with school and Nerv.? ôWhy couldnÆt we have gone to the library instead...or something?? I mean...if you want, that is....ö
Shinji would love to continue his brooding.? But all he can think at the moment is a single, glorious thought, ôWhat?? The?? Fuck?ö