EPISODE.4-B
Like a Virgin ~Touched For the Very First Time… Or Not♪~
Light and darkness, back and front, unclean and clean, pure and impure, flattery and sarcasm, reluctance and willingness, a star and a servant, ground barley and cracked barley, home practice and training schools, potage soup and consomme soup, the rich and the poor, rulers and the ruled, imitation and creation - the world consists of two aspects. Politics, the economy, religion, the universe, and even Gunplas.
The place may have been as close as arms reach or it may have been on the other side of the planet. Wherever it was, there was a rumor that learning where it was would mean death.
There were about ten men who all wore tailor-made suits and gathered around a long mahogany table, their seats positioned depending on their ranks, with a member in his thirties at the bottom and a member in his eighties near the top. They were the heads of the members, the caporegimes of the massive underground model mold mafia which was attempting to take over the world with Fake Gunplas.
A gathering of mafia members would usually seem to take place in a hidden dark and musty room filled with cigar fumes, but that was something of the past. The members were in the present, and so were in a refreshing meeting room on the top floor of a building with sunshine showing through its windows, filled with fresh air from air purifiers. However, all of them had bitter expressions.
"Regarding the duo, we’re still trying to confirm their identity." The youngest of the capos nervously reported. “But GBN is still keeping a stiff attitude towards the protection of their personal information and I am trying what I can do, pressuring them from different angles.”
“Maybe your methods are a bit too gentle?”
The handsome man in the seat next to him fixed the collars of his gray suit and smiled, showing his sharp teeth. “It’s true that there are no signs so far that the two have revealed our plans, but there has to be some kind of reason why. Or maybe they’re seeking for the best time to strike and are preparing to threaten us.”
“If that’s the case, we have to make our moves with caution.”
The underboss in a navy blue suit shot back, glaring with his sharp eyes.
“Seeing their level-headed decisions, these guys aren’t just ordinary people. If we make the wrong move and catch their attention, that will definitely lead to irrevocable results.”
The man in the gray suit seemed to be one of the more powerful members of the capos and was aiming for the underboss’ position. The other capos said nothing and witnessed the tense conversation which could turn into a dispute at any moment.
“But leaving that aside,” the Don interrupted with a soft voice, "What makes me worry about the incident are those poly-caps that let them log out despite being locked into GBN...”
Everyone turned their eyes to their Don, who was comfortably dressed in a black double-breasted suit.
The underboss nodded.
“That is indeed true. It was able to break our family’s super ultra cyber intervention. It must be a tool with devastating powers.”
The man in the gray suit agreed.
“And we don’t have any information whatsoever about it, not even its creator. All we know is that the poly-cap has a golden shimmer.”
“Golden? Nonsense...”
The Don solemnly narrowed his eyes. The underboss and the man in the gray suit simultaneously eyed the young capo who gave the report. He hastily added, “We have hired cooperators in GBN to investigate the golden poly-caps and they are hard at work.”
“Are they any good?” the Don asked.
“They are experienced.”
“Huh...”
Letting out a sigh of approval, the Don swiftly tried to stand up. The underboss and the man in the gray suit headed to support the Don from both sides, but he turned them down quietly and looked around at every single one of the men in the room.
“The time has come to mend the roles of darkness and light, and to fulfill our destiny…give us your power, Gunpra!”
“Gunpra!” The members shouted in unison.
A clear blue sky without a speck of clouds spread outside the window.
*
When suddenly finding something that a person has longed for even in their dreams, it takes time proportionate to the level of longing to accept the fact.
For example, for GIMM and BALL, when two beautiful girls stopped them and told them, “We have fallen in love with you two, and we want to have a chat at a cafe nearby.”
They were skeptical.
They first thought, “Are they trying to make us buy something overpriced?”
Their trail of thought then went to “It must be that they’re trying to sell us a decently beautiful modern painting of the ocean or something at a questionable price.”
They fell into an even deeper skepticism, and then went on to different possibilities such as, “It might be a case where a menacing man would pop out of nowhere and threaten us if we accepted the offer.”
Despite being out of ideas, the two were still looking for all of the morbid scenarios that could possibly happen and were silently staring at the two beautiful girls for ten minutes.
GIMM and BALL’s over-the-top wariness was so prominent that even the two beautiful girls, NOZH and Markie, could feel it.
There were wimpy men who turned down their offers and wouldn’t immediately jump on the opportunity when they went to pick up men in the past to pass time. They thought that ironically, their sheer beauty was to blame when they failed…but silently staring being stared at a frown for ten minutes was a first for them.
Or did the two see their true intentions?
Even if this was the case, something had to be done in this situation. NOZH and Markie decided to go on a bet after making quick eye contact.
“I’m very sorry, but to tell you the truth, it isn’t that we fell in love with you at first sight. We’re here because we heard you talking about something,” NOZH said in an apologetic tone.
“...”
But GIMM and BALL didn’t let their guard down.
“We heard you say Golden Poly-cap, so...”
The two slightly widened their eyes.
Markie quickly added. “We were wondering how wonderful a poly-cap like that would be...”
The wrinkles of doubt in GIMM and BALL’s forehead loosened.
NOZH pressed on.
“We wanted to take a peek of the Golden Poly-cap, but asking you to do so would be very rude of me, and so I lied to you to catch your attention…I’m very sorry!”
NOZH and Markie filled their eyes with tears, asking for forgiveness. The impact left GIMM and BALL’s guard to crumble like melting icebergs the very next moment.
“Well, why didn’t you tell us in the beginning? Of course, you’re welcome to!”
GIMM replied nervously while BALL added with an infatuated face.
“We’re the ones who are sorry! We shouldn’t doubt you at all! You two are honest, wonderful women!”
NOZH and Markie glanced at each other, congratulating their successful bet.
“And!”
The girls quickly returned their focus to BALL.
“Don’t you get mistaken for someone because of the way you talk?”
“Mistaken for who?” NOZH asked while Markie tilted her head.
“With Nozomin and Mayuyun of Petit Loup!”
NOZH and Markie were startled. They didn’t expect that there would be a Diver who actually knew their self-confessed obscure and unpopular group.
Whatever the case, the girls knew that they would have to hide their identities regarding what their plans.
NOZH tried to ask to act ignorantly, “Who is this Petit Loup?”
But before she could, “Who are they? Roux? Like for curry or stew?” GIMM asked.
BALL viciously snapped back.
“Petit Loup! Their official name is Le Petit Chaperon rouge, and its an idol band with six members! Nozomon is the lead guitarist and Mayuyun is the side guitarist! I love Petit Loup! Their songs and looks are awesome! And yeah! I finally went to one of their live performances! I really wanted to go to one, and my ticket was for the front row! Right in front of Nozomin, my favorite member! The end of the performance was intense, and I was showered by Nozomin’s sweat and spit! I haven’t washed my face since!”
NOZH and Markie counted the days in their hearts and shivered. Their last performance was at least a week ago.
“We…we’ve never heard of them...”
Their expressions tensed.
“Really? But you’re exactly like them!”
“Cut it out!” GIMM said to calm BALL down.
“They’re completely freaked out. Idol geeks are disgusting. I don’t get it. No matter how cute or how much you love them, how hard you follow them, there’s no way you’ll ever be able to date them. It’s just a waste of money,” said GIMM, to which BALL looked down upon him with eyes of pity and contempt.
“Well, you clearly still have a long way ahead of you to reach this level of enlightenment.” BALL was an expert.
During the conversation, Markie clenched her hand with disgust.
NOZH gently took her hand and asked GIMM and BALL. “Then will you show us your Golden Poly-cap next time we meet? How about going on a Gunpla date at the amusement park?”
“We’d love to!”
GIMM and BALL were thrilled while NOZH smiled softly and Markie forced herself to manage a grin. They settled on a date and before they parted ways, NOZH stopped walking and turned to GIMM and BALL.
“By the way, I said that I lied about love at first sight…but it might not be a lie after all...”
NOZH flushed her cheeks and won the hearts of GIMM and BALL. Markie was impressed with her meticulousness and smiled.
