Amagi Brilliant Park: Volume 1

by Shouji Gatou

  Various other cast members were present, as well, doing their best to make the guests happy in ways large and small. So this is what the security guard meant when he mentioned laughter the other day, Seiya thought to himself. It certainly was a change from the usual.

  They were giving the guests a good show, doing everything they could to entertain them. And they, in turn, were enjoying interacting with the guests.

  Seiya remained standing at the passage exit, dumbfounded, for at least a full minute or two. “Why didn’t you always do it this way?” was the question that eventually drifted from his lips.

  “I fear they only could because of you.” He turned in surprise to see Latifah standing there. Muse was with her; she was, apparently, the one who had guided her here.

  “Latifah,” he greeted her.

  “Kanie-sama,” Latifah returned. She was smiling, her eyes closed. Muse, who was holding her hand, watched her with vague concern.

  “It is very clear to me... We have all changed greatly since your coming,” she continued. “We were so convinced that no future remained to us... and now, we are beginning to realize that we may have been wrong. Can you see my unc—forgive me—Moffle-san?”

  Having completed his juggling show, Moffle was now causing flocks of doves to fly out of his hat, inviting another round of applause from their guests.

  “Moffle-san has not worked so hard at anything in a very long time,” Latifah told him.

  “Hmm...” Seiya mused. It was true that there was something genuine about his performance.

  “His hard work, in turn, inspires the rest of the cast. Even if the park does close, he does not wish it to be under circumstances that would allow you to say ‘I told you so.’ I sense that motivation powerfully from him.”

  “You’re saying I gave them hope, eh?” Seiya asked.

  “Yes,” Latifah told him. “It is what many would call a miracle.”

  More miracles, huh? Give it a rest already... Seiya kept himself from speaking that thought aloud.

  So that was it; the mood was changing. But that didn’t mean it would be easy to get 100,000 guests. If the plaza was packed with people, it might inspire a little hope, but it wasn’t; it was just a family or two per mascot.

  Seiya wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to bring in every guest he could. But to get to 100,000 at this rate is—

  “Kanie-sama,” Latifah asked quietly, “Would you walk with me?”

  “...?” Curious, he waited for her to say more.

  “There is an hour yet until the park’s closing. If you would...” Latifah vacillated for a moment, her cheeks turning pink. “I should like you to accompany me... on a date.”

  Seiya reassured the worried Muse, then took Latifah out for a tour of the park.

  Because she was blind, it was inevitable that he would end up holding her hand. Naturally, the cast members they passed looked on with shock, and even the guests, who didn’t know who they were, seemed to find them an unlikely couple.

  First, they stopped by “Moffle’s House of Sweets.” This was the attraction where you shot rats with laser pistols... not exactly an attraction designed for Latifah’s enjoyment. They just wandered through until they made it to the final room, where Moffle came to meet them and take a souvenir photo. On closer inspection, it was clear that this wasn’t the real Moffle, but a person in a costume.

  “Moffu!”

  The real Moffle was performing in Entrance Square right now, so they must have gotten someone to fill in for him.

  “Well, isn’t this a surprise,” emanated a man’s voice from within. “We’re so shorthanded, you see... they even have security guards like me chipping in.”

  Ahh... Seiya recognized the voice. It was the elderly security guard he frequently interacted with.

  “Thanks for helping out,” he said. “I’ll make sure you get paid overtime.”

  “Now, now. I’m doing this because I like it. And the guests seem to enjoy taking pictures with me more than I expected.” While he spoke, the old guard in the Moffle suit took a picture of Seiya and Latifah together.

  Just before the shutter went off, Latifah hugged Seiya’s arm tight.

  They went around to Tiramii’s Flower Adventure, Macaron’s Music Theater and other attractions, offering more words of gratitude to the stand-in mascots they encountered there.

  After they’d been through quite a few of them, Seiya asked Latifah a question. “That’s about it for popular attractions in this area... Is there anywhere else you’d like to go?”

  Latifah responded, “Yes. I would like to ride the giant wheel.”

  “The Ferris wheel... huh?”

  The giant wheel. It was an old attraction, predating the bubble period of the 1980s. He’d heard that it was quite popular during the years of the earlier Showa period, when the area was known as “Amagi Playground.” She called it a “giant” wheel, but it was really quite humble compared to what they were building these days with modern technology—you’d probably get a better view from the roof of a local high-rise. Besides, Seiya had been hoping to avoid the Ferris wheel if possible.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather do something else?” he asked hesitantly. “It won’t have much of a view. ...Ah.” Remembering about Latifah’s vision, Seiya stammered out a quick, “Er, sorry...”

  “You need not apologize; it does not concern me,” she reassured him. “I merely wish to ride the Ferris wheel.”

  “If you’re sure, I... I don’t mind.” he said, feeling sweat start to rise on his back.

  “Then, if you please,” she requested brightly.

  He took Latifah’s hand and guided her on board the Ferris wheel. The park was just about to close; there were almost no guests left.

  After the car doors closed, he spoke up. “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but... You can’t see the view, right? Why the interest in the Ferris wheel?”

  “Ah. It is true that I cannot see the view...” she trailed off. “But I understand that there was a time when I could, although it was so long ago that I no longer remember...”

  “...?” He waited for her to say more.

  “Nevertheless,” she continued, “I take some small comfort in the sensation of this Ferris wheel swaying: the vibrations, the creaks, the hardness of the seat upon my backside... It is something that I wished to enjoy with you.”

  “Ah-ha...” Seiya felt as though some of the things Latifah was saying were going over his head. He ended up putting it out of his mind, with the thought that as a blind person, she would inevitably be motivated by things beyond his comprehension.

  Under normal circumstances, he might have been more curious, but— “We’ve gotten pretty high up, huh?” he whispered, rubbing lightly at his chest.

  The Ferris wheel wasn’t as tall as all that. Even so, they had roughly reached the height of a building’s fourth floor. The surrounding attractions were now just a collection of roofs, and those “vibrations” and “creaks” that Latifah had talked about weren’t helping. His heart had started to race.

  “How high might we be by now?” she asked.

  “Hmm? Uh... If it were a clock, we’d be at about 10:00?” He couldn’t keep his voice from cracking.

  Ah, dammit, he thought, We aren’t even at the top yet? We still have to go higher? Give me a break...

  “Kanie-sama?” Latifah asked, sounding concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “Uh? Wh-What do you mean?”

  “Your voice is trembling...” she told him.

  “I d-d-don’t think it is...” Seiya stammered back.

  While the Ferris wheel wasn’t anywhere near the size of huge modern ones, it sat on one of the highest points of the Tama Hills, which made the view surprisingly good. He could see the whole glittering skyline of western Tokyo. It was like jewels scattered in night. The sprawl of twinkling lights extended on to the horizon—so far-distant that he’d have to strain his eyes to see them. It was a view that couldn
’t be replicated in pictures or videos.

  “How do you find it, Kanie-sama?” Latifah asked, eyes closed calmly.

  “Um... i-it’s very beautiful,” he admitted. “M-Maybe not a 100,000 dollar view, but... p-pretty good, y’know?”

  “Kanie-sama? Your voice is cracking...”

  Like I care! We aren’t even at the peak yet. If this was a clock, we’d still only be at around 11:30. We have to go even higher? Give me a break...

  “Kanie-sama?”

  How much longer was he going to have to sit here while they kept rising higher and higher? He couldn’t breathe, and his back was soaked with sweat. Each sway of the car caused his sanity to slip a little bit further.

  He couldn’t even imagine looking out the window now. No more. No more. Get me out of here!

  “Ah... Kanie-sama, are you afraid of heights, by chance?” Latifah inquired.

  “O-Of course not!” he protested in a strangled voice.

  Latifah seemed stunned for a moment, then slumped over. “Forgive me,” she apologized. “It was an insulting thing to ask.”

  “Oh, no... It’s okay, but... er, I... It’s just...” Seiya loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. To keep from looking outside, he closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.

  His only choice was to distract himself by talking. What was the point of putting on airs now? It wouldn’t get him anywhere.

  “I’m not great with heights...” he admitted.

  Seiya’s acrophobia had first manifested around middle school. He hadn’t minded heights at all in the lower elementary school grades. He’d even engaged in a silly “test of courage” on the 10th floor of a local building with his friends.

  But at some point, he’d found he couldn’t handle them anymore. This came about during the period of his life when he was a busy child star acting at his parents’ whim, so it might have some connection to that. Whatever the cause was, though, there had come a day, in his sixth year of elementary school, that Seiya suddenly realized he couldn’t even bring himself to approach the rail around the roof of his school.

  It hadn’t happened overnight. For some time leading up to that, he’d noticed that his heart would start beating faster whenever he climbed up to a tall place. The distant ground below would seem to distort in his vision, and rise up at him. He’d lose his sense of equilibrium.

  It was that day in the spring in his sixth year of elementary school, then, that he knew it for sure.

  Even after he quit show business, the phobia hadn’t gone away, and he’d been afraid of tall places ever since. He’d even been hesitant to ride that silly roller coaster with Sento Isuzu the first time he came here.

  Seiya explained all this to Latifah, while she did nothing but listen and offer the occasional prompt to continue. “—And so, I... I’m still afraid of things like this. I-It’s not quite a panic attack... As long as I close my eyes and keep talking, I can bear it, so... so... you know. Guh, how far are we now? Dammit...” Despite what he claimed, he still couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes.

  “At the moment... if this were a clock, we would be at around two o’clock,” she told him.

  “I see...” he said faintly, and then “Y-You can tell?”

  “Yes. I can tell from the sounds it makes and the weight of my body,” she explained. “Do not worry. We are descending.”

  Gently, her soft hand took Seiya’s; it was cool and smooth. For some reason, it caused a thrill to shoot through him, even more intense than the one he’d felt when she’d kissed him.

  “You are safe,” she repeated. Her voice, so kind, seemed to permeate his being.

  He realized that his legs had stopped shaking.

  “Take a deep breath and open your eyes,” she advised him. “Everything will be as it was.”

  “......” He did as he was told.

  She was right; he didn’t feel afraid anymore. He looked out the window and saw that the car was now fairly low to the ground.

  “Do you feel better?” she inquired gently.

  “Yeah... I’m okay.” Seiya felt a bit embarrassed, but this was far outstripped by his sense of relief. He felt like a fool to have ever put on airs around her.

  “I must beg your forgiveness,” Latifah apologized. “I asked for something terribly selfish, being unaware of your discomfort.” Her voice was hushed.

  Why was it that he was the one who wanted to apologize to her? “It’s okay,” he said. “I thought I could grin and bear it, so... Don’t let it bother you.”

  “I shall try,” she told him regretfully. “And yet... ah...”

  “...?” Seiya waited for her to finish.

  “No,” she said at last. “It is nothing.”

  “Hey, come on,” he protested. “Now I have to know. Tell me!”

  “All right. Only do not be angry with me for saying it...” Her smile was shy, but with a playful edge. “I thought you looked rather cute that way, Kanie-sama.”

  “......” For some reason, he didn’t dislike it. He felt a bit like a boy being patted on the head by a woman several years his senior.

  They toured a few more attractions, then he said goodbye to Latifah and went back to work.

  They must have responded promptly to his requests for improvements, because Seiya found each attraction far more acceptable than it had been on Sunday.

  The hospitality that Moffle and the others showed the guests had also clearly improved. They were acting out of desperation, but the guests didn’t seem to have noticed at all. That was another good sign; even if they were desperate, a good entertainer should never let that show.

  The park had improved markedly over the last few days.

  But wait—had it really? Was it that the park had improved, or was it just that his feelings about it had changed? In other words, was he biased? The first time he’d come to the park, he’d engaged in everything grudgingly because Isuzu had dragged him along. Today, his investment in the park was much higher because of the responsibility he’d taken on.

  Was it subjective feeling, or objective fact? At that moment, Seiya couldn’t be sure.

  He finished up his bookkeeping, and was about to head home when Isuzu came by to tell him the day’s attendance numbers: “2,928.”

  “What?”

  “2,928,” she said again. “Almost double what it was yesterday.”

  Today was Thursday. It wasn’t a day when you’d expect a large influx of visitors—you’d expect about the same amount that you’d had on Wednesday. Instead, attendance had doubled.

  “Incidentally,” she remarked, “this is also the best attendance we’ve had for a Thursday in several years.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Seiya had already gone through the previous years’ data. It was certainly an exceptional figure.

  “It appears the 30 yen promotion is having an effect,” Isuzu concluded.

  “Definitely. But... even for that...” Seiya hesitated.

  Even for that, these numbers are higher than I imagined, Seiya thought. I’d expected a 50% increase at best—is there something at play besides the 30 yen campaign?

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “No... it’s nothing,” he concluded.

  The improved performance among the cast wouldn’t be raising attendance so soon. Even if it caused guests to think positively about the time they spent here, encouraging them to come back and recommend it to others, it would take months for such word of mouth to get around. It wouldn’t manifest over just a few days. Better to chalk it up to the 30 yen campaign being more effective than expected.

  Even so, Seiya was compelled to ask Isuzu. “Sento—?”

  “Yes?”

  “Have you noticed a change in the work ethic of that... rat and his friends, these last few days?”

  Isuzu snorted, as if the answer was obvious. “Of course I have. I’ve never seen them work so hard before. And...”

  “And—?” he pressed.

  Isuzu hesitated. �
�I can’t fully explain it. But the feeling I sense most of all is that... they’re enjoying their work.”

  [Today’s park attendance: 2,928. (92,922 from goal) / 10 days left.]

  The next day’s attendance was 3,411. Even taking into account that it was a Friday, it was still the best attendance they’d seen in years.

  The promotional video which they’d put on the internet had had a longer tail than Seiya had expected as well, and by Friday afternoon it was nearing 90,000 hits.

  That morning, a local news station in Tokyo sent their business team in to do a story. They took some footage of the hustle and bustle at AmaBri, which they were expected to use that night in a story about their 30 yen campaign.

  “To think we could get that show to give us coverage... I’m shocked,” Tricen of the PR department mused as the news team drove away.

  “I pulled a few strings,” Seiya murmured grudgingly. “There was a producer I worked for back in the day who’s pretty high up in the industry, by now. I never cared to see him again, but... desperate times and all. I decided to give him a call.”

  “Ahh. Is that so?” Tricen asked, his voice carefully neutral.

  “I have some dirt on him,” Seiya shrugged. “His romantic life and such.”

  “Oh-ho.” Tricen didn’t know about Seiya’s past, but he may have realized it was complicated, as he didn’t press him any further.

  Seiya continued, “We’ll have a few more news teams coming in tomorrow too, starting in the morning. You have the full schedule, right?”

  “Yes, I do, and I am prepared to give my utmost to the teams that arrive,” Tricen confirmed. “...Especially at 11:00, when the anchor Oishi-san arrives with her fabulous rack. I, the humble Tricen, shall hunch over more than ever.”

  “Maybe I’d better put you on trash pickup instead...” Seiya considered.

  [Today’s park attendance: 3,411. (89,511 from goal) / 9 days left.]

  On Saturday, guest attendance increased dramatically. This was thanks both to the economic news report that had aired the night before and the brief variety show segment that had been dedicated to it that morning. The promotional video online, which was even now racking up hits, had likely played a part as well. Their newspaper insert advertisements had also gone out that morning.