by Shouji Gatou
The park was holding out its arms to Seiya. Everything around him seemed to shout, “Welcome!” The guests around him seemed just like they’d been yesterday, walking around briskly and cheerfully.
“Hmm...” he hummed. Of course they are, though. I made it that way.
“Ron! Ron, ron, roooon!” Macaron approached, surrounded by children and playing the violin. He whispered to him, “Kanie-kun, what are you doing in street clothes, ron?” He wasn’t braced for a surprise inspection; he seemed more curious than anything.
“Nothing,” Seiya told him shortly. “Go back to work.”
“Sure thing.” Macaron danced away from Seiya again, still bowing away. The part-timer Adachi Eiko was also present, urging guests who wanted pictures to form an orderly line. Eiko noticed Seiya, too, and waved to him. The other guests seemed to notice.
This isn’t working, he thought. As expected, slipping into the role of “just a guest” was proving to be difficult. Even just entering one of the Entrance Square shops caused Merchan, head of merchandising, and other subordinate cast to call out to him. If he went to a cafe, Nick, head of food, and his staff would call out to him, too.
Each time, the other guests would turn and say, “Is that handsome man connected to the park, somehow?” (That first part was understandable; he really was handsome.) Seiya had come out here on a whim, but it was proving impossible for him to walk around anonymously. I hate to waste that 4500 yen hurt, but maybe I should just give up and head backstage... he began to think.
But just then, a voice addressed him. “Kanie-sama?”
He looked back and saw a strange girl standing there. At first he assumed she was one of the guests; a petite girl with longish black hair, wearing a summery top and pleated skirt.
“...?” He looked at her inquisitively.
“Hello, there,” she said. “Do you know who I am?”
Seiya didn’t recognize her, but he knew her immediately. “Ahh... ...Are you... Latifah?”
She was facing him, but her gaze was unfocused, suggesting that she was blind. She had Latifah’s noble-yet-charming features. Most importantly, he only knew one woman in the world who addressed him as “Kanie-sama” (although there might be other women who called him that in secret!). Her voice, too, sounded just like Latifah’s.
“Correct!” she laughed. “Did I surprise you, by chance?”
“Y-Yeah... Why are you dressed like that? And... did you cut your hair?”
“No, this is a Gulley Suit LT!”
“LT?” he questioned.
“The LT is an abbreviation for ‘light,’” Latifah explained. “It is rather like a wig... Taramo-san of the Mogute Clan created it so that I might travel incognito.”
“Hmm...”
“When I take it off... you see?” She removed the black hair. Her clothing didn’t change, but Latifah’s voluminous blonde hair was suddenly visible below, radiant, like a shower of light...
“O-Okay, I got it,” he said shakily. “Put it back now. You’re drawing attention.”
“Ah, excuse me.” Before she caught the eye of the others in the shop, Latifah replaced the wig. She was once again a girl with black hair to her shoulders. Every time he saw something like that, Seiya was forced to wonder about the physics at play.
“A member of the Mogute Clan kindly brought me this far. It was so kind of him to take time out of his schedule...” Latifah was only comfortable walking around in Maple Castle itself; when she left it, she needed a guide. Seiya looked over and saw the employee door open a crack, and a member of the Mogute Clan—a mole-like mascot wearing a helmet—wave at them.
“I see...” he observed.
“Isuzu-san told me that you wished to look through the park by yourself.”
“Sento said that?”
“Yes. She also told me that you had forgotten something. She asked me to bring it to you... Here. Your very own Gully Suit LT.”
He pulled out a mask from the paper bag Latifah handed him. It was a mask of a human face; it looked a little grotesque. Ah, of course. If I want to go around unnoticed, I can just wear this, he realized. Smart thinking. Thanks, Isuzu.
Seiya had used this mask once before to disguise himself as another boy from his school. He already knew how it worked, so he quickly put it on. Then, he looked into a nearby mirror.
His reflection was that of an average-looking boy in glasses. The lips were a little thick, and the eyes a little beady... but he wasn’t going to complain. He was just glad it would let him blend in.
“What is your appearance now?” Latifah asked him. She sounded very interested.
“Hmm... I guess it’s... normal,” he told her. “Not great, but not bad. Wretched compared to my usual handsomeness, of course...”
“You frequently say such things,” she said wistfully, “but I also do not know your normal appearance...”
“Heh. Just try to extrapolate from my gorgeous voice.”
“Yes, that is indeed what I do.” Latifah smiled brightly again. Even in disguise, she was beautiful.
“Well,” he coughed, “if you’re all dressed up like that, I assume you want to go around with me?”
“If I would not be too much of a bother, yes...”
Isuzu must have planned this, too— She was saying, “If you’re going to walk around the park, take Latifah with you.” What Seiya couldn’t work out was her motives.
Did she really want to go around with me herself, but couldn’t abandon her duties? Did she want Latifah to have some fun, for once? Or was she worried about me going off to brood on my own, and just wanted me to have company? “I don’t get it...” he muttered. He’d wondered, time and again, if Sento really liked him. But each time something like this happened, it left him more confused than ever. If she really likes me that way, I doubt she’d send Latifah to join me...
“Well, forget it...” Seiya waved his hand dismissively, as if brushing away his hesitance. He cleared his throat and spoke aloud, “How are you feeling?”
“Ah, I am perfectly well,” Latifah answered.
“Just don’t push yourself too hard,” he ordered her.
“I shall not.”
“Good. Well, it’s been a while since we’ve done this, but let’s have a walk around.”
“...Er?” Latifah showed a moment’s confusion, which she covered with a vague smile.
Of course. The last time he’d gone around the park with Latifah had been in March— Before she’d lost her memory. This would be first time walking around the park with this new version of herself. “Ah... Er, never mind. Let’s go.”
“Yes! It shall be just like a date.” She giggled.
“That’s right. Yeah... you know, let’s treat it that way.” Seiya took Latifah’s hand gently and led her along. He didn’t feel the slightest hesitance about doing it. Treating it like a date— maybe that was for the best. After all, there wasn’t anything particularly normal about a boy in high school wandering around an amusement park by himself. It would feel just as unnatural as having the cast single him out.
“First... okay,” he decided. “How about Wild Valley?”
“Very well!” she replied cheerfully.
Hand in hand, the two set out. Seiya wished she could see the ways his renovations had changed the park, but even without her vision, Latifah seemed to enjoy herself. Most of the members of the cast didn’t realize who they were (though a few of the more savvy types narrowed their eyes suspiciously at Latifah). Seiya enjoyed that aspect, as well.
And most importantly, Latifah was... Well... er... you know... Very cute. Her usual princess style was beautiful in an aristocratic way, and she took his breath away every time they met. But he couldn’t deny that it also made her feel a bit unapproachable. Right now she felt closer to his level, which meant he could relax a bit more. She was still a little too pretty to be considered “just a normal girl,” but she at least seemed like someone you might see on the Omotesando in Harajuku, while “blond
e princess in sparkling dress and silver tiara” went beyond anything you’d see, even there.
The attractions were all as crowded as could be; most of the lines suggested a wait of 30 minutes to an hour. They lined up obediently for Toon Rangers, a ruin explorers attraction. But after that, Seiya decided he didn’t want to force Latifah to stand in the heat any more than he had to. He started using his manager’s ID card in the vending machine, which let him get all the fast passes he wanted.
Latifah seemed a bit reticent about this. “Would we not be taking advantage of the ordinary guests?” she asked.
“It’s fine,” he replied. “We’re constantly stressing ourselves out over everything... Let’s just treat ourselves for once.”
“All right...”
“Also, let me know if you start feeling overtaxed, okay? Moffle would kill me if I let you get heatstroke.”
Latifah giggled, then said suddenly, “Oh, I know!”
“...?” he waited for her to continue.
“Could we go to see Moffle-san?” she asked excitedly. “I would dearly like to see if he recognizes us!”
It did sound like a pretty amusing idea. “Sure thing. Let’s try it.”
He led Latifah to Sorcerer’s Hill. They entered Moffle’s House of Sweets: Blood & Bullets, and took on the viciously naughty mice. Moffle joined them in the last room, Hamburger Hall— Perhaps he was too focused on his work, or too tired from last night’s drinking party, but Moffle didn’t even seem to notice Latifah’s presence.
“Moffu! Moffu, moffu! Moffu!” Moffle rallied the troops, a machine gun in his hands. Latifah fired her gun timidly. Seiya joined the other guests in firing all around, and in doing so, they managed to repel the final boss. Latifah’s score was third from the bottom: Sixth out of eight. It was a pretty impressive showing, given that she was blind.
“I aimed with the eyes of my heart!” Latifah proclaimed. “No, I am joking. Each naughty mouse has a motor that makes a sound just before it appears... I simply fired in the direction from which the sound came.”
Seiya couldn’t hear the motor sounds at all, personally; it sounded like she was in Zatoichi territory. She could probably rack up a really good score if she went through enough times.
“Moffu. Moffu...” Even later, in the souvenir photo room, Moffle didn’t recognize Latifah. He treated her like any other guest.
Just leaving felt a little anticlimactic, though, so right at the end, Latifah drew up close to Moffle and whispered, “You were wonderful, Uncle” to him.
“Moffu. ...eh? Lati— huh?!” Leaving a wide-eyed Moffle behind, the two dashed out of the House of Sweets. Once they were clear, they burst out laughing. This might have been Seiya’s first time seeing Latifah laugh so wholeheartedly.
“He did appear quite surprised!” she exclaimed jubilantly.
“Yeah. You scared the life out of him,” Seiya chuckled. “That was some reaction.”
She giggled. “But I feel I should apologize later...”
“No need to apologize. The customer’s always right, remember?”
“Oh, you!” she said, then laughed even harder.
From there, their date continued. Latifah seemed to be enjoying herself— wholeheartedly enjoying herself. Her delight lifted Seiya’s own mood.
“I’m glad to see you’re having so much fun,” Seiya said as they enjoyed some crepes they’d bought at a nearby stand. It was a sign of how much his mood had improved that, after all his digestive troubles this morning, he could sit here now, eating fresh cream.
“Yes, very much so.” Latifah smiled. “Kanie-sama... are you?”
“Yeah... I’m having a lot of fun.” He’d meant to make it sound natural, but the answer came out haltingly. He was having fun. At least, he wanted to be... but thoughts of Digimaland and the issue with his magic lingered in the back of his mind. On top of that, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about all the ways the park was lacking.
He’d been taking note of the cast’s minor interactions with the guests, the small shows of consideration. There were positives there, of course... but there were also a lot of problems. For instance, some cast members were very considerate of guests with strollers. When a mother bought a crepe at the concession stand, she would have to push her stroller with one hand. There was a bit of a slope to the path there, which left her in a dicey position, so a cast member would say, “Can I help you to a bench?” and push the stroller for her. This left the mother feeling extremely grateful. But when that cast member checked out for their shift, the other cast members wouldn’t do the same. They didn’t notice— It was like they couldn’t even see the mother standing there, looking around in confusion. They couldn’t imagine how hard life was for a mother with a baby.
He wasn’t angry with the cast members over this; he just found it depressing. The customer service manual that Seiya had thrown together for the year put it like this: “Always consider the feelings of the guests and work to make sure they’re not inconvenienced.” The first cast member had succeeded in that, but their co-workers hadn’t. The limited nature of the rules he’d put together meant putting a lot of faith in individual personalities.
But of course, he couldn’t make precise rules about every little thing. Not only would a manual like that take forever to put together, but you couldn’t get a strong cast overnight by telling them to read a bunch of rules. It took a long time, lots of lectures, and the kind tutelage of the more experienced staff, to really change someone’s outlook. It also meant spending money, which would be difficult in AmaBri’s current financial state.
Mackey’s Digimaland could handle all of that. They had produced manuals explaining what to do about every little situation that came up, and whenever they had free time, the cast passed on their know-how to the newcomers. Knowing how to treat mothers with strollers was absolute beginner stuff. For the cast at Digimaland, it was as basic as learning how to tie your shoes.
“Kanie-sama?” Latifah addressed him, drawing Seiya back to reality.
“Ah... it’s nothing,” he said hastily. “Where do you want to go next?”
“Let me see... Might we try the merry-go-round?”
AmaBri had a merry-go-round, which was tucked away in a corner of Sorcerer’s Hill. It was on the smaller side, and very old-fashioned, and full of wear and tear: several of the horses were missing their manes or tails, and the paint was peeling off the carriages. The lighting was broken here and there as well, in ways that cast creepy shadows on the horses’ faces when it ran at night. Since guest clothing could get caught in the moving parts, and there was a danger of small children falling off, it had an age limit of 12 or over... Which sort of defeated the point of having it. It was a powerful reminder of what a crummy place the park had been before the renovations.
“Have you ever been on it, Kanie-sama?” Latifah asked, as they stood before the deserted entrance.
“No...” he answered. “I’ve watched it run a few times, but I’ve never been on it.” A man in his late teens didn’t exactly belong on a merry-go-round. “It’s pretty old, though. I think it precedes the park’s founding 30 years ago... Do you know anything about it, Latifah?”
“No. According to Unc— to Moffle-san, it has been here since the “Amagi Playground” days. But he, himself, only read about it in the documents...”
“Ahh,” Seiya mused. “That’s what I read, too...” Amagi Playground was the amusement park that predated AmaBri’s existence. It had laid fallow for about ten years after its closing in the 1970s, which meant that most documentation about it had simply been lost to time. Seiya genuinely didn’t know how many of their current attractions had carried over from the Amagi Playground days, or in what form.
“But I do so enjoy this merry-go-round...” Latifah commented.
“How come?” he wanted to know.
“It is the smell... the smell of animus... the smell of those to whom it has given joy for so long,” Latifah answered. “I can almost
hear the laughter of the customers who rode it decades ago...”
“Hmm...” It was all over Seiya’s head, but if Latifah was saying it, it couldn’t be total nonsense. “Ah, well. Let’s get on.”
“All right!”
Normally he’d say, “You get on, I’ll watch from the sidelines.” But Latifah was blind, so he decided he should escort her— and wearing a different face reduced his feelings of self-consciousness. He took her hand and led her to a two-person carriage.
“A carriage?” she questioned.
“You’re a princess, right? You deserve a carriage.” Besides, Seiya didn’t like the idea of putting her on one of those dilapidated horses. Looking excited, Latifah followed his lead.
Seiya and Latifah were the only two on board. Given how crowded the park was these days, it was a strong condemnation of the attraction’s popularity.
There was an ear-splitting buzz, and the ride started up. First came the sound of grinding gears, which was followed by the scream of metal against metal, and an intense, worrying vibration. Music was playing, but it was hard to hear under all the noise— It sounded like Chopin’s “Revolutionary Etude.”
The carriage they were on moved in a rickety way that hurt Seiya’s backside; It reminded him of riding a bicycle with his Aunt Aisu over the gravel road of Kasenjiki Park by the Tama River once, long ago. Ahead of him, to the right, an unoccupied horse jiggled back and forth, hardly moving up or down at all. It was one of the most uncomfortable rides Seiya had ever been on—and yet, surprisingly, Latifah’s reaction was one of utter delight.
“Oh, this is... amazing!” she gushed. “Just amazing!”
“I guess it is, for certain values of the word!”
“Is it not thrilling?!”
“Yeah, a little too thrilling!”
They couldn’t talk without shouting. Latifah was so excited, you would think it was a roller coaster instead of a merry-go-round.
Seiya was happy for her, but inside, he felt frustrated. I never realized it was this bad. I should have ridden this a lot earlier— the thing needs to be off-limits to guests. The only reason he hadn’t taken action earlier was because it wasn’t an especially noteworthy attraction, and he’d had a lot of other things to deal with.